Medical terms/definitions - A

Abscess - a walled cavity containing pus that's surrounded by inflamed or dying tissue

Accommodation - the process by which they eyes adjust to focus on nearby or distant objects

Acute - conditions that begin abruptly and last for a short time

Adenoids - collection of lymphatic tissue on each side of the back upper part of the throat; part of immune system

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) - occurs after infection with HIV, spread by sexual intercourse or infected blood and results in loss of resistance to infection/some cancers

Allergen - a substance causing an allergic reaction in a person previously exposed to it

Alveoli - tiny air sacks in the lungs through the walls of which gases diffuse during respiration

Alzheimer's disease - progressive dementia due to loss of nerve cells in the brain, affects more than 10% of over 65's

Anaemia - a disorder in which the amount of haemoglobin in the blood is reduced

Aneurysm - swelling of an artery caused by pressure of blood flow through a weakened section of the vessel wall

Angina - pain or tightness in the centre of the chest usually bought…