The information book - Paediatric Integrated Cancer Service

What does that word mean?
ACUTE – occurs suddenly, lasts a short time.
AFEBRILE – the absence of a fever.
ALL– acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the most common form
of childhood leukaemia.
ALOPECIA – loss of body hair.
ANAEMIA – a lower than normal number of circulating mature red blood cells.
ANOREXIA – loss of appetite.
ANTIBIOTIC – drug used in the treatment of bacterial infection.
ANTIBODY – a protein produced by the body to fight against bacteria and
viruses.
ANTIEMETIC – a drug to reduce vomiting.
ANTIGEN – a foreign substance that stimulates production of antibodies.
ARTERY – blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the tissues
and organs.
AUDIOGRAM – hearing test. The audiologist is the person who does this.
BACTERIA – living one-celled organisms that are only visible through
a microscope. While most bacteria are harmless, they can cause disease
if the body’s resistance is lowered.
BENIGN – not malignant or not cancerous.
BIOPSY – a small piece of tissue is removed from the body to make
a diagnosis. The tissue is removed by a needle or it is cut away.
BLAST – an immature blood cell.
BLOOD CULTURE – blood is taken and incubated in a special culture
medium for 24–72 hours. If there is an infection in the blood, germs will grow
in the culture and the sensitivities of the germs to different antibiotics can be
determined.
BLOOD TYPE – red blood cells contain certain factors that are not the
same for all people. The three main types are A, B, and O. These types are
important when cross-matching blood that has been taken from one person
to give to another.
Tell Me… Sec.6:11
Updated March 2011