Glossary Term - H
Alphabetical glossary of health & disability services, health terms and general MidCentral District Health Board information.
Haem-
If a word begins with ‘haem’ this usually means that it is something to do with blood. For example, haematology is the study of blood.
Haematuria
If you have blood in your wee, the doctors may say that you have haematuria. It’s usually caused by an infection in your urinary system. Sometimes, the amount of blood is so small, that you can only see it under a microscope.
Haemoglobin
This is what makes red blood cells red. It’s a kind of pigment that carries the oxygen to all parts of your body. Each red blood cell contains about 350 million haemoglobin molecules!
Health & Disability Commissioner
Health Promotion
Health Protection
Health Statistics
Heart
This is the pump made of muscle inside your ribcage that keeps us all alive. Your heart pumps all the time to push blood around the body.
Hemi-
This means 'half' as in hemi-nephrectomy – an operation where half of your kidney is removed.
Hernia
This is a condition where a muscle has a weak spot which lets your insides bulge out through it. It's fixed in an operation.
Hip
Your hip is the joint between your pelvis and your thighbone. It’s a ‘ball and socket’ joint which means you can move your leg right round.
Home Help Services
Hormones
These are chemical messengers that switch on and off processes in the body. For instance, starting puberty or producing more urine.
Horowhenua Health Centre
Hotel Services
House Management
Human Resources
Humerus
Your upper arm bone. It connects your shoulder with a ‘ball and socket’ joint and with your elbow with a ‘hinge’ joint.
Hyper-
When this starts a word, it means ‘too much’ of something.
Hypo-
When this starts a word, it means ‘too little’ of something.
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Last Updated 29/10/2007