Celiotomy:    Transabdominal incision into the peritoneal cavity.

Ciliotomy:     Surgical division of the ciliary nerve. 


Xerosis:        Pathologic dryness of the skin, conjunctivae & mucous membranes.

Cirrhosis:      Endstage liver disease with damage to the parenchymal cells resulting in scar 
                     tissue. This scarring distorts the normal structure and regrowth of liver cells.
                    The flow of blood through the liver from the intestine is blocked and the work 
                     done by the liver, such as processing drugs or producing proteins, is hindered.

Q. What does "percentile" mean?

Growth charts are an important way for pediatricians to monitor a child's growth.
In our example, we are going to find the percentile for a 2-year-old boy who weighs 30 pounds.

Step A:      Find the child's age at the bottom of the chart below and draw a vertical line 
                 (a straight line up and down) on the growth chart. In our example, we drew a line 
                 through 24 months or 2 years.
Step B:      Now find the child's weight on the right hand side of the chart, 30 pounds in our 
                 example, and draw a horizontal line (a straight line from side to side).
Step C:      Here it involves finding the spot where these two lines intersect or cross each other. 
                 Find the curve that is closest to this spot and follow it up and to the right until 
                 you find the number that corresponds to the child's percentile.

In this example, we see that a 2-year-old boy who weighs 30 pounds is at the 75th percentile for his weight. 
It means that he weighs more than about 75% of boys his age. 
It also means that 25% of 2-year-old boys weigh more than he does. 
Is that normal? Yes, if that is where he has always been on the growth charts. 

Finding a child's percentile is a little harder if a curve does not actually pass through the spot where 
the child's age and weight come together.  If the boy in this example actually weighed 31 pounds, 
we would use all of the same steps and would have to imagine a curve that is somewhere between the 
75th and 90th percentiles and figure that he was at about the 80th-85th percentile.
   

Examples:
The patient states, "I feel terrible."  (Note that the period is inside the quotes).
The lab values were normal (done in January).  (Here the period is outside the parentheses).

Examples:

Incorrect:   I would like to go ahead with levothyroxine 10 mg and start her on Zetia 5 
                 mg once a day.
Correct:     I would like to go ahead with levothyroxine 10 mg and start her on Zetia 
                 5 mg once a day.



The same applies to titles where Dr. Brown should not be separated with Dr. on one line and Brown on the next.


Examples:

Incorrect:   I will contact her with the results of the CAT scan.  She is advised to follow up with her PCP, Dr. 
                 Brown, after 1 month.
Correct:     I will contact her with the results of the CAT scan.  She is advised to follow up with her PCP, 
                 Dr. Brown, after 1 month.