Anal itching: Irritation of the skin around the anus accompanied by a desire to scratch. The intensity of itching increases with moisture, pressure, and sitting. At its most intense, anal itching causes intolerable discomfort described as burning and soreness. Treatment is to shower gently without directly rubbing or irritating the skin, clean and dry the anus thoroughly, and use moist pads rather than toilet paper after bowel movements. Local application of cortisone cream may help.
Anoscope:
An instrument for examining the lower rectum and anal canal.
Anoscopy:
An anoscopy is an examination using a small, rigid, tubular instrument called an anoscope (also called an anal speculum). This is inserted a few inches into to the anus in order to evaluate problems of the anal canal. Anoscopy is used to diagnose hemorrhoids, anal fissures (tears in the lining of the anus), and some cancers.
Anus: The opening of the rectum to the outside of the body.
Blood clots:
Blood that has been converted from a liquid to a solid state. Also called a thrombus.
Bowel: Another name for the intestine. The small bowel and the large bowel are the small intestine and large intestine, respectively.
Chronic: This important term in medicine comes from the Greek chronos, time and means lasting a long time.
Coagulation: In medicine, the clotting of blood. The process by which the blood clots to form solid masses, or clots.
Colon:
The part of the large intestine that runs from the cecum to the rectum as a long hollow tube that serves to remove water from digested food and let the remaining material, solid waste called stool, move through it to the rectum and leave the body through the anus.
Colorectal cancer: Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or large bowel cancer, includes cancerous growths in the colon, rectum and appendix.
Colonoscopy: A procedure in which a long flexible viewing tube (a colonoscope) is threaded up through the rectum for the purpose of inspecting the entire colon and rectum and, if there is an abnormality, taking a biopsy of it or removing it. The colonoscopy procedure requires a thorough bowel cleansing to assure a clear view of the lining. Called also coloscopy.
Constipation: Iirregular and infrequent or difficult evacuation of the bowels; can be a symptom of intestinal obstruction or diverticulitis.
Cryotherapy: Cryotherapy is the local or general use of low temperatures in medical therapy or the removal of heat from a body part. The term "cryotherapy" comes from the Greek cryo (κρυο) meaning cold and the word therapy (θεραπεια) meaning cure. It has been around since the 1880-1890s.
Diagnosis: The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A conclusion or decision reached by diagnosis. The diagnosis is rabies. 3 The identification of any problem. The diagnosis was a plugged IV.
Diarrhea: Diarrhea (from the Greek διάρροια meaning "flowing through"[2]), also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day.
Fiber: The parts of plants that cannot be digested, namely complex carbohydrates. Also known as bulk or roughage.
Hemorrhage: Bleeding or the abnormal flow of blood.
Hemorrhoid: A dilated (enlarged) vein in the walls of the anus and sometimes around the rectum, usually caused by untreated constipation but occasionally associated with chronic diarrhea. Many speople misspell it as
Hemerrhoids, hemeroids, hemorroids, hemorrhoid, hemmorhoids, hemmroids, piles.
Hemorrhoidectomy: Surgical removal of hemorrhoids (enlarged and dilated veins in and around the rectum and anus). Hemorrhoidectomy is usually reserved for severe hemorrhoids if more conservative treatment measures fail to alleviate the symptoms (burning, itching, swelling, protrusion, bleeding, and pain).
Inflammation: A basic way in which the body reacts to infection, irritation or other injury, the key feature being redness, warmth, swelling and pain. Inflammation is now recognized as a type of nonspecific immune response.
Itching: An uncomfortable sensation in the skin that feels as if something is crawling on the skin or in the skin, and makes the person want to scratch the affected area.
Ointment: A medication preparation that is applied topically (onto the skin). An ointment has an oil base whereas a cream is water-soluble. (The word ointment comes from the Latin ungere meaning anoint with oil).
Pain: Pain is a sensation transmitted from sensory nerves through the spinal cord and to the sensory area of the cerebrum, where the sensation is perceived. It is defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage".
Piles: 1. A term in use since the 15th century for hemorrhoids. 2. A street name for crack cocaine.
Rectum: The last 6 to 8 inches of the large intestine. The rectum stores solid waste until it leaves the body through the anus. The word rectum comes from the Latin rectus meaning straight (which the human rectum is not).
Sclerotherapy: The injection of a chemical irritant into a vein to sclerose ("harden") it. The chemical irritates the lining of the vein, causing it to swell and the blood to clot. The vein turns into scar tissue that fades from view. Blood flow shifts to nearby healthy blood vessels.
Sigmoidoscopy: Inspection of the rectum and lower colon using a thin lighted tube called a sigmoidoscope. Samples of tissue or cells may be collected for examination under a microscope. Also called proctosigmoidoscopy.
Stool: The solid matter discharged in a bowel movement.
Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. Anxiety, lower back pain, and fatigue are all symptoms. They are sensations only the patient can perceive. In contrast, a sign is objective evidence of disease. A bloody nose is a sign. It is evident to the patient, doctor, nurse and other observers.
Thrombosis: Thrombosis (Greek: θρόμβωσις) is the formation of a blood clot (thrombus; Greek: θρόμβος) inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel is injured, the body uses platelets and fibrin to form a blood clot to prevent blood loss. Alternatively, even when a blood vessel is not injured, blood clots may form in the body if the proper conditions present themselves. If the clotting is too severe and the clot breaks free, the traveling clot is now known as an embolus.
Topical: Pertaining to a particular surface area. A topical agent is applied to a certain area of the skin and is intended to affect only the area to which it is applied. Whether its effects are indeed limited to that area depends upon whether the agent stays where it is put or is absorbed into the blood stream.
