Nutrition Interventions for Children with Special Health Care Needs

Glossary
Length
(recumbent
length)
appropriate measure of stature for children under age 3
years; measurement should be done on a length board
with a fixed headboard and moveable foot board; infant or
child should be nude or without diaper
Length board a piece of equipment used to measure the recumbent
length of infants and young children; many length boards
have a fixed headboard and moveable foot board
LGA large for gestational age; refers to an infant whose birth
weight is greater than the 90th percentile for age
Medium chain
triglycerides (MCT)
triglycerides with eight to ten carbon atoms. MCTs do not
require bile for digestion and are usually easily digested
Megacolon abnormal widening of the colon that may be inborn or may
result from chronic constipation or obstipation
Midarm muscle
circumference
measurement used to aid in the estimation and
assessment of muscle mass; calculated by subtracting the
triceps skinfold measurement from the circumference of
the mid upper arm
Midparent height also known as parent- specific adjustment for evaluation
of length and stature, a calculation to estimate a child’s
eventual height, based on the height of his/her parents
Myoclonic seizures seizures that are brief, involuntary muscle jerks
Nasogastric
feeding
Necrotizing
enterocolitis
a form of enteral nutrition support; a tube runs through
the nose into the stomach; usually used temporarily (e.g.,
less than 3 months)
a sudden inflammatory bowel disorder that occurs
primarily in premature or LBW infants; causes blood to
move away from the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in
necrosis with bacterial invasion of the intestinal wall
Nephrocalcinosis an abnormal condition of the kidneys in which deposits of
calcium form in the filtering units
NHANES National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; a series
of periodic surveys that collects height, weight, and other
health information on the American population; data from
NHANES was used to construct the 2000 CDC Growth
Charts: United States.
Noonan syndrome sometimes called the “male Turner’s syndrome,” a disorder
marked by short stature, congenital heart disease, webbing
of the neck, and characteristic cranio- facial features;
equally common in males and females
412 Nutrition Interventions for Children With Special Health Care Needs