human chorionic gonadotropin A hormone that is made by chorionic cells in the fetal part of the placenta. Abbreviated hCG. hCG is directed at and stimulates the gonads. hCG becomes detectable within days of fertilization, and it forms the foundation of most common pregnancy tests. The level of hCG in maternal serum is also one…
HUGO Human Genome Organization, the international organization concerned with researching and mapping the human genes.
HT Hormone therapy.
HS Hereditary spherocytosis. See spherocytosis, hereditary.
HRT Hormone replacement therapy.
HPV vaccine Human papillomavirus vaccine. An immunization against commonly found types of human papillomaviruses that cause benign genital warts, premalignant conditions of the cervix (dysplasias), and less commonly, cancers of the cervix. The immunization may not protect everyone and is not effective against all types of cervical cancer.
HPV Human papillomavirus.
HPS 1 Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. 2 Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome.
housemaid’s knee See bursitis, knee.
hot flash A sudden wave of mild or intense body heat caused by a rush of hormones. Hot flashes result from blood vessels opening and constricting, an action that is triggered by hormonal changes caused by decreased levels of estrogen. They can occur at any time and may last from a few seconds to a…
hospitalist A hospital-based general physician. Hospitalists assume the care of hospitalized patients in the place of patients’ primary care physicians. In the most prevalent US model of hospitalist care, several physicians practice together as a group and work full time to care for inpatients.
hospital A place for receiving medical or surgical care, usually as an inpatient (resident). An ill person in the US may be “in the hospital,” and his ailing UK counterpart would say he is “in hospital.”