Glossary

central line – tube inserted into a deep vein to deliver medicine (Hickman line or PortaCath).

Atherosclerosis refers to a narrowing or hardening of large and medium sized arteries.

The narrowing is caused by a build-up of plaque, and usually takes many years.

As the walls of the artery thicken, the heart has to work harder to pump the same amount of blood through a narrower gap.

buprenorphine – strong pain-killer useful for treating heroin addiction. See also methadone.

Cmax – highest concentration of a drug after a dose.

What happens when you take a drug?

genotype test – a test that looks at how the genetic structure of a sample of HIV and whether the virus has changed with drug resistant mutations.