Dictionary

Pasteur, Louis A French chemist and biologist who invented pasteurization, developed the germ theory, founded the field of bacteriology, and created the first vaccines against anthrax and rabies.

pasteurization A method of treating food by heating it to a certain point to kill disease-causing organisms but keep the flavor or quality of the food intact. Pasteurization is used with beer, milk, fruit juice, cheese, and egg products.

paralysis, stomach See gastroparesis.

paralysis agitans See Parkinson’s disease.

paramyxovirus One of a group of RNA viruses that are predominantly responsible for acute respiratory diseases and are usually transmitted by airborne droplets. The paramyxoviruses include the agents of mumps, measles (rubeola), RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), Newcastle disease, and parainfluenza.

paraneoplastic syndrome A group of signs and symptoms caused by a substance that is produced by a tumor or in reaction to a tumor. Paraneoplastic syndrome can be due to a number of causes, including hormones or other biologically active products made by the tumor, blockade of the effect of a normal hormone, autoimmunity, immune-complex…

paraphilia One of several complex psychiatric disorders that are manifested as deviant sexual behavior. For example, in men, the most common forms are pedophilia (sexual behavior or attraction toward children) and exhibitionism (exposing one’s body in a public setting). Other paraphilias include compulsive sexual behavior (nymphomania), sadism, masochism, fetishism, bestiality (zoophilia), and necrophilia. Treatment may…

paraphimosis An emergency condition in which the foreskin of the penis, once retracted, cannot return to its original location. The foreskin remains trapped behind the groove of the coronal sulcus, between the shaft and the glans. This causes blood to pool in the veins behind the entrapment, leading to swelling and severe pain. Treatment involves…

paraplegia Paralysis of the lower part of the body, including the legs.

paraquat lung Lung disease caused by the contact herbicide paraquat, which selectively accumulates in the lungs and is highly toxic. The prognosis depends upon the severity of exposure. Paraquat lung is rare because the herbicide must be directly inhaled to cause the disease. Paraquat lung emerged as a health concern in the 1970s, when the…

parasite A plant or an animal organism that lives in or on another and takes its nourishment from that other organism. Parasitic diseases include infections that are due to protozoa, helminths, or arthropods. For example, malaria is caused by Plasmodium, a parasitic protozoa.

parasitemia The presence of parasites in the blood. In malaria, a measure called the parasitemia index reflects the severity of the disease.