Medical

A sedimentation rate, or "sed rate", is a blood test that detects and is used to monitor inflammation activity.

A radioactive element that is formed, as a gas, during the breakdown of radium. Radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths in the United States, after smoking.

Not a TV detective but an old word for a peritonsillar abscess.

This is angioneurotic edema (or angioedema), a form of localized swelling of the deeper layers of the skin and fatty tissues beneath the skin.

A period of isolation decreed to control the spread of infectious disease.

An infectious disease due to the bacterium Coxiella burnetii whose symptoms include fever, headache, malaise, and pneumonia (interstitial pneumonitis), but not rash.

An ulcerating condition of skin that results in heaped borders with a typical appearance. Pyoderma gangrenosum appears to be mediated by the immune system, but the exact cause is unknown.

Bacterial infection of the kidneys. Pyelonephritis can be acute or chronic, and it is most often due to the ascent of bacteria from the bladder up the ureters to infect the kidneys.

Short for pyelonephritis, which is bacterial infection of the kidney. Pyelonephritis can be acute (sudden) or chronic (slow, subtle, and stubborn).

A biopsy that is performed by using a punch, an instrument for cutting and removing a disk of tissue. For example, a punch biopsy of the skin may be done to make a diagnosis of skin cancer.