Medical Terminology, Block 1

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cha·la·sia (kah-la´zhah)

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cha·la·sia (kah-la´zhah) [ Gr. chalasis relaxation ]
relaxation of a bodily opening, such as the cardiac sphincter of the esophagus, a cause of vomiting in infants.

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cir·rho·sis (s-ro´sis)

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cir·rho·sis (s-ro´sis) [ Gr. kirrhos orange-yellow ]
any of a group of chronic diseases of the liver characterized by loss of normal lobular architecture with fibrosis, and by destruction of parenchymal cells and their regeneration to form nodules. These diseases have long latent periods, usually followed by sudden abdominal swelling and pain, hematemesis, dependent edema, or jaundice. In advanced stages, prominent symptoms include ascites, jaundice, portal hypertension, and central nervous system disorders that may end in hepatic coma. Often informally called c. of the liver, but nowadays all cirrhosis is “of the liver.”
cirrhotic, adj

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meniscus /me·nis·cus/ (mĕ-nis´kus) pl. menis´ci [L.]

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me·nis·cus (m-nis´ks) [ L., from Gr. mniskos, crescent ] gen. and pl. menis´ci,
1. a crescent-shaped structure appearing at the surface of a liquid column, as in a pipet or buret, made concave or convex by the influence of capillarity. 2. a crescent-shaped structure of the body. Often used alone to designate one of the menisci of the knee joint; see m. lateralis

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pneu·mo·cra·nia (noomo-kra´ne-)

also called

pneumocephalus [noo″mo-sef´ah-lus]

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pneu·mo·cra·nia (noomo-kra´ne-)
the presence of air in the cranial cavity; called also pneumocephalus, intracranial pneumatocele, pneumatocephalus, and pneumoencephalocele.

pneumo- "air" crania "head"