Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «F»:
-
Fertilization, in vitro
Fertilization, in vitro: IVF, a laboratory procedure in which sperm are placed with an unfertilized egg in a Petri dish to achieve fertilization. The embryo is then transferred into the uterus to begin a pregnancy or cryopreserved (frozen) for future use. IVF was originally devised to permit women ...
-
FET1
FET1: See: ETM1....
-
Fetal alcohol effects (FAE)
Fetal alcohol effects (FAE): A softer diagnosis than
fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). The diagnosis of possible FAE is considered when: 1. The
person has some signs of FAS; 2. The person does not meet all of the necessary criteria
for FAS; and 3. There is a history of alcohol exposure before birth. ...
-
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Fetal alcohol syndrome: The sum total of the damage done to the child before birth as a result of the mother drinking alcohol during
pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) always involves brain damage, impaired growth, and head and face abnormalities.
No amount of alcohol has been proven safe duri...
-
Fetal alcohol syndrome diagnosis
Fetal alcohol syndrome diagnosis: The signs needed to make the diagnosis of the fetal alcohol syndrome:
Small size and weight before
and after birth (pre- and postnatal growth retardation);
Brain involvement with
evidence for delay in development, intellectual impairment, or neurologic abnormalit...
-
Fetal circulation
Fetal circulation: The blood circulation in the fetus before birth.
Before birth, the blood from the heart headed for the lungs in the aptly named pulmonary
artery is shunted away from the lungs and returned to the greatest of arteries, the aorta.
This arterial shunting occurs through a short vessel...
-
Fetal distress
Fetal distress: Compromise of the fetus during the
antepartum period (before labor) or intrapartum period (birth process). The term "fetal distress" is commonly used to describe fetal hypoxia (low oxygen levels in the fetus). The concern with fetal hypoxia is it may result in fetal damage or death ...
-
Fetal dystocia
Fetal dystocia: Difficult labor and delivery caused by the
size (too big), shape or position of the fetus. Dystocia comes from the Greek "dys" meaning
"difficult, painful, disordered, abnormal" + "tokos" meaning
"birth."...
-
Fetal fibronectin
Fetal fibronectin: A protein produced during pregnancy and the basis of a test for preterm delivery. Fetal fibronectin (fFN) functions as a "glue" attaching the fetal sac to the uterine lining. The presence of fFN during weeks 22-34 of a high-risk pregnancy, along with symptoms of labor, suggests t...
-
Fetal infant
Fetal infant: An extremely low birth weight infant. A very, small infant. One, for example, with a birth weight of 400 to 500 grams....
-
Fetal mortality rate
Fetal mortality rate: The ratio of fetal deaths
divided
by the sum of the births (the live births + the fetal deaths) in that
year. In the United
States, the fetal mortality rate plummeted from 19.2 per 1,000 births
in 1950 to 9.2 per
1,000 births in 1980. However, the fetal mortality rate is hig...
-
Fetal pleural effusion
Fetal pleural effusion: In the fetus, excess fluid between the two membranes (the pleurae) that envelop the lungs. The pleural effusion may be unilateral (in one lung) or bilateral (in both lungs) and it may be an isolated finding in an otherwise normal fetus or be associated with generalized edema ...
-
Fetal rubella effects
Fetal rubella effects: The constellation of abnormalities, also called the rubella syndrome, caused by infection with the
rubella (German measles) A
virus before birth.
The syndrome is characterized by multiple congenital malformations (birth defects) and mental retardation.
The individual featu...
-
Fetal surgery
Fetal surgery: The surgical treatment of the fetus before birth. Also called prenatal or antenatal surgery.
Fetal surgery is done when the fetus is not expected to live long enough to make it through to delivery or to live long after birth unless fetal surgery is performed. For instance, if a fetus...
-
Fetal vaccinia
Fetal vaccinia: See Congenital vaccinia....
