Glossary Term - B
Alphabetical glossary of health & disability services, health terms and general MidCentral District Health Board information.
Benign
Something that is slow-growing or won’t cause much harm. You can get benign tumours, which won’t spread throughout the body, for instance.
Biopsy
When a part of your body isn't working quite right, doctors need to be able to see what's going wrong. Sometimes, they decide to do a biopsy, which means they take a really small section from that part of your body. They can then carry out tests on the piece of tissue, without you having to be there. And, they can work out how the body part works, and what's going wrong.
Biofeedback
This is one approach used by the Psycho-Oncology Service to help the patient reduce anxiety and improve their ability to cope with stress. It involves the use of sensitive equipment to provide the patient with immediate information about some of their bodily responses (e.g. blood pressure, heart rate, and skin temperature) so that they can learn to control these responses at times when they are anxious or stressed.
Blood
Your blood flows all around your body through arteries, veins and capillaries. It's made up of different types of blood cell – red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets – all suspended in a liquid called plasma.
Blood count
A test on a sample of blood that counts how many of each type of blood cell is present. It’s used as a general check that you are well or not.
Blood Donors Service
Blood gases
A test that shows the amount of certain gases, like oxygen and carbon dioxide, are in your blood. It’s usually used to check whether you’re breathing effectively and getting enough oxygen.
Blood groups
There are lots of different blood groups – A, B, AB and O – and everyone has one. Blood groups are important if you’re having a blood transfusion, as certain blood groups won’t be accepted if you have a different one to the donated blood.
Blood pressure
Blood pressure shows how hard your heart is working to move blood around your body. It may seem strange, but when the doctor puts an arm-band around one of your arms and starts pumping air into it, it means they're checking your blood pressure.
Blood transfusion
A way of replacing blood lost during an operation or after an accident. Before you have a blood transfusion, you’ll have your blood group checked to make sure your body will accept the transfusion.
Blood Transfusion Service
Bone
These make up our skeleton. Bones are made from substances like calcium and phosphorus which make them strong. Inside some of our bones is bone marrow.
Bone marrow
You never actually get to see your bone marrow but it is very important. It's thick, squishy stuff that helps your blood to work. It produces special blood cells that protect you against infection and makes sure oxygen gets to every corner of your body.
BreastScreen Coast to Coast
Bronchi
These are the two tubes that connect the bottom of your windpipe to your lungs.
Bronchoscopy
A test where the doctor can look inside your lungs using a flexible tube with a camera and light on the end. You’ll usually have this test under a general anaesthetic, so you’re deeply ‘asleep’.
Building & Engineering
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Last Updated 29/10/2007