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Glossary

Selected words and phrases

dyspepsia – a range of symptoms related to digestion problems that can include pain, nausea, heart burn. vomiting and pain in the stomach or upper intestine.

PCP – pneumocystis jiroveci (new) or pneumocystis carinii (old). A fungal infection that causes pneumonia.

PCP section of the training manual.

arrhythmia is the medical terms for a disturbance of the heart’s natural rhythm.

  • tachycardia refers to when the heart beats too fast.
  • bradycardia is when the heart beats too slowly.

meningitis – inflammation (-itis) of the meninges (part of fluid that surrounds the brain). Meningitis can be caused by different infections – ie bacterial meningitis (from bacterial infection), viral meningitis (form a virus) etc.

DNA – an abbreviation for the scientific word for genes and genetic material. It is the abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid. See RNA.