A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z     Identical Twin: twins produced by the division of a single zygote; both have identical genotypes. See also — fraternal twin. Idiotypes: The unique and characteristic parts of an antibody’s variable region, which can themselves, serve as antigens. Immune: the state of being secure against harmful agents (e.g., bacteria, virus, or other foreign proteins) or influences. Immune Clearance: clearance of antigen from the circulation after complexing with antibodies. Immunotherapy: using the immune system to treat disease, for example, in the development of vaccines. May also refer to the therapy of diseases caused by the immune system. See also — cancer. Immune Response: a specific response that results in immunity. The total response includes an afferent phase during which responsive cells are “primed” by antigen, a central response during which antibodies or sensitized lymphoid cells are formed, and an efferent or effector response during which immunity is effected by antibodies or immune cells. Immunity: the state of being able to resist or overcome harmful agents or influences. Active: Immunity acquired as the result of experience with an organism or other foreign substance. Passive: Immunity resulting from acquisition of antibody or sensitized lymphoid cells. Immunize: the act or process of rendering an individual resistant or immune to a harmful agent. Immunocompetent Cell (Antigen-sensitive Cell): any cell that can be stimulated by antigen to form antibodies or give rise to sensitized lymphoid cells, including inducible cells, primed cells, and memory cells. Immunoconjugate: a monoclonal antibody linked to a chemotherapy agent, radioisotope, or natural toxin to increase ability to kill target cells. Immunogen: an antigen that incites specific immunity. Immunoglobulins: classes of globulins to which all antibodies belong. Immunologic Enhancement: enhanced survival of incompatible tissue grafts (tumor or normal tissue) caused by specific humoral or other blocking factors. Immunologic Paralysis: absence of normal specific immunologic response to an antigen, resulting from previous contact with the same antigen, administered in a quantity greatly exceeding that required to elicit an immunologic response. The normal capacity to respond to other unrelated antigens is retained. Immunologic Surveillance: effective immunologic surveillance relies on the presence of tumor-specific antigenic determinants on the surfaces of neoplastic cells, which enable these altered cells to be recognized as non-self and to be destroyed by immunologic reactions. Immunologic Tolerance: (antigenic paralysis, immunologic suppression, immunologic unresponsiveness, antigen tolerance) failure of the antibody response to a potential antigen after exposure to that antigen. Tolerance commonly results from prior exposure to antigens. Immunoreaction: reaction between antigen and its antibody. Immunotoxin: a monoclonal antibody linked to a natural toxin. Impact: the total, direct and indirect, effects of a program, service or institution on a health status and overall health and socio-economic development. Impact Assessment: impact assessment is about judging the effect that a policy or activity will have on people or places. It has been defined as the “prediction or estimation of the consequences of a current or proposed action” (Vanclay and Bronstein, 1995) Impartial: not favoring a particular belief or point of view; unbiased. Implantation: attachment of the balstocyst to the endometrial lining of the uterus and subsequent embedding in the endometrium. Implantation begins at about 5-7 days after fertilization and may be complete as early as 8-9 days after fertilization. Implementation: the carrying out of a project or program. Imprinting: the imposition of a stable behavior pattern in a young animal by exposure, during a particular period in its development, to one of a restricted set of stimuli. Imprinting (Genetics): a phenomenon in which the disease phenotype depends on which parent passed on the disease gene. For instance, both Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes are inherited when the same part of chromosome 15 is missing. When the father’s complement of 15 is missing, the child has Prader-Willi, but when the mother’s complement of 15 is missing, the child has Angelman syndrome. Incentives: systems which reward and therefore tend to encourage certain types of activity. Incidence: occurrence, or the rate of occurrence. The number of instances of illness commencing or of persons falling ill, during a given period in a specified population. More generally, the number of new events, e.g., new cases of a disease in a defined population, within a specified period of time. The term incidence is sometimes used to denote INCIDENCE RATE. Incidence Rate: measures the new cases of a specific disease that develop during a defined period of time and the approximation of the risk for developing the disease. The incidence rate focuses on events. Incidence measures the probability of developing a disease. Incidence of Bacilloscopically Positive (BK+) Tuberculosis: the number of new cases of bacilloscopically confirmed tuberculosis, in a specific year, expressed per 100.000 population, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Incidence of Oral Cavity Cancer: incidence of oral cavity cancer (ICD-10: C00-C08). Age-standardized rate (ASR) per 100,000 world standard population. Incidence Rate: the number of new cases of a disease in a defined population over a specified period of time. Incontinence: accidental or involuntary loss of urine or feces (stool). A person may have urinary or fecal incontinence or both (sometimes called double incontinence). Independent Variable: the independent variable is used to explain the dependent variable. Index Admission: the first admission for the subject in the study period. Index Patient: the original patient diagnosed for a particular infection. Indicator: a variable with characteristics of quality, quantity and time used to measure, directly or indirectly, changes in a situation and to appreciate the progress made in addressing it. It also provides a basis for developing adequate plans for improvement. Variable susceptible of direct measurement that is assumed to be associated with a state that cannot be measured directly. Indicators are sometimes standardized by national or international authorities. Variable that helps to measure changes in a health situation directly or indirectly and to assess the extent to which the objectives and targets of a program are being attained. Markers for assessing and/or understanding a particular (social, economic, political, medical, etc.) phenomenon. Indirect Methods: methods or questions that obscure the data collector’s true intentions. Induced Abortion: intentional termination of pregnancy prior to fetus reaching the state of viability by mechanical (surgical) means or by drugs. Provoked termination of pregnancy. Indwelling Catheters: tube device inserted into the bladder to drain the urine continuously. Sometimes called a Foley catheter. Indwelling Urethral Catheterization: process of inserting a tube device into the bladder through the urethra to drain urine continuously. Inequalities Audit / Equity Audit: a review of inequalities within an area or of the coverage of inequalities issues in a policy, program or project, usually with recommendations as to how they can be addressed. Inequality in Health: differences in health across individuals in the population. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): the quotient between the number of deaths in children under 1 year of age in a given year and the number of live births in that year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area, expressed per 1,000 live births, as reported from the national health authority. The reported neonatal mortality rate is defined as the quotient between the number of children born alive that died before the age of 28 days in a given year and the number of live births in that year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area, expressed per 1,000 live births, as reported from the national health authority. The reported post-neonatal mortality rate is defined as the quotient between the number of children that were alive after 27 days of age and died before the age of 1 year in a given year and the number of live births in that year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area, expressed per 1,000 live births, as reported from the national health authority. The estimated infant mortality rate is the quotient between the number of deaths in children under 1 year of age in a given year and the number of live births in that year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area, expressed per 1,000 live births, as estimated by the United Nations’ Population Division. Infertility: inability to conceive; usually assumed to exist if pregnancy is not achieved after 12 months of regular sexual intercourse, without the use of any form of birth control. Infestation: development of a pathogenic agent on the body, e.g., body lice. Inflation: Consumer Prices Index’s Annual Growth Rate: the annual average rate of change in the cost, to the average consumer, of acquiring a defined basket of goods and services that may be fixed or changed at specific intervals, for a given national economy, during a one year period. Technical Note: Consumer price index is usually derived explicitly as the weighted arithmetic mean of the current prices of goods and services from the fixed basket, obtained through recurring price surveys, based on their fixed value-based weights for the base period (Laspeyres formula), which are also obtained from household expenditure surveys. Consumer price index growth rates are those estimated by the World Bank from the corresponding data in the United Nations’s Systems of National Accounts using the least-squares method. Informants: persons with special knowledge or insights based on experience, training, or social position. Information Asymmetry: the difference in the amount of information available to the various parties to a transaction which does not place them on equal footing to strike a deal. Informative: a term used to describe the situation when the two homologous chromosomes from an individual can be distinguished from one another at a given locus; heterozygous is an alternative term. Informed Consent: the ethical practice of providing sufficient information for potential research subjects to make informed decisions about their participation in a research study; informed consent involves the presentation to the subjects of a statement of all the risks and benefits of participation. Inner Cell Mass: the centrally located cells within the balstocyst; these cells will develop into the embryo. Inpatient: a patient who is formally admitted (or “hospitalized”) to an institution for treatment and/or care and stays for a minimum of one night in the hospital or other institution providing inpatient care. Input: a quantified amount of a resource put in a process. Insertion: a mutation caused by the presence of an additional sequence of nucleotide pairs in DNA. The addition of a DNA sequence into the genome. In-Situ Hybridization: use of a DNA or RNA probe to detect the presence of the complementary DNA sequence in cloned bacterial or cultured eukaryotic cells. Institution: an organization or association, established for the promotion of some object, especially one of public or general utility. Instrumental Goal: a goal whose pursuit is really a means to another end. Integrated Impact Assessment: integrated impact assessment brings together components of environmental, health, social and other forms of impact assessment in an attempt to incorporate an exploration of all the different ways in which policies, programs or projects may affect the physical, social and economic environment. Integrated Model: compulsory or voluntary health insurance or third-party funding in which both the insurance and provision of health care is supplied by the same organization in a vertically integrated system. Integrated Pollution Prevention Control Regulations: in October 1996 the European Commission published a Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) which came into effect on 30 October 1999. As a result, European Union Member States were required to introduce a regulatory system to ensure that particular industries take action to ensure “an integrated approach to pollution control” in order to achieve “a high level of protection for the environment as a whole” when considering both routine and accidental releases. The definition of pollution in the Directive includes releases to air, land or water “which may be harmful to human health”. In the UK, Pollution Prevention and Control regulations were introduced in 2000 and they require that health authorities are consulted on IPPC. Three are around 7,000 sites affected across the country and the types of activity which are covered by the regulations include the energy, metals, oil, chemical and waste management industries, paper production, food production and some intensive livestock rearing (University of Birmingham, 2002). Integrated Services: availability of multiple health services—for instance, family planning and STI treatment—through a single facility or at a single visit. Integration: incorporation of other services into already existing services. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR): these are exclusive rights, often temporary, granted by the state for the exploitation of intellectual creations. Intellectual property rights fall into two categories: rights relating to industrial property (invention patents, industrial designs and models, trademarks and geographical indications) and those relating to literary and artistic property (copyright). The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) covers the main categories of intellectual property law. Interferon: a family of proteins released by cells in response to a virus infection. These substances represent non-specific immunity and appear to have non-specific tumoricidal characteristics. Interleukin–1: a macrophage-derived cytokine that is necessary for the initial step in activation of specific T cells and the process of in vivo production of effector T cells. Interleukin–2: a lymphokine with multiple in vitro and in vivo effects. It is an essential factor for the growth of T cells; it augments various T cell functions; it supports the preservation and augmentation of NK cell function; and it is critical for the generation of LAK cells. Interleukins: polypeptides secreted by lymphocytes, monocytes, or other accessory cells that function in the regulation of the hematopoietic or immune system; these molecules have an important role in cell-to-cell communication. Intermediate HIA Monitoring and Evaluation: an intermediate HIA may combine a workshop with key stakeholders followed by desk based work to build up a more detailed picture of the potential health impacts than those which would be identified during a rapid or “mini” HIA. It may involve a limited literature search, usually non-systematic, and is mostly reliant on routine, readily available data (Parry and Stevens, 2001). Intermittent Catheterization: the use of catheters inserted through the urethra into the bladder every 3-6 hours for bladder drainage in persons with urinary retention. Intermittent catheterization performed by the patient at home is called clean intermittent catheterization (CIC). Internal Validity: the index and comparison groups are selected and compared in such a manner that the observed differences between them on the dependent variables under study may, apart from sampling error, be attributed only to the hypothesized effect under investigation. Intersectoral Action: action in which the health sector and other relevant sectors of the economy collaborate, or interact to pursue health goals. International Law: This is the body of rules that are binding on states and other subjects of international law, in particular international organizations, in their relations with each other. Closely related to the concept of sovereignty of states, the norms of international law are binding because states consent that they should be. The expression of this consent appears from the actual practice of states in the case of customary international law and from ratifications in the case of treaties, to which the concept of pacta sunt servanda applies. This asserts that treaties are binding on the parties to them and must be executed in good faith. To the extent that the rules of international law influence the behavior of states in world politics, they are a “social reality”, thus constituting an institution of “international society”, or proof of the existence of an international community. Intervention: an activity or set of activities aimed at modifying a process, course of action or sequence of events, in order to change one or several of their characteristics such as performance or expected outcome. Interview Protocol: standard list of questions together with guidance on how to classify responses. Intervention Research: also called operations research; research that includes design, implementation, and assessment of a service-delivery or community intervention. Intrauterine Growth Restriction: estimated fetal weight less than the 10th percentile. The term intrauterine growth restriction includes normal fetuses at the lower end of the growth spectrum, as well as those specific clinical conditions in which the fetus fails to achieve its inherent growth potential as a consequence of either pathologic extrinsic influences (such as maternal smoking) or intrinsic genetic defects (such as aneuploidy). Distinctions between normal and pathologic growth often cannot be made reliably in clinical practice, especially before birth. Intravesical Pressure: pressure within the bladder. Intrinsic Goal: a goal that is valued in and of itself. Intrinsic Sphincter Deficiency (ISD): cause of stress urinary incontinence in which the urethral sphincter is unable to contract and generate sufficient resistance in the bladder, especially during stress maneuvers. ISD may be due to congenital sphincter weakness, such as myelomeningocele or epispadias, or it may be acquired subsequent to prostatectomy, trauma, radiation therapy, or sacral cord lesions. Introitus: external vaginal opening. Intron: a region of a gene, made up of non-coding DNA sequences that lies between exons. Portions of genomic DNA that are interspersed between exons and are transcribed along with the exons into Heteronuclear RNA. Inverse Square Law: the intensity of radiation from a point varies inversely as the square of the distance from the source. Thus, the dose rate at 2 cm from a source is one fourth that at 1 cm. At 3 cm, the dose rate is one-ninth that at 1 cm. Inversion: a mutation involving the removal of a DNA sequence, its rotation through 180 degrees, and its reinsertion in the same location. In- Vitro: studies performed outside a living organism such as in a laboratory. In- Vivo: studies carried out in living organisms. Independent Assortment: during meiosis each of the two copies of a gene is distributed to the germ cells independently of the distribution of other genes. See also — linkage. Informatics: see — bioinformatics. Informed Consent: an individual willingly agrees to participate in an activity after first being advised of the risks and benefits. See also — privacy. Inherit: in genetics, to receive genetic material from parents through biological processes. Inherited: see — inherit. Insertion: a chromosome abnormality in which a piece of DNA is incorporated into a gene and thereby disrupts the gene’s normal function. See also — chromosome, DNA, gene, mutation. Insertional Mutation: see — insertion. Intellectual Property Rights: patents, copyrights, and trademarks. See also — patent. Interference: one crossover event inhibits the chances of another crossover event. Also known as positive interference. Negative interference increases the chance of a second crossover. See also — crossing over. Interphase: the period in the cell cycle when DNA is replicated in the nucleus; followed by mitosis. Intron: DNA sequence that interrupts the protein-coding sequence of a gene; an intron is transcribed into RNA but is cut out of the message before it is translated into protein. See also — exon. Ionization: the removal of an electron from an atom, leaving a positively charged ion. Ionizing Radiation: radiation capable of causing ionization. Ischemia: it is impairment of blood flow to tissues either because of constriction or frank obstruction of a blood vessel. Iso- : identical. Isoantibody: the term used in blood grouping studies to designate an antibody formed by one individual that reacts with antigens of another individual of the same species. See also alloantibody. Isoantigen: see alloantigen. The isoantigen is commonly used in hematology. Isoenzyme: an enzyme performing the same function as another enzyme but having a different set of amino acids. The two enzymes may function at different speeds. Isogeneic: see syngeneic. Isograft: see syngraft. Isoimmune: see alloimmune. Isologous: see syngeneic. Isotope: nuclides having an equal number of protons but a different number of neutrons (excitable situation).Read More

    A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z     Y Chromosome: one of the two sex chromosomes, X and Y. See also X chromosome, sex chromosome. Yeast Artificial Chromosome (YAC): constructed from yeast DNA, it is a vector used to clone large DNA fragments. See also — cloning vector, cosmid                Read More

    A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z     Junk DNA: stretches of DNA that do not code for genes; most of the genome consists of so-called junk DNA which may have regulatory and other functions. Also called non-coding DNA. Justice: it is the principle of rendering what is due to others. It is most complex of the ethical principles to be considered because it deals not only with the physician’s obligation to render to a patient what is owed but also with the physician’s role in allocation of limited medical resources in the community. The principle of justice applies at many levels.                Read More

    A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z Zinc-Finger Protein: a secondary feature of some proteins containing a zinc atom; a DNA-binding protein. Zygote: the single cell formed by the union of the male and female haploid gametes at syngamy.                  Read More

    A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z     Karyotype: the chromosome constitution of an individual. A photomicrograph of an individual’s chromosomes arranged in a standard format showing the number, size, and shape of each chromosome type; used in low-resolution physical mapping to correlate gross chromosomal abnormalities with the characteristics of specific diseases. Kegel Exercises: exercise named after Dr. Arnold Kegel, who first prescribed a specific set of pelvic-floor exercises to women in the 1940s. (see Pelvic Muscle Exercises). keV: 1,000 eV. Key Informant: person chosen to answer a survey on the grounds of a better knowledge and understanding of the issues under consideration. Kidney: one of two paired urine-making organs that lie in the back behind the 13th rib. The principal function is to filter the blood to separate out waste products, which are combined with excess water to form urine. Killer Cell (K Cell): sensitized T lymphocytes produce a helper factor that acts on the immunocompetent lymphoid cell to produce a population of cells, probably variants of the B cell, termed killer cells (K cells), which are able to attack tumor cells that have been exposed to a specific sensitizing antibody. Unlike in the usual humoral antibody (immunoglobulin) response, complement is not needed. Killer T Cell: a T cell with a particular immune specificity and an endogenously produced receptor for antigen, capable of specifically killing its target cell after attachment to the target cell by this receptor. Also called cytotoxic T cell. Kilobase (kb): unit of length for DNA fragments equal to 1000 nucleotides. Knockout: deactivation of specific genes; used in laboratory organisms to study gene function. See also — gene, locus, model organisms.Read More

    A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z     Leprosy Prevalence: the number of existing cases (new and old) from leprosy at the end of a specific year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Library: an unordered collection of clones (i.e., cloned DNA from a particular organism) whose relationship to each other can be established by physical mapping. See also — genomic library, arrayed library. Licensing: the establishment of legal restrictions defining which individuals or (institutions) have the rights to provide services or goods (usually based on meeting minimum requirements). Life Expectancy: the number of year of life that can be expected on average in a given population. Life Expectancy at Birth: the average number of years that a newborn could expect to live, if he or she were to pass through life exposed to the sex- and age-specific death rates prevailing at the time of his or her birth, for a specific year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Technical Note: Life expectancy at birth is derived from life tables and is based on sex- and age-specific death rates. Life expectancy at birth values from the United Nations correspond to mid-year estimates, consistent with the corresponding United Nations fertility medium-variant quinquennial population projections. Likert Response Scale: a series of responses ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”; “excellent” to “poor”; “very satisfied” to “very dissatisfied”, etc., often used to measure attitudes. Linear Energy Transfer (LET): the energy lost by the particle of photon per micron of path depth. High LET radiations are more effective against hypoxic cells. Linkage: the association of genes on the same chromosome. The proximity of two or more markers (e.g., genes, RFLP markers) on a chromosome; the closer the markers, the lower the probability that they will be separated during DNA repair or replication processes (binary fission in prokaryotes, mitosis or meiosis in eukaryotes), and hence the greater the probability that they will be inherited together. Linkage Disequilibrium: where alleles occur together more often than can be accounted for by chance. Indicates that the two alleles are physically close on the DNA strand. See also — Mendelian inheritance. Linkage Map: a map of the relative positions of genetic loci on a chromosome, determined on the basis of how often the loci are inherited together. Distance is measured in centimorgans (cM). Literacy Rate: the proportion of the adult population aged 15 years and over which is literate, expressed as a percentage of the corresponding population, total or for a given sex, in a given country, territory, or geographic area, at a specific point in time, usually mid-year. For statistical purposes, a person is literate who can with understanding both read and write a short simple statement on his/her everyday life. Technical Note: Literacy rate definition complies with the revised recommendation concerning the International Standardization of Educational Statistics, adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Literacy rate data represent mid-year estimated values. Live Birth Weight: the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of the pregnancy, which, after such separation, breathes or shows any other evidence of life. Localize: determination of the original position (locus) of a gene or other marker on a chromosome. Lochia: postpartum discharge which is often blood-stained, but not foul-smelling. Locus (pl. loci): the position on a chromosome of a gene or other chromosome marker; also, the DNA at that position. The use of locus is sometimes restricted to mean expressed DNA regions. A general term to describe a defined chromosome region. See also — gene expression. Longitudinal Design: a trend study, involving repeated data collection of independently selected samples from the same population over time; or: a panel study with information gathered from the same cases at two or more different times, with the sets of data linked by case. Long-Range Restriction Mapping: restriction enzymes are proteins that cut DNA at precise locations. Restriction maps depict the chromosomal positions of restriction-enzyme cutting sites. These are used as biochemical “signposts,” or markers of specific areas along the chromosomes. The map will detail the positions where the DNA molecule is cut by particular restriction enzymes. Long-Term Care (LTC): long-term care encompasses a broad range of help with daily activities that chronically disabled individuals need for a prolonged period of time. Loss of Heterozygosity: losses of specific regions of DNA from one copy of a given chromosome that can be distinguished from the region retained on the other chromosome. Low Birth Weight: a birth weight of less than 2500 g. Low Birth Weight Prevalence: the number of newborn children weighing less than 2,500 grams, as weighted at the time of birth or within the first hours of life, before significant postnatal weight loss has occurred, expressed per 1,000 live births, for a given year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Lower Genital Tract Infection: includes vaginal and cervical infection. Lower Urinary Tract: consists of the bladder, prostate gland (in men), urethra, and urinary sphincters. LUTS: abbreviation for lower urinary tract symptoms — a group of symptoms including 1) incontinence, 2) weak stream, 3) hesitancy, 4) urgency of urination, 5) nocturia, 6) postvoid dribbling, and 7) intermittency, an interrupted urinary stream. Lymphocyte: a round cell with scanty cytoplasm and a diameter of 7-12 µm. the nucleus is round, sometimes indented, with chromatin arranged in coarse masses and without visible nucleoli. Lymphocytes may be actively mobile. Lymphoid Cell: any or all cells of the lymphocytic and plasmacytic series. Lymphokines: substances released by sensitized lymphocytes when they come into contact with the antigen to which they are sensitized; examples include transfer factor, lymphocyte-transforming activity, migration inhibition factor, and lymphotoxin.Read More

    A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z     Macrophage: large mononuclear phagocyte. This cell may be called a histiocyte in the tissues; it is called a monocyte in the blood. An antigen must come in contact with or pass through a macrophage before it can become a processed antigen with the ability to encounter the then sensitize a small lymphocyte. Macrophage-Activating Factor: sensitized T lymphocytes can release a non-specific macrophage-activating factor that creates a cytotoxic population of macrophages that appear to distinguish malignant from normal cells, killing only malignant ones. Macrorestriction Map: map depicting the order of and distance between sites at which restriction enzymes cleave chromosomes. Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC): a cluster of genes encoding cell surface molecules that are polymorphic within a species and that code for antigens, which leads to rapid graft rejection between members of a single species that differ at these loci. Several classes of protein, such as MHC class I and class II proteins, are encoded in this region. Malformation: also congenital anomaly or birth defect. Any defect present at birth, probably of developmental origin. Managed Care: the use of a “manager” to control utilization of medical services and control costs. Managed Competition: government regulation of a health care market which uses competition as the means to achieve efficiency objectives within a framework of government intervention designed to achieve other policy objectives, such as equity. Management: the measures taken to plan, organize, operate and evaluate all the many elements of a system and the personnel involved. Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA): a technique for evacuating the contents of the uterus through use of a specially designed hand-held syringe. Mapping: see — gene mapping, linkage map, physical map. Mapping Population: the group of related organisms used in constructing a genetic map. Marginal Benefit: the additional benefit obtained by consuming the last (or next) unit of a commodity. Marker: see — genetic marker. Market Failure: the situation in which a market economy fails to attain economic efficiency. Market Mechanism: the interaction of buyers and sellers in market and mixed economies which determines the nature and volume of goods and services produced and their distribution. Mass Spectrometry: an instrument used to identify chemicals in a substance by their mass and charge. Maternal Mortality Ratio, Reported: the quotient between the number of maternal deaths in a given year and the number of live births in that same year, expressed by 100,000 live births, for a given country, territory, or geographic area, as reported from the national health authority. Maternal death is defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within the 42 days after termination of that pregnancy, regardless of the length and site of the pregnancy, due to any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy itself or its care but not due to accidental or incidental causes. Mean: the average of a sample of observations. Mean Value: the average of a set of numbers. In epidemiology, the sample mean is the average value of the observations in a sample. Meatus: opening to the urethra. Median: the middle value when the values are arranged in order from the smallest to the largest. Median Value: the median is a number that separates the upper 50% of a sample from the lower 50%. It is the middle value of a distribution. Medical Eligibility Criteria: criteria for a woman’s eligibility to use a contraceptive method, based on the relative health risks and benefits of using such a method for a woman with a given condition. Medical Savings Account: allows or mandates people to place money in (tax-free) savings accounts to be used only for medical expenses, usually in conjunction with the purchase of a catastrophic stop-loss health insurance plan. Megabase (Mb): unit of length for DNA fragments equal to 1 million nucleotides and roughly equal to 1 cM. See also — centimorgan. Meiosis: the process of two consecutive cell divisions in the diploid progenitors of sex cells. Meiosis results in four rather than two daughter cells, each with a haploid set of chromosomes. See also — mitosis. Memory Cells: cells that can mount an accelerated antibody response to antigen. Mendelian Inheritance: one method in which genetic traits are passed from parents to offspring. Named for Gregor Mendel, who first studied and recognized the existence of genes and this method of inheritance. See also — autosomal dominant, recessive gene, sex-linked. Messenger RNA (mRNA): RNA that serves as a template for protein synthesis. The mature form of processed RNA used as a template for directing translation of proteins. See also — genetic code. Meta-analysis: an amalgamation of studies — a complex task to avoid misleading conclusions. The goal of combining results from different sources is to delineate which features are universal. The quality of the studies included is important to the final result. Many think that only prospective randomized clinical trials should be combined for a meta-analysis because such trials are usually of the highest quality. Metaphase: a stage in mitosis or meiosis during which the chromosomes are aligned along the equatorial plane of the cell. Methylation: (see DNA Methylation). MeV: 1,000,000 eV. MHC Restriction: the ability of T lymphocytes to respond only when they are presented with the appropriate antigen to which in association with either self MHC class I or class II molecules. Microarray: sets of miniaturized chemical reaction areas that may also be used to test DNA fragments, antibodies, or proteins. Microbial Genetics: the study of genes and gene function in bacteria, archaea, and other microorganisms. Often used in research in the fields of bioremediation, alternative energy, and disease prevention. See also — model organisms, biotechnology, bioremediation. Microinjection: a technique for introducing a solution of DNA into a cell using a fine microcapillary pipet. Microinjection (of Sperm): injection of one or more sperm under the outer covering of the oocyte for fertilization. Micronuclei: chromosome fragments that are not incorporated into the nucleus at cell division. Micturition: another term for urination or voiding. Migration Inhibition Factor: a lymphokine produced when a sensitized lymphocyte is exposed to an antigen to which it is sensitized. Migration inhibition factor inhibits the migration of these lymphocytes. Milking: checking for penile discharge by placing the fingers of one hand several centimeters behind the scrotum and bringing them upward and forward towards the base of the penis. Minimum Data Set (MDS): federally mandated screening and assessment form for Medicare- and Medicaid-certified long-term care facilities in the United States. This form is completed within 14 days of admission to the facility, quarterly, and when there is a significant change in the resident’s status. An annual update is also required. The information collected in the MDS is used in planning the care of the individual. Minor Histocompatibility Antigens: these antigens, encoded outside the MHC, are numerous but do not generate rapid graft rejection or primary responses of T cells in vitro. They do not serve as restricting elements in cell interactions. Missense: a mutation that alters a codon so that it encodes a different amino acid. Mitochondrial DNA: the genetic material found in mitochondria, the organelles that generate energy for the cell. Not inherited in the same fashion as nucleic DNA. See also cell, DNA, genome, nucleus. Mitochondrial Inheritance: mitochondria are inherited exclusively from women. Because they contain DNA, mitochondrial inheritance allows transmission of genes directly from the woman to her offspring. Mitogen: a substance that induces immunocompetent lymphocytes to undergo blast transformation, mitosis, and cell division (causing mitosis or cell division). Mitosis: the process of nuclear division in cells that produces daughter cells that are genetically identical to each other and to the parent cell. See also — meiosis. Mixed Formulae: often payment of professionals is based on a mix of methods (i.e. capitation plus fee-for-service for some services). Similarly, systems can be supplemented by bonus/target payments as an incentive for achieving certain objectives. Mixed Urinary Incontinence: combination of involuntary leakage associated with urgency and also with exertion, effort, sneezing, and coughing. A person has both urge and stress urinary incontinence. Mobilization: one of three sub-functions in the financing of health systems which aims at identifying and getting the money required to meet the health needs of the people, individually and collectively, in a given health system. Models: simplified descriptions of processes or systems. Model Organisms: a laboratory animal or other organism useful for research. Modeling: the use of statistical analysis, computer analysis, or model organisms to predict outcomes of research. Molecular Biology: the study of the structure, function, and makeup of biologically important molecules. Molecular Farming: the development of transgenic animals to produce human proteins for medical use. Molecular Genetics: the study of macromolecules important in biological inheritance. Molecular Medicine: the treatment of injury or disease at the molecular level. Examples include the use of DNA-based diagnostic tests or medicine derived from DNA sequence information. Monitoring: the ongoing process of collecting and analyzing information about the implementation of the activity such as newborn resuscitation. Monitoring and Evaluation: monitoring is the process of keeping track of events. For example, the monitoring of a project may involve counting the number of people coming into contact with it over a period of time or recording the way in which the project is administered and developed. Evaluation involves making a judgment as to how successful (or otherwise) a project has been, with success commonly being measured as the extent to which the project has met its original objectives. Both the “process” (activities) and “outcomes” (what is produced, for example in terms of changes in the health of those targeted by the project) can be monitored and evaluated. Monoclonal Antibody: antibodies with such high intrinsic specificity that only one or two antigenic determinants are recognized. Monogenic Disorder: a disorder caused by mutation of a single gene. See also — mutation, polygenic disorder. Monogenic Inheritance: see — monogenic disorder. Monokines: soluble substances, secreted by monocytes, that have a variety of effects on other cells. Monosomy: possessing only one copy of a particular chromosome instead of the normal two copies. See also — cell, chromosome, gene expression, trisomy. Moral Hazard: The possibility of consumers or providers exploiting a benefit system unduly to the detriment or disadvantage of other consumers, providers or the financing community as a whole, without having to bear the financial consequences or their behavior in part or in full. Morbidity: a state of disease. Morbid Map: a diagram showing the chromosomal location of genes associated with disease. Morula: a compact sphere of 16 blastomeres that forms at about 3-4 days after fertilization. Morbidity Rate: illness or disability rate, usually expressed per 1000 population. Mortality Rate: death rate per defined population, usually expressed per 1000. Mortality Rate from Land Transport Accidents, Estimated: the estimated total number deaths from land transport accidents, in the total population or of a given sex and/or age, divided by the total number of this population, expressed per 100,000 population, for a given year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Underlying causes of death grouped under this heading are those ICD-10 codes V01-V89. Mortality Rate from Motor Vehicle Traffic Accidents, Estimated: the estimated total number deaths from motor vehicle traffic accidents, in the total population or of a given sex and/or age, divided by the total number of this population, expressed per 100,000 population, for a given year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Underlying causes of death grouped under this heading are those under ICD-9 codes E810-E819 or ICD-10 codes V02-V04(.1-.9), V09.2,V09.3,V12-V14(.3-.6), V19(.4-.6),V20-V28(.3-.9), V29-V78(.4-.9),V80(.3-.5), V81.1,V82.1,V83-V86(.0-.3), V87(.0-.8),V89.2,V89.9. Mosaic: an individual composed of two or more genetically dissimilar cell lines but from the same species. This can come about by somatic mutation or by grafting cells between individuals of close genetic constitution, such as dizygotic twins. Mosaicism: the presence of two or more populations of cells with different characteristics within one tissue or organ. Mother-To-Child Transmission (MTCT): transmission of HIV from an infected mother to her infant during pregnancy, labor or after delivery through breast milk. Mouse Model: see — model organisms. Multicenter Trial: a single trial conducted according to a single protocol but at more than one site (from ICH E6). These sites may be across multiple countries. They are advantageous because they offer more rapid patient accrual and allow for greater protocol complexity. Multicenter trials reduce the opportunity for an individual’s bias to influence the conduct of the trial; they increase the likelihood for the inclusion of a more representative study population and facilitate a higher standard for data processing and analysis. Multidisciplinary: HIA is not the preserve of any one disciplinary group. Instead, it draws on the experience and expertise of a wide range of “stakeholders”, who are involved throughout the process. These may include professionals with knowledge relevant to the issues being addressed, key decision makers, relevant voluntary organizations and — perhaps most importantly — representatives of the communities whose lives will be affected by the policy (Barnes and Scott-Samuel, 1999). Multifactorial Inheritance: inheritance of traits that are determined by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Multifactorial or Multigenic Disorder: see — polygenic disorder. Multiplexing: a laboratory approach that performs multiple sets of reactions in parallel (simultaneously); greatly increasing speed and throughput. Multistage Sampling: a multistage sample is an extension of a cluster sample, where the initial clusters are broken into further smaller clusters. Once a final selection of clusters to sample is made, a proportion of the subjects within each cluster is sampled. (e.g. if the sampling frame was an entire country then the country would be broken down into regions, then these regions would be broken down into cities and towns and then these would be randomly sampled). Multivariate Analysis: a technique of analysis of data that factors many variables. A mathematical model is constructed that simultaneously determines the effect of one variable while evaluating the effect of other factors that may have an influence on the variable being tested. The two most common algorithms developed to accomplish this task are the step-up and stop-down procedure. Variables are added to an initial small set or deleted from an initial large set while testing repeatedly to see which new factor makes a statistical contribution to the overall model. Murine: organism in the genus Mus. A rat or mouse. Mutagen: an agent that causes a permanent genetic change in a cell. Does not include changes occurring during normal genetic recombination. Mutagenicity: the capacity of a chemical or physical agent to cause permanent genetic alterations. See also — somatic cell genetic mutation. Mutation: an alteration of DNA sequencing in a gene those results in a heritable change in protein structure or function that frequently has adverse effects. Any heritable change in DNA sequence. See also — polymorphism. Myc Proto-Oncogenes: the proto-oncogene family that includes c-myc, N-myc, L-myc, and R-myc. They encode nuclear-associated DNA-binding proteins that affect DNA replication and transcription.Read More

    A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z     National Health Accounts: information, usually in the form of indicators, a country may collect on its health expenditures. Indicators may include total health expenditure, public expenditure, private expenditure, out-of-pocket expenditure, tax-funded and other public expenditure, social security expenditure, public expenditure on health. National Level Planning: the continuous, comprehensive and coordinated planning for the allocation or investment of a country’s resources in a way that achieves the desired pace or level of economic and social development. Natural Antibodies: antibodies that occur naturally without deliberate antigen stimulation. Natural Capital: the environment and natural resources. Natural Killer Lymphocytes (NK Cells): lymphocytes that are active in the immune surveillance of tumor. NK cells can lyse malignant target cells in vitro and appear to need no prior sensitization. Near-term: thirty-four or more completed weeks of gestation. Need: what a person requires in terms of health care. Negative Predictive Value: in screening and diagnostic tests, the probability that an individual with a negative test result does not have the condition is referred to as the predictive value of a negative test. Neighborhood: the term neighborhood usually refers to a local area which is defined in some way physically (for example, an estate or an area bounded by major roads) or by people’s perceptions of what constitutes their local area. Neighborhoods are usually fairly small. For example, neighborhoods designated for New Deal for Communities funding are usually made up of around 4,000 households or around 10,000 people. Neonatal Death: death of a live-born infant during the first 28 completed days of life. May be subdivided into early neonatal death, occurring during the first seven days of life, and late neonatal death, occurring after the seventh day but before 28 completed days of life. Neonatal Depression: clinical signs of neonatal depression include low Apgar score and its components and correlates, such as hypotonia; depressed reflexes including cry, suck, Moro’s embrace; decreased consciousness; difficulty in initiating and maintaining respiration; poor color; and bradycardia. Neonatal Encephalopathy: a clinically defined syndrome of disturbed neurologic function in the earliest days of life in the term infant, manifested by difficulty with initiating and maintaining respiration, depression of tone and reflexes, subnormal level of consciousness, and often by seizures. Nervous System: voluntary nervous system and the involuntary nervous system are composed of the brain, the spinal cord, and sensory nerves, which provide messages to the brain from the body, and motor nerves, which provide messages from the brain to the muscles and help muscles function. Network: a grouping of individuals, organizations and agencies organized on a non hierarchical basis around common issues or concerns, which are pursued proactively and systematically, based on commitment and trust. Neu: see c-erb-b2 proto-oncogene. Neurogenic Bladder Dysfunction: condition in which there is an abnormality of the nerve supply to the lower urinary tract that results in incontinence or the inability to completely empty the bladder (urinary retention). It is usually caused by neurological conditions, such as diabetes, stroke, or spinal cord injury. NGO: Non-Governmental Organization. Nitrogenous Base: a nitrogen-containing molecule having the chemical properties of a base. DNA contains the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). See also — DNA. Nocturnal Enuresis: complaint of loss of urine during sleep. In children it is called bedwetting. Nocturnal Frequency: needing to void one or more times per night between the time the person goes to bed with the intention of sleeping and the time the person wakes with the intention of rising. Nocturnal Polyuria: present when more than one third of the 24-hour output occurs at night (normally 8 hours while person is in bed). The nighttime urine output excludes the last void before sleep but includes the first void of the morning. Non-Contributing Register: a register that does not submit data, either directly or indirectly, to the Central Repository. This is because some registers may wish to be part of the Register Network but do not meet one or more of the Criteria for a Contributing Register. Non-Experimental Research Design: lacking one or more of the features of internal control (e.g., random assignment, a comparison group) that characterizes true experimental designs (also known as pre-experimental designs). Nonmaleficence: it is the obligation not to harm or cause injury and is best known in the maxim primum nonnocere: “First, do no harm”. Although there are some subtle distinctions between nonmaleficence and beneficence, they often are considered as manifestations of a single principle. These two principles taken together are operative in almost every decision to treat patient, because every medical or surgical treatment has both benefits and risks, which must be balanced knowledgeably. Non-Probability Sample: any non-randomized sample. A non probability sample is one in which individuals are selected for a survey on the basis of some shared characteristic. For example, all the students in the same classroom, or all the patients attending a diabetes clinic. These examples, also known as convenience samples, introduce a bias into the measurement of the outcome of interest. For example, patents who attend diabetes clinic may either already know or suspect that they suffer from the disease. Thus, the prevalence of diabetes in this sample is likely to be very high, and not representative of the prevalence of diabetes in the community. Non-Reassuring Fetal Heart Rate Monitor Strip/Tracing: fetal heart rate patterns that may in some cases suggest the fetus is depressed, hypoxic, or acidotic, including persistent variable decelerations of fetal heart rate that become progressively deeper or longer lasting (generally to <70 beats per minute and lasting >60 seconds) and show persistent slow return to baseline, persistent late decelerations, prolonged deceleration (an isolated, abrupt decrease to levels below the baseline lasting at least 60-90 seconds), and sinusoidal heart rate pattern (regular oscillation of the baseline long-term variability resembling a sine wave, lasting at least 10 minutes, usually occurring at a rate of 3-5 cycles per minute and an amplitude of 5-15 beats per minute higher and lower than the baseline, not to be confused with benign small, frequent accelerations of low amplitude). Nonsense Mutation: a nucleotide substitution that results in a truncated protein product by generating a stop codon specifying premature cessation of translation within an open reading frame. Non-Specific Immunization: refers to stimulation of the general immune response by the use of materials (e.g., BCG or phytohemagglutinin) that are not antigenically related to the specific tumor. Northern Blot: a technique for transferring RNA from an electrophoresis gel to a nitrocellulose filter on which it can be hybridized to a complementary DNA (cDNA) probe. A gel-based laboratory procedure that locates mRNA sequences on a gel that are complementary to a piece of DNA used as a probe. See also — DNA, library. Nuclear Transcription Factors: proteins involved in regulating the expression of genes by controlling transcription. Some factors enhance and others repress gene expression and others do both, depending on the intracellular environment. Nuchal Translucency Measurement: accumulated fluid behind the fetal neck is measured in a standardized way. Nuclear Transfer: a laboratory procedure in which a cell’s nucleus is removed and placed into an oocyte with its own nucleus removed so the genetic information from the donor nucleus controls the resulting cell. Such cells can be induced to form embryos. This process was used to create the cloned sheep “Dolly”. See also — cloning. Nucleolar Organizing Region: a part of the chromosome containing rRNA genes. Nucleotide: a component of a DNA or RNA molecule composed of a nitrogenous base, one deoxyribose or ribose sugar, and one phosphate group. In DNA, adenine specifically joins to thymine and guanine joins to cytosine. In RNA, uracil replaces thymine. A subunit of DNA or RNA consisting of a nitrogenous base (adenine, guanine, thymine, or cytosine in DNA; adenine, guanine, uracil, or cytosine in RNA), a phosphate molecule, and a sugar molecule (deoxyribose in DNA and ribose in RNA). Thousands of nucleotides are linked to form a DNA or RNA molecule. See also — DNA, base pair, RNA. Nucleus: the cellular organelle in eukaryotes that contains most of the genetic material. Nude Mice: mice born with a congenital absence of the thymus. The blood and thymus-dependent areas of the lymph nodes and spleen are depleted of lymphocytes. Null Hypothesis: this hypothesis, symbolized by H0, is a statement claiming that there is no difference between the experimental and population means. The alternative hypothesis (H1) is the opposite of the null hypothesis. Often in research we need to be able to test for both the positive and adverse outcomes, therefore a two-tailed hypothesis is chosen, even though the expectation of the experiment is in a particular direction. Number of Confirmed Cases of Measles: the number of cases from measles confirmed by laboratory, in a specific year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Number of Confirmed Cases of Poliomyelitis: the number of cases from poliomyelitis due to wild poliovirus confirmed by laboratory in a specific year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Number of Infant Deaths, Reported: the number of deaths in children under 1 year of age in a given year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area, expressed as number of deaths, as reported from the national health authority. Number of Maternal Deaths, Reported: the number of maternal deaths in a given year and the number of live births in that same year for a given country, territory, or geographic area, as reported from the national health authority. Maternal death is defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within the 42 days after termination of that pregnancy, regardless of the length and site of the pregnancy, due to any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy itself or its care, but not due to accidental or incidental causes. Number of Outpatient Care Facilities: the number of outpatient health care facilities, affiliated to all health institutions, in operation during a given year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Outpatient health care is defined as any professional encounter or contact, as an act of health service, between a non-hospitalized individual and a health worker responsible for the evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, or referral of that person in that encounter. Outpatient health care facility is defined as any type of physical area primarily designated to deliver outpatient health care services. Institutional affiliation includes any outpatient health care facility managed by the Ministry of Health or by a governmental equivalent, by Social Security systems, including those for the Army and Police Forces, and by private, for-profit or non-profit, voluntary-driven or not, organizations. Number of Registered Cases of Cholera: the number of cases registered from cholera in a specific year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Number of Registered Cases of Dengue: the number of cases registered from dengue in a specific year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Number of Registered Cases of Diphtheria in Children Under Age 5: the number of cases registered from diphtheria in children less than 5 years old in a specific year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Number of Registered Cases of Human Rabies: the number of cases registered from human rabies in a specific year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Number of Registered Cases of Malaria: the number of cases registered from malaria in a specific year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Number of Registered Cases of Pertussis in Children Under Age 5: the number of incident cases registered from whooping cough in children less than 5 years old in a specific year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Number of Registered Cases of Plague: the number of cases registered from plague in a specific year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Number of Registered Cases of Tetanus Neonatorum: the number of cases registered from neonatal tetanus in a specific year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Number of Registered Cases of Yellow Fever: the number of cases registered from yellow fever in a specific year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Number of Registered Deaths due to AIDS: the number of deaths in total or by sex for which the underlying cause of death was Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) (ICD-9 codes 279.5 or 279.6; 042-044; ICD-10 codes B20-B24) for a given year, in a given country, territory or geographic area. Number of Registered Deaths due to Measles: the number of total registered deaths for which the underlying cause of death was measles (ICD-9 code 055; ICD-10 code B05) for a given year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Number of Registered Deaths due to Neonatal Tetanus: the number of deaths for which the underlying cause of death was neonatal tetanus (ICD-9 code 771.3; ICD-10 code A033) for a given year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Nurse: a person who has completed a program of basic nursing education and is qualified and authorized in his/ her country to practice nursing in all settings for the promotion of health, prevention of illness, care of the sick and rehabilitation.Read More

    A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z     Objective: the end result a program, a project or an institution seeks to achieve. A specific end point, condition or situation one is determined to achieve. A measurable condition or level of achievement at each stage of progression toward a goal. Observation: a data-collection technique that involves personally witnessed documentation of events. Occupancy Rate: the percentage of a hospital’s beds filled at a specific time (or in a specific period). Odds Ratio (OR): An odds of an event is the number of events divided by the number of non-events. In epidemiology an event might be a disease studied in the exposed group versus the control group, e.g. lung cancer. An odds ratio is obtained by dividing the odds in the exposed group by the control group. The ratio of odds that an event will occur in one group compared with the odds that the event will occur in the other group. An odds ratio of 1 means that both groups have a similar likelihood of having an event. Oligo: see — oligonucleotide. Oligogenic: a phenotypic trait produced by two or more genes working together. See also polygenic disorder. Oligonucleotide: a molecule usually composed of 25 or fewer nucleotides; used as a DNA synthesis primer. See also — nucleotide. Oligonucleotide Primer: a short sequence of nucleotides that is necessary to hybridize to a DNA or RNA strand using the enzymes DNA polymerase or reverse transcriptase. Oncogene: a gene, one or more forms of which is associated with cancer. Many oncogenes are involved, directly or indirectly, in controlling the rate of cell growth. Genes that regulate cell growth in a positive fashion (i.e., promote cell growth). Oncogenes include transforming genes of viruses and normal cellular genes (proto-oncogenes) that are activated by mutations to promote cell growth. Oncogenic: an agent capable of causing normal cells to acquire neoplastic characteristics. The term is often applied to viruses, such as adenoviruses. One-tail Test: a test to determine a difference in only one direction; for example, to determine if drug A is better than drug B. Oocyte: an immature female reproductive cell, one that has not completed the maturing process to form an ovum (gamete). Open-Ended Questions: free response questions that allow respondents to answer in their own words in either written form via questionnaires or expressed verbally to an interviewer. Open Enrolment: a period during which an insurer may be required to take any new member or subscriber irrespective of their risk. Open Reading Frame (ORF): the sequence of DNA or RNA located between the start-code sequence (initiation codon) and the stop-code sequence (termination codon). A sequence of DNA representing at least some of the coding portion of a gene that is transcribed and subsequently translated into a protein because it does not contain any internal translation termination codons. Operations Research: also called intervention research; research that includes design, implementation, and assessment of a service-delivery or community intervention. Operon: a set of genes transcribed under the control of an operator gene. Opting-In: the process whereby people choose to participate in a — usually public — health plan that they would not belong to without their active decision to do so. Opting-Out: the process whereby people choose not to participate in the — usually public — health plan they would be assigned to if they don’t make an active decision. Outcomes: a change to a situation resulting from an action. The effect the process has had on the people targeted by it. These might include, for example, changes in their self-perceived health status or changes in the distribution of health determinants, or factors which are known to affect their health, well-being and quality of life. Outputs: the products or results of the process. These might include, for example, how many people a project has affected, their ages and ethnic groups or the number of meetings held and the ways in which the findings of the project are disseminated. Out-of-Pocket Expenditure: in public health, especially in relations to national health accounts, the sum of all out-of pocket payment made by individuals. Out-of-Pocket Payment: fee paid by the consumer of health services directly to the provider at the time of delivery. Outcomes Research: evaluates the impact of health care on the health outcomes of patients and populations. Outpatient: a patient who receives treatment without being hospitalized. Outpatient Health Care Visits Ratio: the number of outpatient health care visits per every 1,000 inhabitants in a population, at a given year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Output: the result of a process. Overactive Bladder (OAB): condition characterized by involuntary detrusor contractions during the bladder filling phase, which may be spontaneous or provoked and which the patient cannot suppress. Overflow Incontinence: involuntary loss of urine associated with over-distension of the bladder. Overflow incontinence results from urinary retention that causes the capacity of the bladder to be overwhelmed. Continuous or intermittent leakage of a small amount of urine results. Overlapping Clones: see — genomic library. Oxygen Enhancement Ratio (OER): the ratio of the dose required for a given level of cell killing under hypoxic conditions compared with the dose needed in air.Read More

    A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z     P1-derived artificial chromosome (PAC): one type of vector used to clone DNA fragments (100- to 300-kb insert size; average, 150 kb) in Escherichia coli cells. Based on bacteriophage (a virus) P1 genome. See also — cloning vector. Painful Bladder Syndrome (PBS): complaint of suprapubic pain related to bladder filling, accompanied by other symptoms such as increased daytime and nighttime frequency, in the absence of proven urinary tract infection or other obvious pathology. This term is used in place of interstitial cystitis (IC). Palindrome (Inverted Repeats): these are sequences that look the same if read forward or backward. This allows the sequence to fold back on itself, and it is particularly susceptible to mutation. Palpate / Palpation: to feel with the palmar surface of the hands and fingers to delineate organs, masses, and tenderness during a physical examination. Paramedical Staff: personnel including all types of professions related to medicine, e.g. personnel in the fields of nursing, midwifery, sanitation, dental hygiene, pharmacy, physiotherapy, laboratory medicine, therapeutic exercise, etc. Parasympathetic Nerves: maintenance component of the automatic nervous system. Stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system that innervates the bladder promotes voiding by stimulating the bladder muscle to contract, causing the urge sensation, and indirectly relaxing the internal urethral sphincter, which allows urine to enter the urethra. Stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system that innervates the intestinal tract will increase motility and secretion. Parenteral Therapy: therapy given by some other means than through the gastrointestinal tract; usually refers to drugs given intravenously, intramuscularly or subcutaneously. Partner Register: a register that provides data indirectly to the Central Repository, usually via a Primary Register. Partnership: a group of people or organizations brought together with a common purpose such as developing a regeneration program or undertaking. Passive Transfer of Immunity: the transfer of specific antibody from one individual to another. Patent: in genetics, conferring the right or title to genes, gene variations, or identifiable portions of sequenced genetic material to an individual or organization. See also — gene. Pathogen: a microorganism, such as a bacterium, that lives on and feeds from a host and causes disease. Patient: a person in contact with the health system seeking attention for a health condition. Patient-Centered Care: an approach to care that consciously adopts a patient’s perspective. Patients’ Rights: a set of rights, responsibilities and duties under which individuals seek and receive health care services. Pay-As-You-Go System: a system of insurance financing under which total expenditure in a given period is met by income from contributions and other sources from the same period. Payment: the allocation of resources (usually money) to health sector organizations and individuals in return for some activity (e.g. delivering services, managing organizations). Payroll Tax: a tax paid by the employer on the basis of its presence on the payroll. Pedigree: a family tree diagram that shows how a particular genetic trait or disease has been inherited. See also — inherit. Pelvic Diaphragm: levator ani group. Pelvic Muscle Exercises (PMEs): repetitive active exercise of the levator ani muscle to improve urethral resistance and urinary control by strengthening the periurethral and pelvic muscles. Also called Kegel exercises, pelvic-floor exercises, or pelvic-floor muscle training. Pelvic Muscles: general term referring to the muscles of the pelvic diaphragm and urogenital diaphragm as one unit. These muscles form a “hammock” slung from the front of the pelvis to the back. They support the organs of the pelvis — the bladder, uterus and rectum. Also referred to as pelvic floor. Pelvis: ring of bones at the lower end of the trunk in which the pelvic organs lie. Penetrance: the ability of a mutant gene to be expressed in an individual who carries the gene. The probability of a gene or genetic trait being expressed. “Complete” penetrance means the gene or genes for a trait are expressed in all the population who have the genes. “Incomplete” penetrance means the genetic trait is expressed in only part of the population. The percent penetrance also may change with the age range of the population. Penumbra: the radiation outside the full beam, which is often caused by scatter or incomplete collimation. Peptide: two or more amino acids joined by a bond called a “peptide bond.” See also — polypeptide. Per-diem Charge / Fee / Payment: payment for services per day usually for inpatient treatment. Performance: the level of attainment of a goal in comparison to a given effort. Perinatal Death: death of a fetus or a newborn in the perinatal period that commences at 22 completed weeks (154 days) of gestation (the time when birth weight is normally 500 g) and ends seven completed days after birth. Perinatal Period: from 20 weeks of gestation to 28 days of life. Perineum: area between the anus and vagina in women and anus and base of penis in men. Person Time: the sum of the observation period of risk for the persons in a group being studied. Pessary: devices for women that are placed intra-vaginally to treat pelvic relaxation or prolapse or pelvic organs by supporting or lifting these organs. Phage: a virus for which the natural host is a bacterial cell. Pharmacogenomics: the study of the interaction of an individual’s genetic makeup and response to a drug. Pharmacological Treatment: use of medications to treat urinary incontinence. Phenocopy: a trait not caused by inheritance of a gene but appears to be identical to a genetic trait. Phenotype: observable physical characteristics of an organism resulting from the expression of the genotype and its interaction with the environment. The physical characteristics of an organism or the presence of a disease that may or may not be genetic. See also — genotype. Phimosis: when the orifice of the foreskin is constricted, preventing retraction of the foreskin over the glans of the penis. Physical Map: a map of the locations of identifiable landmarks on DNA (e.g., restriction-enzyme cutting sites, genes), regardless of inheritance. Distance is measured in base pairs. For the human genome, the lowest-resolution physical map is the banding patterns on the 24 different chromosomes; the highest-resolution map is the complete nucleotide sequence of the chromosomes. Physician: a person who has completed studies in medicine at the university level. To be legally licensed for the independent practice of medicine, (s) he must, in most cases, undergo additional postgraduate training in a hospital. Physicians Ratio: the number of physicians available per every 10,000 inhabitants in a population, at a given year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Phytohemagglutinins: lectins extracted from the red kidney bean, Phaseolus vulgaris or P. Communis, the extract can be purified to yield a glycoprotein mitogen that stimulates lymphocyte transformation and causes agglutination of certain red cells; provides a method for calculating the pool of thymus-dependent lymphocytes (T cells). Pilot Study: an initial or trial test of an intervention. Planning: a process of organizing decisions and actions to achieve particular ends, set within a policy. Plasma Cell: end-stage differentiation of a B cell to an antibody-producing cell. Plasmid: autonomously replicating extra-chromosomal circular DNA molecules, distinct from the normal bacterial genome and nonessential for cell survival under nonselective conditions. Some plasmids are capable of integrating into the host genome. A number of artificially constructed plasmids are used as cloning vectors. Pleiotropy: one gene that causes many different physical traits such as multiple disease symptoms. Pluripotency: the potential of a cell to develop into more than one type of mature cell, depending on environment. Point Mutation: the replacement of one nucleotide in the DNA sequence of the wild type with anther nucleotide. Pokeweed Mitogen: a mitogen extracted from the pokeweed plant; it can be purified to yield a specific glycoprotein. Pokeweed mitogen stimulates blast formation of both B and T cells. Polyclinic: a type of health provider that provides ambulatory health care for more than one specialty of services. Policy: a written statement used to guide and determine present and future decisions about standards of care. A policy can be defined as an agreement or consensus on a range of issues, goals and objectives which need to be addressed (Ritsatakis et al., 2000). For example, “Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation” can be seen as a national health policy aimed at improving the health of the population of England, reducing health inequalities and setting objectives and targets which can be used to monitor progress towards the policy’s overall goal or aims. Policy Formulation: the development, expression and adoption of a policy. Polygenic Disorder: genetic disorder resulting from the combined action of alleles of more than one gene (e.g., heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers). Although such disorders are inherited, they depend on the simultaneous presence of several alleles; thus the hereditary patterns usually are more complex than those of single-gene disorders. See also — single-gene disorder. Polygenic Inheritance: inheritance of traits that are determined by the combined effects of many genes. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR): a method for enzymatically amplifying a short sequence of DNA through repeated cycles of denaturation, binding with an oligonucleotide primer and extension of the primers by a DNA polymerase. A method for amplifying a DNA base sequence using a heat-stable polymerase and two 20-base primers, one complementary to the (+) strand at one end of the sequence to be amplified and one complementary to the (-) strand at the other end. Because the newly synthesized DNA strands can subsequently serve as additional templates for the same primer sequences, successive rounds of primer annealing, strand elongation, and dissociation produce rapid and highly specific amplification of the desired sequence. PCR also can be used to detect the existence of the defined sequence in a DNA sample. Polymerase, DNA or RNA: enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of nucleic acids on preexisting nucleic acid templates, assembling RNA from ribonucleotides or DNA from deoxyribonucleotides. Polymorphism: minor differences that distinguish one individual from another. Difference in DNA sequence among individuals that may underlie differences in health. Genetic variations occurring in more than 1% of a population would be considered useful polymorphisms for genetic linkage analysis. See also — mutation. Polypeptide: a protein or part of a protein made of a chain of amino acids joined by a peptide bond. Polyuria: excretion of a large volume of urine (usually >2.5 liters in 24 hours). Can be a result of uncontrolled diabetes mellitus or the administration of a diuretic. Population: all the inhabitants of a country, territory, or geographic area, total or for a given sex and/or age group, at a specific point of time. In demographic terms it is the total number of inhabitants of a given sex and/or age group that actually live within the border limits of the country, territory, or geographic area at a specific point of time, usually mid-year. The mid-year population refers to the actual population at July 1st. Population at Malaria Risk: the proportion of the population residing in areas of moderate and high transmission of malaria, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Areas of moderate and high transmission are those in which the Annual Parasite Index (API) (=number of confirmed malaria cases/1,000 pop) is between 1-10/1,000 and over 10 per thousand respectively. Areas of low transmission are those with an API below 1 per 1,000 population. Population Genetics: the study of variation in genes among a group of individuals. Population Medicine: analysis and assessment of health care on the basis of the community or group rather than the individual. Population Sample: a randomized sample that is statistically representative of a particular population. Positional Cloning: a technique used to identify genes, usually those that are associated with diseases, based on their location on a chromosome. Positive Predictive Value: in screening and diagnostic tests, the probability that an individual with a positive test result is a true positive (ie, does have the condition) is referred to as the predictive value of a positive test. Post-Abortion: period of time that immediately follows abortion, usually no longer than 2 weeks. Post-Abortion Care: care given to manage complications of abortion. Key elements include emergency treatment of abortion complications, family planning counseling and services, and links to comprehensive reproductive health services. The treatment of abortion complications, provision of post-abortion family-planning services (including counseling and contraceptive method delivery, and delivery), and linkages to other appropriate reproductive health services. Postmature-Dysmature Neonate: an undernourished newborn who exhibits wasting of subcutaneous tissue, meconium staining, and peeling of skin; approximately 10-20% of true postterm fetuses exhibit these findings at birth. Postpartum: the first 6 weeks after childbirth. Post-Term: 42 completed weeks or more (294 days or more) of gestation. Postterm Pregnancy: gestation of 42 weeks or more (294 days or more from the first day of the last menstrual period); the term “postdates” can be simply interpreted as a pregnancy 1 or more days beyond the expected date of confinement and is not synonymous with postterm pregnancy. Post Void Dribbling: involuntary loss of urine immediately after a person has finished voiding. Post Void Residual (PVR): volume of urine remaining in the bladder immediately following the completion of urination. Estimation of PVR volume can be made by abdominal palpation and percussion or bimanual examination. Specific measurement or PVR volume can be accomplished by catheterization, pelvic ultrasound, radiography, or radioisotope studies. Potential Years of Life Lost: measure of the years of life lost due to premature death. Power: the probability that a study will be able to correctly detect a true effect of a specific magnitude. The statistical power refers to the probability of finding a difference when one truly exists or how well the null hypothesis will be rejected. The power is usually specified beforehand in prospective studies. The values of 0.8 (80%) or 0.9 (90%) are typical. The higher the value, the less chance there is of a type II error. A 0.9 value means that a type II error would be avoided 90% of the time. Precipitin: an antibody that reacts specifically with soluble antigen to form a precipitate. Predictive Value Positive: the proportion of positive test results that is truly positive. Predictive Value Negative: the proportion of negative test results that is truly negative. The predictive value of a negative test result refers to the proportion of patients with a negative test result who are free of disease. These values, unlike sensitivity and specificity, indicate the reliability of the test in the determination of presence or absence of disease. Preembryo: the developing cells produced by the division of the zygote until the formation of the embryo proper at the appearance of the primitive streak about 14 days after fertilization. Pre-existing Condition: an insurance contract may specify that it will not apply for medical problems already diagnosed or under treatment before the policy is purchased, known as pre-existing conditions. Preferred Method: contraceptive method that patient thinks she would like to use. Pre-labor Rupture of Membranes: rupture of membranes before labor has begun. (1) Preterm – when fetus is immature <37 weeks (2) Term – when fetus is mature >37 weeks. Premature Chromosome Condensation (PCC): a method of studying chromosomes in the interphase stage of the cell cycle. Primitive Streak: the initial band of cells from which the embryo begins to develop, located at the caudal end of the embryonic disc. The primitive streak is present at about 15 days after fertilization. Premium: a flat-rate payment for voluntary insurance. Prepayment: fee paid by a potential consumer of health services in anticipation of services that may be required. Pressure Sore: lesion resulting from prolonged pressure and involving loss of integrity of skin or damage to underlying tissue. Presumptive Treatment: treatment with a full curative dose of drugs (e.g., antibiotics) based on assumption that person is infected, not on evidence of the disease. Pre-Term: less than 37 completed weeks (less than 259 days) of gestation. Preterm Rupture of Membrane: rupture of membranes before 37 weeks of gestation (before pregnancy is carried to term). Pretest: an initial or trial test of a data-collection instrument or process. Prevalence: the number of events, e.g., instances of a given disease or other condition, in a given population at a designated time; sometimes used to mean PREVALENCE RATE. When used without qualification, the term usually refers to the situation at a specified point in time (point prevalence). Note that this is a number, not a rate. The prevalence of a disease/risk factor in a statistical population is defined as the ratio of the number of cases of a disease present in a statistical population at a specified time and the number of individuals in the population at that specified time. In plain English, “prevalence” simply means “proportion” (typically expressed as a percentage). Prevalence Rate: the number of cases of a disease existing in a given population at a specific point or period of time. The amount of disease in a population. Prevalence measures the proportion of diseased individuals at a particular time and represents a snapshot of the disease. Other commonly used terminology is prevalence proportion and point prevalence. Prevalence of Exclusive Breastfeeding Through 120 Days of Age: the number of children who, from birth until the end of the forth month of life, are fed exclusively breast milk, expressed as a percentage of the corresponding mid-year population, for a given year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Prevalence of Moderate and Severe Nutritional Deficiency in Children Less Than 5 Years: the number of prevalent cases of moderate and severe nutritional deficiency in children under 5 year of age detected in a given year, expressed as a percentage of the corresponding mid-year population, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Under-5 moderate and severe nutritional deficiency is defined as any weight-for-age (W/A) ratio less than minus two standard deviations (-2SD) from the reference median. Prevalence of Overweight Among Adult Population: the number of overweight adults, registered at a specific point in time, among the adult population 20 to 74 years of age, total or of a given sex, expressed as a percentage of that population, for a given year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Body Mass Index (BMI) is an anthropometric measure defined as the ratio between the weight measured in kilograms, and the square of the height measured in meters. Overweight is defined as a BMI equal to or greater than 25 Kg/m2. Prevalence of Tobacco Consumption Among Adolescents: the number of students between 13 and 15 years of age that consumed any quantity of a tobacco product during the past 30 days of the survey, expressed as a percentage of that population, at a specific point in time, total or for a given sex, for a given year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Prevalence of Use of Contraceptive Methods in Women: the number women aged 15 to 49 years who use any type of contraceptive method, at a specific point in time, expressed as a percentage of the corresponding mid-year population, for a given year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Contraceptive methods include female and male sterilization, injectable and oral contraceptives, intrauterine devices, diaphragms, spermicides, condoms, rhythm method and withdrawal. Price: amount of money for which a thing is bought or sold. Primary Health Care (PHC): the first level contact with people taking action to improve health in a community. Primary Infertility: infertility in a couple that has never conceived. Primary Register: a register that provides data directly to the Central Repository. Primer: short preexisting polynucleotide chain to which new deoxyribonucleotides can be added by DNA polymerase. Short DNA pieces that are complementary to portions of specific DNA sequences. Principal Investigator: the person who directs and has ultimate responsibility for a research project. Privacy: in genetics, the right of people to restrict access to their genetic information. Private Health Care Expenditure: that part of total expenditure on health which is not public; it is mainly comprised by out-of-pocket payments and premiums for voluntary health insurance (sometimes by employers on behalf of the individual). Private Health Care Sector: private health care sector refers to both private finance and provision of services. Private Patient: a patient who pays the full cost of all the medical and other services provided for him. Privatization: involves the transfer of ownership and government functions from public to private bodies, which may consist of voluntary organizations and for-profit and not-for-profit private organizations. The degree of government regulation is variable. Probability Sample: a sample based on the random selection of subjects. All individuals have a known chance of selection. They may all have an equal chance of being selected, or, if a stratified sampling method is used, the rate at which individuals from several subsets are sampled can be varied so as to produce greater representation of some classes than of others. A probability sample is created by assigning an identity (label, number) to all individuals in the “universe population, e.g., by arranging them in alphabetical order and numbering in sequence, or simply assigning a number to each, or by grouping according to area of residence and numbering of groups. The next step is to select individuals (or groups) for study by a procedure such as use of a table of random numbers (or comparable procedure) to ensure that the chance of selection is know. Probe: single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules of specific base sequence, labeled either radioactively or immunologically, that are used to detect the complementary base sequence by hybridization. Process: a continuous and regular action or succession of actions, taking place or being carried out in a definite manner, and leading to the accomplishment of some results. A course of action or series of activities. Production: a succession of actions designed to generate a product. Productivity: the volume of output per unit or input. Productivity Cost: charges (or payment) less the cost. Professional Accountability: a conduct in accordance with good practice as recognized and endorsed by a professional society. Professional Nurses Ratio: the number of certified nurses available per every 10,000 inhabitants in a population, at a given year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Certified nurses not include auxiliary and unlicensed personnel. Professional Self-Regulation: the enforcement of certain rules of conduct among its members by a professional community. Program: the term program usually refers to a group of activities which are designed to be implemented in order to reach policy objectives (Ritsatakis et al., 2000). For example, many Single Regeneration Budget programs and New Deal for Communities initiatives have a range of themes within their programs — often including health, community safety (crime), education, employment and housing — and within these themes are a number of specific projects which, together, make up the overall program. Progressive Tax: a tax in which the rich pay a larger fraction of their income than the poor. Project: a project is usually a discrete piece of work addressing a single population group or health determinant, usually with a pre-set time limit. For example, “Private Rented Dwellings” was a three year project in Southport, Merseyside which provided money to private landlords in order to bring their rented properties up to housing fitness standards (Hirschfield et al., 2001). Prokaryote: cell or organism lacking a membrane-bound, structurally discrete nucleus and other sub-cellular compartments. Bacteria are examples of prokaryotes. See also — chromosome, eukaryote. Prolapse: to slide forward or downward, usually referring to the pelvic organs, such as the falling down of the bladder, uterus, or rectum through the vagina. Prolapses are staged, using objective criteria, by the severity of the maximum protrusion of the prolapse during examination. Promoter: a DNA site to which RNA polymerase will bind and initiate transcription. The DNA sequence of a gene to which RNA polymerase binds and initiates transcription. Prompt Attention: one of the aspects of the responsiveness of health systems whereby those needing care are able to access it speedily through conveniently located health care units, short waiting times and short waiting lists for consultation and treatment. Prompted Voiding: behavioral technique for use primarily with dependent or cognitively impaired persons. Prompted voiding attempts to teach the incontinent person awareness of his or her incontinence status and to request toileting assistance, either independently or after being prompted by a caregiver. Pronuclei: the egg and sperm nuclei after penetration of the sperm into the egg during fertilization. Pronucleus: the nucleus of a sperm or egg prior to fertilization. See also — nucleus, transgenic. Prophylactic Immunization: represents pre-immunization of an individual against a causative agent (e.g., oncogenic virus) or tumor-specific antigen, in advance of any natural encounter with the agent or tumor. Prophylactic Treatment: often refers to a partial dose of drugs (in comparison to the full curative dose) that may prevent a process that can lead to disease. Prophylaxis: prevention of disease or of a process that can lead to disease. Proportion of Certified Deaths due to Ill-Defined and Unknown Conditions: the number of death certificates issued in a given year for which the underlying cause of death was symptoms, signs, and ill-defined and unknown conditions (ICD-9 codes 780-799; ICD-10 codes R00-R99), expressed as a percentage of the total registered deaths due to natural causes at the same year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Proportion of Deliveries Attended by Trained Personnel: the number of deliveries assisted by trained personnel in a specific year, regardless of their site of occurrence, expressed as a percentage of the total number of births in that same year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Trained staff includes medical obstetricians, physicians with training in delivery care, university midwives and nurses with training in delivery care and graduated midwives; it does not include traditional midwives trained or not. Proportion of Population Below the International Poverty Line: the percentage of the population living below the international poverty line in a given country, territory, or geographic area, for a given sex and/or age group, at a specific period in time, usually a year. International poverty line is defined at less than US$1.08 a day at 1993 international prices, equivalent to US$1 in 1985 international prices, adjusted to local currency using purchasing power parities. Technical Note: The international poverty line is prepared by the World Bank, based on its most recent consumption purchasing power parity (PPP) estimates in 1993 prices. Any revisions in the PPP of a country to incorporate better price indexes can produce dramatically different poverty lines in local currency. PPP exchange rates are designed for comparing aggregates from national accounts; thus, there is no certainty that an international poverty line measures the same degree of need or deprivation across countries. Proportion of Population Below the National Poverty Line: the percentage of the population living below the national poverty line in a given country, territory, or geographic area, at a specific period in time, usually a year. The operational definition for a national poverty line varies from country to country and represents the amount of income required by each household to meet the basic needs of all its members. Technical Note: The poverty line is based on an estimate of the cost of a basic food basket that covers the nutritional needs of the population, taking into account its consumption habits, as well as the actual availability of food in the country and its relative prices. The value of this basket is combined with an estimate of the resources required by households to meet basic non-dietary needs. Some countries also define a national extreme poverty line by taking into account the cost of the basic food basket only (i.e., excluding basic non-dietary needs). National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup data from household surveys. Proportion of Population of 1 Year of Age Immunized Against Measles: the number of children of 1 year of age who have received one dose of vaccine against measles (in general in combination with rubella and mumps — MMR), expressed as a percentage of corresponding mid-year population, for a specific year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Proportion of Population Less Than 15 Years Old: the percentage of total population of a country, territory, or geographic area, under 15 years of age, total or a given sex and at a specific point of time, usually mid-year. Proportion of Population 60 Years and Older: the percentage of total population of a country, territory, or geographic area, 60 years of age and over, total or for a given sex and at a specific point of time, usually mid-year. Proportion of Population with Access to Improved Sanitation: population with access to improved sanitation in a given year, expressed as a percentage of the corresponding population of that year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Excreta disposal systems are considered adequate if they are private and if they separate human excreta from human contact. Improved sanitation facilities are: connection to a public sewer, connection to a septic system, pour-flush latrine, simple pit latrine, ventilated improved pit latrine. Unimproved sanitation facilities are: public or shared latrine, open pit latrine, bucket latrine. Urban and rural area according to countries’ own working definition. Proportion of Population with Sustainable Access to an Improved Water Source: population with improved drinking water sources, in a given year, expressed as a percentage of the corresponding population of that year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Access to safe drinking water sources is defined by the availability of at least 20 liters of water per person per day from a source within 1 kilometer of walking distance. Improved drinking water sources are: household connection, public standpipe, borehole, protected dug well, protected spring, rainwater collection. Unimproved drinking water sources are: unprotected well, unprotected spring, rivers or ponds, vendor-provided water, bottled water, tanker truck water. Bottled water is not considered improved due to limitations in the potential quantity, not quality, of the water. Urban and rural area according to countries’ own working definition. Proportion of Pregnant Women Attended by Trained Personnel During Pregnancy: the number of pregnant women who have received at least one health care visit during pregnancy provided by a trained health worker, expressed as a percentage of the live birth population, at a given year, for a given country, territory, or geographic area. Health care visit during pregnancy is defined as those health care services for the control and monitoring of the pregnancy and ambulatory care for associated morbidity; it does not include neither direct vaccination activities nor the health care services rendered immediately prior to delivery. Trained staff includes medical obstetricians, physicians with training in delivery care, university midwives and nurses with training in delivery care and graduated midwives; it does not include traditional midwives trained or not. Proportion of Under-1 Population Immunized Against Diphtheria, Pertussis, and Tetanus: the number of children who, on completing their first year of life, have received three doses of DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus) toxoid, expressed as a percentage of the corresponding mid-year population, for a specific year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Proportion of Under-1 Population Immunized Against Poliomyelitis: the number of children who, on completing their first year of life, have received three doses of live oral poliomyelitis vaccine (OPV), expressed as a percentage of the corresponding mid-year population, for a specific year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Proportion of Under-1 Population Immunized Against Tuberculosis: the number of children under 1 year of age who have received one dose of vaccine against tuberculosis BCG (bacille Calmette-Guerin), expressed as a percentage of the corresponding mid-year population, for a specific year, in a given country, territory, or geographic area. Proportion of Urban Population: the percentage of total population of a country, territory, or geographic area living in places defined as urban, at a specific point of time, usually mid-year. The term urban refers essentially to cities, towns, and other densely populated areas. The demarcation of urban areas is usually defined by countries as part of census procedures, and is usually based on the size of localities, and/or the classification of areas as administrative centers or in accordance to special criteria such as population density or type of economic activity of residents. There is no international agreed definition of urban areas, and national operational definitions may vary from country to country. Prospective Data: data collected from the present until some specified future date. Data collection may be staged or continuous. Prospective HIA: prospective HIA is carried out before any action has been taken, either in terms of drafting a policy, putting together an action plan or implementing it so that steps can be taken, at the planning stage, to maximize the positive health impacts of a policy, program or project and to minimize the negative effects (Scott-Samuel et al., 1998). Prospective Payment: a payment whose level is fixed in advance of actually providing a service. Prostate: walnut-shaped gland found only in men that surrounds the urethra between the bladder and the pelvic floor. Prostatitis: irritation or inflammation of the prostate. Protein: a large molecule composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific order; the order is determined by the base sequence of nucleotides in the gene that codes for the protein. Proteins are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s cells, tissues, and organs; and each protein has unique functions. Examples are hormones, enzymes, and antibodies. Proteome: proteins expressed by a cell or organ at a particular time and under specific conditions. Proteomics: the study of the full set of proteins encoded by a genome. Protocol: a document that describes the objective(s), design, methodology, statistical considerations, and organization of a trial. The protocol usually also gives the background and rationale for the trial (from ICH E6). Protocol Amendment: a written description of a change(s) to or formal clarification of a protocol. (from ICH E 6). Proto-Oncogenes: any of a number of genes that encode various proteins involved in normal cell growth and proliferation, including growth factors, growth factor receptors, regulators of DNA synthesis, and phosphorylating modifiers of protein function. These are cellular genes that are the normal counterparts of transforming viral oncogenes. Provider: professionals and institutions providing health care services to patients. Proximal Urethra: portion of the urethra closest to the bladder. Pseudogene: a sequence of DNA similar to a gene but nonfunctional; probably the remnant of a once-functional gene that accumulated mutations. Pubic Symphysis: the center front portion of the pelvic bone. Public Health: the science and art of promoting health, preventing disease, and prolonging life through the organized efforts of society. Public Health Care Expenditure: includes publicly funded health care by both publicly and privately owned providers. Public funds are state, regional and local Government bodies and social security schemes. Public capital formation on health includes publicly-financed investment in health facilities plus capital transfers to the private sector for hospital construction and equipment and subsidies from government to health care service providers. It includes funds for state employees. Public Health Care Sector: refers to public finance and provision of health care services. Pubococcygeus Muscle: another name for the levator ani muscle, one of the pelvic muscles that holds the pelvic organs in place. Pudendal Nerve: main nerve that innervates all of the muscles of the pelvic floor, including the external urinary sphincter. The pudendal nerve originates at S2-S4 (the sacral micturition center) and causes the external urinary sphincter to contract, retaining urine in the bladder. Purchaser: a health care body which assesses the needs of a defined population and buys services to meet those needs from providers. Purchasing Power Parity (PPP): PPPs are the rates of currency conversion that equalize the purchasing power of across the full range of goods and services contained in total expenditure and Gross Domestic Product of a country. Purine: a nitrogen-containing, double-ring, basic compound that occurs in nucleic acids. The purines in DNA and RNA are adenine and guanine. See also — base pair. Purposive Sample: a non-probability sample that is biased towards a particular “type” of subject (e.g., women with complications of unsafe abortion). Pyrimidine: a nitrogen-containing, single-ring, basic compound that occurs in nucleic acids. The pyrimidines in DNA are cytosine and thymine; in RNA, cytosine and uracil. See also — base pair. Pyuria: pus cells present in the urine, which is a hallmark of an inflammatory response.Read More