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276. schemia

decrease in the blood supply to a an organ, tissue, or other part caused by the narrowing or blockage of the blood vessels.

277. schizophrenia

a brain disease that can cause loss of personality, agitation, catatonia (being in a statue-like state), confusion, psychosis (a disorder in which a person is not in touch with reality), unusual behavior, and withdrawal. The illness usually begins in early adulthood. No one knows the exact cause of schizophrenia, but a problem with a gene called COMT has been found to raise the risk of developing it.

278. sedative

a drug that calms a person and allows her or him to sleep.

279. seizures

uncontrollable contractions of muscles that can result in sudden movement or loss of control, also known as convulsions.

280. semen

the fluid (which contains sperm) a male releases from his penis when he becomes sexually aroused or has an orgasm.

281. sexual harassment

Sexual advances (like touching, grabbing) or sexual comments (that can be offensive and/or joking) that are not wanted or appropriate. This can happen in the workplace and a person can feel like they have no control over it. They may decide not to deal with it because they fear they will lose their job or not get a raise or promotion.

282. sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)

diseases that are spread by sexual activity.

283. sickle cell anemia

a blood disorder passed down from parents to children. It involves problems in the red blood cells. Normal red blood cells are round and smooth and move through blood vessels easily. Sickle cells are hard and have a curved edge. These cells cannot squeeze through small blood vessels. They block the organs from getting blood. Your body destroys sickle red cells quickly, but it can’t make new red blood cells fast enough — a condition called anemia.

284. sleep apnea

a disorder involving brief interruptions of breathing during sleep.

285. social worker

A licensed clinical social worker (L.C.S.W.) is trained in psychotherapy and helps people with many different mental health and daily living problems to improve overall functioning. Usually has a master’s degree in social work (M.S.W.).

286. sodium

a mineral that is used in regulating the amount of water in the body. Sodium also plays important roles, along with potassium, in muscle contraction, the beating of the heart, and the sending of nerve impulses. Sodium is an ingredient of table salt.

287. speech therapy

therapy aimed to help a person with a speech or language disorder or problem to restore basic speech skills.

288. spermicides

chemical jellies, foams, creams, or suppositories, inserted into the vagina prior to intercourse that kill sperm.

289. Spina bifida

Spina bifida is the most common of all birth defects. Its name means ìclef spine,î or a failure of a fetal spine to close the right way when it is developing before birth. It occurs very early in pregnancy, roughly three to four weeks after conception, before most women know that they are pregnant. Any woman can have an affected pregnancy. Most women who bear a child with Spina bifida have no family history of it.

290. stethoscope

instrument used by health care professionals to detect sounds produced in the body. Commonly used to listen to your heartbeat to detect any heart-related problems and to listen to your lungs for sounds that they could have fluid inside them.

291. stillbirth

when a fetus dies during birth, or when the fetus dies during the late stages of pregnancy when it would have been otherwise expected to survive.

292. stroke

stoppage of blood flow to an area of the brain, causing permanent damage to nerve cells in that region. A stroke can occur either because an artery is clogged by a blood clot or an artery tears and bleeds into the brain. A stroke can cause symptoms such as loss of consciousness, problems with movement, and loss of speech.

293. sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

the diagnosis given for the sudden death of an infant under one year of age that remains unexplained after a complete investigation. Because most cases of SIDS occur when a baby is sleeping in a crib, SIDS is also commonly known as crib death. Most SIDS deaths occur when a baby is between 1 and 4 months of age.

294. symptothermal method

a method of pregnancy planning or birth control that combines certain aspects of the calendar, the basal body temperature, and the cervical mucus methods. It takes into account all these factors as well as other symptoms a woman might have, such as slight cramping and breast tenderness.

295. synthetic

made in a lab and not from a natural source.

296. syphilis

a sexually transmitted disease which may or may not have symptoms. Symptoms in the first stages can include painless sores on the genitals, anus, or mouth and enlarged lymph nodes in the area around the sore. Syphilis can be cured with antibiotics. If left untreated, syphilis can permanently damage the brain, nerves, eyes, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones, and joints. This damage includes paralysis (not being able to move or feel a part of the body), numbness, blindness, dementia, and even death.

297. systemic lupus erythematosus

an autoimmune disease that can cause inflammation and damage to the joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels, and brain.

298. Tay-Sachs disease

a fatal genetic disorder in which harmful quantities of a fatty substance called ganglioside GM2 build up in the nerve cells in the brain and damage the cells. In children, this begins in the fetus early in pregnancy. By the time a child with Tay-Sachs is three or four years old, the nervous system is so badly affected that death usually results by age five.

299. testicle (testis)

the male sex gland. There are a pair of testes behind the penis in a pouch of skin called the scrotum. The testes make and store sperm, and make the male hormone testosterone.

300. thalassemia

a group of blood diseases, that are inherited, which affect a person’s hemoglobin and cause anemia. Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen and nutrients to cells in the body.

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