Dictionary

IM Intramuscular.

imagery 1 A mental process that involves thoughts representing sensory qualities. 2 A wide variety of procedures used in therapy to encourage changes in attitudes, behavior, or physiological reactions. Imagery includes all the senses, including visual, aural, tactile, olfactory, proprioceptive, and kinesthetic. Imagery has been used as a strategy for facilitating weight gain and alleviating…

immune Protected against infection, usually by the presence of antibodies.

immune response Any reaction by the immune system. For example, poison ivy can cause an immune response in the skin characterized by inflammation with tiny blisters, and itching. Also, a flu shot is designed to produce an immune response by stimulating the production of antibodies against the flu virus.

immune system A complex system that is responsible for distinguishing a person from everything foreign to him or her and for protecting his or her body against infections and foreign substances.

immunity The condition of being immune. Immunity can be innate—for example, humans are innately immune to canine distemper—or conferred by a previous infection or immunization.

ichthyosis-keratitis-deafness syndrome See keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness syndrome.

ICSH interstitial-cell-stimulating hormone (ICSH). See luteinizing hormone.

ICSI Intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

icterus See jaundice.

ICU Intensive care unit. The intensive care unit is a designated area of a hospital facility that is dedicated to the care of patients who are seriously ill.

ICU psychosis A disorder in which patients in an intensive care unit (ICU) or a similar hospital setting experience anxiety, become paranoid, hear voices, see things that are not there, become severely disoriented in time and place, become very agitated, or even become violent. ICU psychosis is a form of acute brain failure (delirium). Organic…