P
pachylosis. Thick, dry and abnormal quality of skin which cracks into scales of irregular form.
pack. The process of enveloping a patient in a wet sheet or blanket. Cold pack: in sheets wrung out of water; hot pack: in sheets wrung out of hot water; dry pack: in dry warmed blankets, etc.
pachyacria. Bulbous thickening of the extremities of the fingers or toes.
pachydermia. Thick skin; elephantiasis.
palliative. Mitigating; lessening the severity.
palm. The flat of the hand.
palpation. Exploration with the hand.
panidrosis. Sweating from all parts of the skin.
papilla. Any small nipple-like process.
papilloma. A growth of hypertrophied papillae of the skin.
papule. A small circumscribed elevation of the skin, containing no fluid. A pimple.
paralysis. Loss of power of voluntary movement in a muscle through injury or disease of nerve supply.
parasite. An organism that inhabits another organism and obtains nourishment from it.
paresis. General paralysis of the insane or dementia paralytics. A condition thought to be due to a chronic meningitis.
paresthesia. An abnormal spontaneous sensation such as of numbness, burning, pricking, tingling, etc.
parenchyma. The specific tissues of a gland or organ.
paronychia. Felon, whitlow. Inflammation of the structures in the distal phalanx of the finger.
patella. Kneecap.
pathogenic. Causing disease.
pathology. That branch of medicine which treats of disease and the changes in the tissues of the body caused by disease.
pathy. Suffering, or disease as in Homeopathy—disease, the quality of being treated by likes.
pedicure. One who attends the feet, cosmetically.
per. Through, as in peripheral, away from the centre; the outer part of or surface.
peri. A Greek prefix meaning around or about.
peridental. Surrounding a tooth or part of a tooth.
periosteum. The fibrous membrane investing the surface of bones except at the point of tendinous and ligimentous attachment, and on the particular surfaces where cartilage is substituted.
periostitis. Inflammation of the periosteum.
periphery. The part of a body away from the centre; the outer part or surface, as of a bone or of a nerve.
peritoneum. The sac lining the abdominal cavity and covering most of the viscera therein contained.
perivascular. Surrounding a blood-vessel.
peroxid. An oxid with the highest amount of oxygen.
pes (pl. pedes). The foot.
phagocyte. A cell possessing the property of ingesting bacteria or other foreign particles.
phagocytosis. The destruction of microbes by the action of phagocytes.
phalanx. One of the long bones of the fingers or toes.
phenol. Carbolic acid.
phlebitis. Inflammation of a vein.
phlegmon. Acute suppurative inflammation of subcutaneous tissue.
physiology. The science which deals with the functions of living things.
picric acid. A combination of carbolic and nitric acids.
pigment. An organic coloring matter.
plantalgia. Pain on the sole of the foot.
plantar. Relating to the sole of the foot.
plaque. A flat patch or area on the skin or mucous membrane.
plasia. Moulding, as in hypoplasia. defective development.
plaster-of-Paris. Calcium sulphate.
plastic. Capable of being moulded.
plegia. Stroke, as in hemiplegia, paralysis of one side of the body and of the opposite side of the face.
plethoric. Relating to overfilled blood-vessels.
pleura. The serous membrane enveloping the lungs.
plexus. A new network of nerves or veins.
podagra. Gout, especially, typical gout in the great toe.
podagral. Gouty, relating to or suffering from gout.
podalic. Relating to the foot, as in podalgia, pain in the foot, podarthritis, inflammation of any of the tarsal or metatarsal joints.
podiatrist. One who treats diseases and disorders of the feet.
podobromidrosis. Fetid or foul smelling perspiration of the feet.
pododynia. Pain in the foot or podalgia.
podology. A treatise on the foot.
poly. A Greek prefix for much or many, ex: polyphagia, excessive eating.
poroma. Callus; exostosis.
potassium. An alkaline metallic element. Among the salts of potassium are: potassium bichromate, employed externally as a caustic to syphilitic vegetations; potassium hydroxide, used as a strong penetrating caustic.
poultice. A soft emulsion for external application.
pous. Foot, as in podiatrist.
pre. A prefix denoting anterior or before.
predisposing. Inclining to, as a disease.
prepatellar. In front of the patella.
prognosis. A forecast of the result. In medicine, the prior determination of the outcome of a disease.
proliferation. Cell-genesis, reproduction.
pronation. The act of rotating the forearm in such a way that the palm of the hand looks backward when the arm is in the anatomic position, or downward when the arm is extended at a right angle with the body. (Stedman.)
prophylactic. Preventing disease.
protargol. A combination of silver with a proteid base.
protean. Having the power to change form.
protonuclein. A preparation from the lymphoid tissue of animals.
protoplasm. Primitive organic cell matter.
protuberance. A projecting part.
pseudo. Prefix, signifying false.
ptomain. A crystallizable nitrogenous basic substance, produced by bacteria in dead animal or vegetable matter.
punctured. Wounded by a pointed instrument.
purge. A cathartic.
purulent. Having the character of pus.
pus. A fluid product of inflammation.
pustule. A soft purulent papule.
putrefaction. Organic decomposition, decay.
putrid. Manifesting putrefaction.
pyemia. A condition in which pyogenic bacteria circulate in the blood, and form abscesses wherever they lodge.
pyogenic. Developing or excreting pus.
pyorrhea. A discharge of pus.
pyorrhea alveolaris. Rigg’s disease; suppurative inflammation of the periosteum lining the teeth in their sockets.