binge drinking The dangerous practice of consuming large quantities of alcoholic beverages in a single session. Binge drinking carries a serious risk of harm, including alcohol poisoning. See also alcohol poisoning.
binge eating disorder An eating disorder characterized by periods of extreme overeating, but not followed by purging behaviors, as in bulimia. Binge eating disorder can occur alone or in association with abnormality of the brain’s hypothalamus gland, Prader-Willi disorder, or other medical conditions. It can contribute to high blood pressure, weight gain, diabetes, and heart…
binocular vision The ability to maintain visual focus on an object with both eyes, creating a single visual image. Lack of binocular vision is normal in infants. Adults without binocular vision experience distortions in depth perception and visual measurement of distance.
bio- Prefix indicating living plants or creatures, as in biology (the study of living organisms).
biofeedback A method of treatment that uses a monitor to measure patients’ physiologic information of which they are normally unaware. By watching a monitor, patients can learn by trial and error to adjust their thinking and other mental processes in order to control “involuntary” bodily processes such as blood pressure, temperature, gastrointestinal functioning, and brain…
biologic evolution A process mediated by genes that shows a slow rate of change and uses mutations and selection as agents of change. New variants in biologic evolution are often harmful, and when these new variants are transmitted from parents to offspring, this occurs according to classical genetics. Humans require cultural as well as biological…
biological response modifier A substance that stimulates the body’s response to infection and disease. Abbreviated BRM. The body naturally produces small amounts of certain BRMs. Some BRMs are made in the laboratory in large amounts for use in treating cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, hepatitis, and other diseases. BRMs used in biological therapy include monoclonal…
biological therapy Treatment to stimulate or restore the ability of the immune system to fight infection and disease. Biological therapy is thus any form of treatment that uses the body’s natural abilities to cause the immune system to fight infection, treat disease, or to protect the body from side effects of treatment. For example, biological…
beta blocker A class of drugs that block the effect of beta-adrenergic substances such as adrenaline (epinephrine), that play a key role in the sympathetic portion of the involuntary nervous system. By blocking the action of the sympathetic nervous system on the heart, they slow the heartbeat and relieve stress on the heart. Beta blockers…
beta cell, pancreatic A cell that makes insulin and is found in the areas of the pancreas called the islets of Langerhans. Destruction of beta cells causes type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. See also diabetes mellitus.
beta error The statistical error (said to be “of the second kind,” or type II) that is made in testing when it is concluded that something is negative when it really is positive. Also known as false negative.
beta-2 microglobulin A nonspecific test that measures the amount of cell destruction present. It is considered to be one of the best ways to measure the progression of HIV-related disease, although it may also indicate cell destruction due to cytomegalovirus or other causes.