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Male Reproductive System Glossary
Terms used to explain Male Reproductive System can sometimes be confusing. To help you fully understand the articles and features related to this very important health topic, we have compiled a glossary of terms that can help.
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: a substance that tends to inhibit the production, activity, or effects of a male sex hormone
pl -ro*ses
Pronunciation: \-ˌsēz\
: a chronic disease characterized by abnormal thickening and hardening of the arterial walls with resulting loss of elasticity compare atherosclerosis
Function: noun
pl -ro*ses
1: an arteriosclerosis characterized by atheromatous deposits in and fibrosis of the inner layer of the arteries
BPH
Function: abbreviation
benign prostatic hyperplasia; benign prostatic hypertrophy
body mass index
Function: noun
: a measure of body fat that is the ratio of the weight of the body in kilograms to the square of its height in meters <a body mass index in adults of 25 to 29.9 is considered an indication of overweight, and 30 or more an indication of obesity> abbr. BMI—called also Quetelet index
pl -pies
: radiotherapy in which the source of radiation is placed (as by implantation) in or close to the area being treated
: a tubular medical device for insertion into canals, vessels, passageways, or body cavities for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes (as to permit injection or withdrawal of fluids or to keep a passage open)
pl -pies
: the use of chemical agents in the treatment or control of disease or mental disorder
pl -pies
: endoscopic examination of the colon <transabdominal colonoscopy with a sigmoidoscope via colotomy>
coronary artery bypass
Function: noun
: see: coronary bypass
pl -ger*ies
: surgery in which diseased or abnormal tissue (as a tumor or wart) is destroyed or removed by freezing (as by the use of liquid nitrogen)
cyclic guanosine monophosphate
Function: noun
: see: cyclic gmp
cys*tos*co*py
Pronunciation: \sis-ˈtäs-kə-pē\
Function: noun
1: the use of a cystoscope to examine the bladder
: subsidence or diminution of swelling or erection
1 a: the act of describing a thing by giving its differentia
b: the enhancement of microscopically visible differences between tissue or cell parts by partial selective decolorization or removal of excess stain (as in regressive staining)
c: the development of a discriminating conditioned response with a positive response to one stimulus and absence of the response on the application of similar but discriminably different stimuli
2 a: modification of different parts of the body for performance of particular functions; also: specialization of parts or organs in the course of evolution
b: the sum of the developmental processes whereby apparently unspecialized cells, tissues, and structures attain their adult form and function compare determination 2
Doppler echocardiography
Function: noun
: Doppler ultrasound used to measure cardiovascular blood flow velocity for diagnostic purposes (as for evaluating valve function)
-lat*ed
-lat*ing
transitive verb
1: to eject from a living body; specif: to eject (semen) in orgasmintransitive verb: to eject a fluid (as semen)
erectile dysfunction
Function: noun
: chronic inability to achieve or maintain an erection satisfactory for sexual intercourse : see: impotence 2abbr. ED
Function: noun
1: the state marked by firm turgid form and erect position of a previously flaccid bodily part containing cavernous tissue when that tissue becomes dilated with blood
2: an occurrence of erection in the penis or clitoris
: any of various natural steroids (as estradiol) that are formed from androgen precursors, that are secreted chiefly by the ovaries, placenta, adipose tissue, and testes, and that stimulate the development of female secondary sex characteristics and promote the growth and maintenance of the female reproductive system; also: any of various synthetic or semisynthetic steroids (as ethinyl estradiol) that mimic the physiological effect of natural estrogens
Function: noun
pl -ties
1: the quality or state of being fertile
2: the birthrate of a population compare mortality 2b
: not firm or stiff; also: lacking normal or youthful firmness <flaccid muscles>
heart attack
Function: noun
: an acute episode of heart disease marked by the death or damage of heart muscle due to insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle usu. as a result of a coronary thrombosis or a coronary occlusion and that is characterized esp. by chest pain —called also myocardial infarction, compare angina pectoris coronary insufficiency heart failure 1
Function: noun
1: the quality or state of not being potent <drug-resistant bacteria are a virulent indicator of the growing impotence of antibiotics>
2: an abnormal physical or psychological state of a male characterized by inability to copulate because of failure to have or maintain an erection —called also erectile dysfunction
in vitro fertilization
Function: noun
: fertilization of an egg in a laboratory dish or test tube; specif: mixture usu. in a laboratory dish of sperm with eggs which have been surgically removed from an ovary that is followed by implantation of one or more of the resulting fertilized eggs into a female's uterus abbr. IVF
1: inability or failure to restrain sexual appetite
2: inability of the body to control the evacuative functions <fecal incontinence> see stress incontinence urge incontinence
pl -dos
1: instinctual psychic energy that in psychoanalytic theory is derived from primitive biological urges (as for sexual pleasure or self-preservation) and that is expressed in conscious activity
2: sexual drive
lymph nodule
Function: noun
: a small simple lymph node
nitric oxide
Function: noun
: a poisonous colorless gas NO that occurs as a common air pollutant formed by the oxidation of atmospheric nitrogen and that is also formed by the oxidation of arginine in the mammalian body where it acts as a mediator of intracellular and intercellular communication regulating numerous biological processes (as vasodilation and neurotransmission)
: the climax of sexual excitement that is usu. accompanied by ejaculation of semen in the male and by vaginal contractions in the female
per*i*ne*um
Function: noun
pl -nea
also -naea
Pronunciation: \-ˈnē-ə\
Function: noun
: the formation of fibrous plaques in one or both corpora cavernosa of the penis resulting in distortion or deflection of the erect organ
premature ejaculation
Function: noun
: ejaculation of semen that occurs prior to or immediately after penetration of the vagina by the penis —called also ejaculatio praecox
Function: noun
: an abnormal, more or less persistent, and often painful erection of the penis; esp: one caused by disease rather than sexual desire
prostate gland
Function: noun
: a firm partly muscular partly glandular body that is situated about the base of the mammalian male urethra and secretes an alkaline viscid fluid which is a major constituent of the ejaculatory fluid —called also prostate
prostate–specific antigen
Function: noun
: a protease that is secreted by the epithelial cells of the prostate and is used in the diagnosis of prostate cancer since its concentration in the blood serum tends to be proportional to the clinical stage of the disease abbr. PSA
pl -mies
: surgical removal or resection of the prostate gland
pudendal nerve
Function: noun
: a nerve that arises from the second, third, and fourth sacral nerves and that supplies the external genitalia, the skin of the perineum, and the anal sphincters
radiation therapy
Function: noun
: see: radiotherapy
Function: noun
pl scro*ta
Pronunciation: \-ə\>
or scrotums
: the external sac that in most mammals contains the testes
: a viscid whitish fluid of the male reproductive tract consisting of spermatozoa suspended in secretions of accessory glands (as of the prostate and Cowper's glands)
seminal vesicle
Function: noun
: either of a pair of glandular pouches that lie one on either side of the male reproductive tract and that in human males secrete a sugar- and protein-containing fluid into the ejaculatory duct
sexually transmitted disease
Function: noun
: any of various diseases or infections that can be transmitted by direct sexual contact including some (as syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and genital herpes) chiefly spread by sexual means and others (as hepatitis B and AIDS) often contracted by nonsexual means —called also STD
TURP
Function: abbreviation
transurethral resection of the prostate
Function: noun
: a male hormone that is a crystalline hydroxy steroid ketone C19H28O2 produced primarily by the testes or made synthetically and that is the main androgen responsible for inducing and maintaining male secondary sex characteristics
Function: noun
: any of a group of lipids that are esters formed from one molecule of glycerol and three molecules of one or more fatty acids, are widespread in adipose tissue, and commonly circulate in the blood in the form of lipoproteins —called also neutral fat
ulcerative colitis
Function: noun
: a chronic inflammatory disease of the colon that is of unknown cause and is characterized by diarrhea with discharge of mucus and blood, cramping abdominal pain, and inflammation and edema of the mucous membrane with patches of ulceration
ure*thra
Pronunciation: \yu-ˈrē-thrə\
Function: noun
1: the canal that in most mammals carries off the urine from the bladder and in the male serves also as a passageway for semen
: an agent (as a parasympathetic nerve fiber or a drug) that induces or initiates vasodilation
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