Glossary Terms

Diaphragm: A musculomembranous partition separating the abdominal and thoracic cavities and functioning in respiration. Also called midriff.

downregulation: in cell biology; the reduction of a cell’s response to a hormone or other ligand by internalizing its cognate receptor and degrading it within a coated pit; downregulation is a mechanism by which receptors respond to an excess of ligands

Dysmenorrhea: the occurrance of painful cramps during menstruation.

Eclampsia: an acute and life-threatening complication of pregnancy, is characterized by the appearance of tonic-clonic seizures, usually in a patient who had developed pre-eclampsia.

Ectopic pregnancy: In an ectopic pregnancy, the fertilized egg implants in a location outside the uterus and tries to develop there. The word ectopic means “in an abnormal place or position.” The most common site is the fallopian tube, the tube that normally carries eggs from the ovary to the uterus. However, ectopic pregnancy can also

Embryo: the developing individual from the time of implantation to about the end of the second month after conception. From the third month to the point of delivery, the individual is called a fetus.