Dictionary

peak flow meter A hand-held device that measures air flow (how fast air is blown out of the lungs during forced expiration). Patients can use peak flow meters at home to measure their own air flow regularly.

PDR 1 Physicians’ Desk Reference. 2 Postdelivery room, used as a staging room for the mother after delivering her baby in the delivery room.

PDA Patent ductus arteriosus. See ductus arteriosus.

PCR Polymerase chain reaction.

PCP Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

PCM Protein-calorie malnutrition. See kwashiorkor.

PCL Posterior cruciate ligament.

p.c. Post cibum. Abbreviation meaning after meals. See also Appendix A, “Prescription Abbreviations.”

PBC Primary biliary cirrhosis. See cirrhosis, primary biliary.

Pavlovian conditioning A method to cause a reflex response or behavior by training with repetitive action. The Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov conditioned dogs to respond in what proved to be a predictable manner. For example, when he customarily rang a bell before feeding them, the dogs would begin to salivate whenever the bell rang….

-pathy Suffix indicating suffering or disease, as in neuropathy (disease of the nervous system).

pathophysiology Deranged function in an individual or an organ due to a disease. For example, a pathophysiologic alteration is a change in function as distinguished from a structural defect.