- Lactase (LAK-tayss)
- An enzyme in the small intestine needed to
digest milk sugar (lactose).
- Lactic Acid
- An acid produced during the fermentation of
milk sugar (LACTOSE)
. To make cheese and yogurt, to sour cabbage into sauerkraut, even
to leaven sourdough bread, food processors capitalize on the
lactic-acid-forming capabilities of certain BACTERIA
(lactobacilli) to break down a variety of different sugars, among
them lactose, sucrose (table sugar), GLUCOSE
and ety of different sugars, among them lactose, sucrose (table
sugar), MALTOSE.
-
- Lactase
Deficiency (LAK-tayss duh-FISH-en-see)
- Lack of the lactase enzyme. Causes lactose
intolerance.
- Lactose
- A type of sugar found in milk and milk products
(cheese, butter, etc.). It is considered a nutritive sweetener
because it has calories.
- Lactose
Intolerance (LAK-tohss in-TAH-luh-runs)
- Being unable to digest lactose, the sugar in
milk. This condition occurs because the body does not produce the
lactase enzyme.
- Lactose
Tolerance Test (LAK-tohss TAH-luh-runs test)
- A test for lactase deficiency. The patient
drinks a liquid that contains milk sugar. Then the patient's blood
is tested; the test measures the amount of milk sugar in the blood.
- Laparoscope
(LAP-uh-ruh-skohp)
- A thin tube with a tiny video camera attached.
Used to look inside the body and see the surface of organs. See also
Endoscope.
- Laparoscopic
Cholecystectomy (LAP-uh-ruh-SKAWP-ik KOH-luh-sis-TEK-tuh-mee)
- An operation to remove the gallbladder. The
doctor inserts a laparoscope (see above) and other surgical
instruments through small holes in the abdomen. The camera allows
the doctor to see the gallbladder on a television screen. The doctor
removes the gallbladder through the holes.
- Laparoscopy
(LAP-uh RAW-skuh-pee)
- A test that uses a laparoscope to look at and
take tissue from the inside of the body.
- Laparotomy
(LAP-uh-RAW-tuh-mee)
- An operation that opens up the abdomen.
- Large
Intestine (LARJ in-TES-tin)
- The part of the intestine that goes from the
cecum to the rectum. The large intestine absorbs water from stool
and changes it from a liquid to a solid form. The large intestine is
5 feet long and includes the appendix, cecum, colon, and rectum.
Also called colon.
- Lavage (lah-VAJ)
- A cleaning of the stomach and colon. Uses a
special drink and enemas. See also Bowel
Prep.
- Laxatives
(LAK-suh-tivz)
- Medicines to relieve long-term constipation.
Used only if other methods fail. Also called cathartics.
- Lazy Colon
(LAY-zee KOH-lun)
- See Atonic Colon.
- LEPIRUDIN
(leh-puh-ROO-din)
- Generic name for a recombinant hirudin.
Chemical designation: [Leu1, Thr2]-63- desulfohirudin. Trade name:
Refludan®.
- Levator
Syndrome (luh-VAY-tur sin-drohm)
- Feeling of fullness in the anus and rectum with
occasional pain. Caused by muscle spasms.
- Ligaments
- Stretchy bands of cordlike tissue that connect
bone to bone.
- Lipid
- A term for fat. The body stores fat as energy
for future use just like a car that has a reserve fuel tank. When
the body needs energy, it can break down the lipids into fatty acids
and burn them like glucose (sugar).
- Lithotripsy,
Extracorporeal Shock Wave (ESWL) (LITH-uh-trip-see,
EK-struh-cor-POH-ree-ul SHAHK wayv)
- A method of breaking up bile stones and
gallstones. Uses a specialized tool and shock waves.
- Liver (LIH-vur)
- The largest organ in the body. The liver
carries out many important functions, such as making bile, changing
food into energy, and cleaning alcohol and poisons from the blood.
- Liver
Enzyme Tests (LIH-vur EN-zym tests)
- Blood tests that look at how well the liver and
biliary system are working. Also called liver function tests. Also
called liver function tests.
- Low
Molecular Weight Heparin (LMWH)
- Parenteral anticoagulants
prepared by depolymerization of standard heparin
to form molecules with an average of one third the molecular weight
of heparin. Low molecular weight heparins have relatively more anti-Xa
activity and a more predictable anticoagulant response than heparin.
- Lower
Esophageal Ring (LOH-wur uh-saw-fuh-JEE-ul Ring)
- An abnormal ring of tissue that may partially
block the lower esophagus. Also called Schatzki's ring.
- Lower
Esophageal Sphincter (LOH-wur uh-saw-fuh-JEE-ul
SFEENK-tur)
- The muscle between the esophagus and stomach.
When a person swallows, this muscle relaxes to let food pass from
the esophagus to the stomach. It stays closed at other times to keep
stomach contents from flowing back into the esophagus.
- Lower GI
Series (LOH-wur jee-eye SEER-eez)
- X-rays of the rectum, colon, and lower part of
the small intestine. A barium enema is given first. Barium coats the
organs so they will show up on the x-ray. Also called barium enema
x-ray.
- Lymphocyte
- a type of white blood cell produced in the
lymphoid organs that is primarily responsible for immune responses.
Present in the blood, lymph and lymphoid tissues. (See also B
cell and T cell.)
- Lymphoid
tissue
- tonsils, adenoids, lymph nodes, spleen and
other tissues that act as the body's filtering system, trapping
invading microorganisms and presenting them to squadrons of immune
cells that congregate there.
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