Amniotic fluid Health Dictionary

Amniotic Fluid: From 3 Different Sources


The clear, watery fluid (popularly called the “waters”) that surrounds the fetus in the uterus. The fluid is contained within the amniotic sac. It cushions the fetus, allowing movement.

Amniotic fluid is produced by cells lining the amniotic sac and is constantly circulated. It appears in the 1st week after conception and gradually increases in volume until the 10th week, when the increase becomes very rapid.

Occasionally, excessive fluid is formed (see polyhydramnios); less frequently, insufficient amniotic fluid is formed (see oligohydramnios).

Health Source: BMA Medical Dictionary
Author: The British Medical Association
The clear ?uid contained within the AMNION that surrounds the FETUS in the womb and protects it from external pressure. The ?uid, comprising mainly water, is produced by the amnion and is regularly circulated, being swallowed by the fetus and excreted through the kidneys back into the amniotic sac. By the 35th week of pregnancy there is about 1 litre of ?uid, but this falls to 0.5 litres at term. The amniotic sac normally ruptures in early labour, releasing the ?uid or ‘waters’.
Health Source: Medical Dictionary
Author: Health Dictionary
the fluid contained within the *amniotic cavity. It surrounds the growing fetus, protecting it from external pressure. The fluid is initially secreted from the *amnion and is later supplemented by urine from the fetal kidneys. Some of the fluid is swallowed by the fetus and absorbed through its intestine. The volume of amniotic fluid varies according to the stage of gestation: approximate normal values are 500 ml at 18 weeks, rising to a maximum of 800 ml at 34 weeks and falling to 600 ml at term. See also anhydramnios; oligohydramnios; polyhydramnios.
Health Source: Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary
Author: Jonathan Law, Elizabeth Martin

Cerebrospinal Fluid

The ?uid within the ventricles of the brain and bathing its surface and that of the spinal cord. Normally a clear, colourless ?uid, its pressure when an individual is lying on one side is 50 to 150 mm water. A LUMBAR PUNCTURE should not be done if the intracranial pressure is raised (see HYDROCEPHALUS).

The cerebrospinal ?uid (CSF) provides useful information in various conditions and is invaluable in the diagnosis of acute and chronic in?ammatory diseases of the nervous system. Bacterial MENINGITIS results in a large increase in the number of polymorphonuclear LEUCOCYTES, while a marked lymphocytosis is seen in viral meningitis and ENCEPHALITIS, tuberculous meningitis and neurosyphilis. The total protein content is raised in many neurological diseases, being particularly high with neuro?bromatosis (see VON RECKLINGHAUSEN’S DISEASE) and Guillan-Barré syndrome, while the immunoglobulin G fraction is raised in MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS), neurosyphilis, and connective-tissue disorders. The glucose content is raised in diabetes (see DIABETES MELLITUS), but may be very low in bacterial meningitis, when appropriately stained smears or cultures often de?ne the infecting organism. The CSF can also be used to measure immune proteins produced in response to infection, helping diagnosis in cases where the organism is not grown in the laboratory culture.... cerebrospinal fluid

Amniotic Sac

See AMNION.... amniotic sac

Fluid Balance

The appropriate balance of ?uid input and output (along with dissolved salts essential for life) over 24 hours. During this period, about 2,500 millilitres (ml) of ?uid should be taken in by a 70-kg man and the same amount excreted; of this, 1,500 ml will be drunk, 800 ml will be in the food eaten, and 200 ml produced by food metabolism. Excreted water is made up of 1,500 ml of urine, 800 ml insensible loss and 200 ml in the faeces. A 70-kg man’s total body ?uid is 42 litres – 60 per cent of body weight. Intracellular ?uid comprises 28 litres, extracellular, 14 litres and blood, 5 litres. Water is controlled mainly by the sodium concentration in the body ?uids via the release of antidiuretic hormone (ADH – see VASOPRESSIN) from the posterior part of the PITUITARY GLAND. In seriously ill people, close monitoring of ?uid intake and output, along with measurements of PLASMA sodium and calcium concentrations, is an essential factor in treatment.... fluid balance

Fluidextract

An extract of an herb that is made according to official (and unofficial) pharmaceutical practice, with a strength of 1:1. That means each ounce of the fluidextract has the solutes found in an ounce of the dried herb. Advantageous for some herbs (such as Arctium or Taraxacum), where the active constituents retain the same proportions as in the plant, even though reduced to a very small volume of menstruum, it is deadly for others (such as Hydrastis or Lobelia), whose constituents may have wildly varying solubility, and whose fluidextract will contain only the most soluble constituents and lack others completely. The gradual disappearance of herbal preparations in Standard Medicine in the 1930s can partly be attributed to the almost complete reliance on fluidextracts. Some manufacturers (notably Lilly and SK&F) sold Tinctures (1:5 strength and meant to, at the least, contain EVERYTHING in the plant) that were made from diluted fluidextracts. Some fluidextracts were even made from dilutions of what were termed Solid Extracts....heat-evaporated tars, easy to store, easy to make in huge labor-minimal batches, where 100 pounds of Blue Cohosh could be reduced to 25 pounds of solid extract. This convenience pitch, with many constituents oxidized by heat, others never even extracted, could be diluted four times to sell as a fluidextract, TWENTY time to market as a tincture. These practices by American pharmaceutical manufacturers, with eyes perhaps on the larger drug trade (the use of crude drugs being a diminished part of their commerce, yet needing MANY different preparations...and being labor-intensive and profit-minimal...and sort of old-fashioned) ended up supplying terminally impaired products. Their value being reduced, physicians relied more and more on mainstream pharmaceuticals...and the medical use of whole plant preparations died.... fluidextract

Interstitial Fluid

The hydrogel that surrounds cells in soft tissues. It is a mucopolysaccaride starch gel, and the serum that leaves the blood capillaries flows through this gel, some to return to the exiting venous blood, some to enter the lymph system. There is an old medical axiom: the blood feeds the lymph, and the lymph feeds the cells. Interstitial fluid that flows through the starch colloid is this lymph.... interstitial fluid

Fluid Extracts

Another term for liquid extracts, chiefly used in America and among a modern generation of herbal practitioners. Largely solutions of alcohol and water, strength 1:1. Prepared from crude material or solid extract, the alcohol content differing with each product. See: LIQUID EXTRACTS. ... fluid extracts

Fluid Retention

Excessive accumulation of fluid in body tissues. Mild fluid retention is common with premenstrual syndrome but disappears with the onset of menstruation. However, more severe fluid retention may be associated with an underlying heart, liver, or kidney disorder (see ascites; nephrotic syndrome; oedema). Diuretic drugs may be used to treat the condition.... fluid retention

Seminal Fluid Analysis

Analysis of sperm concentration, shape, and motility (ability to move).

It is used to investigate male infertility and is also done some weeks after vasectomy to ensure that the semen no longer contains sperm.... seminal fluid analysis

Tissue Fluid

The watery liquid present in the tiny gaps between body cells, also known as interstitial fluid.... tissue fluid

Amniotic Cavity

the fluid-filled cavity between the embryo and the *amnion. It forms initially within the inner cell mass of the *blastocyst and later expands over the back of the embryo, eventually enclosing it completely. See also amniotic fluid.... amniotic cavity

Amniotic Fluid Embolism

a condition in which amniotic fluid enters the maternal circulation causing a complex cascade similar to that seen in anaphylactic and septic *shock. It is a rare event (1 in 50,000–100,000 deliveries), with a 60–80% maternal mortality. The sudden onset of cardiopulmonary collapse, together with coma or seizures, in labour or shortly after delivery, should prompt the diagnosis. Most of the women who survive have permanent neurological damage.... amniotic fluid embolism

Fluid Retention Syndrome (frs)

Accumulation of fluid beneath the skin; frequent sites – fingers, abdomen, breast, ankles.

Symptoms. Headache, frequency of urine, palpitation, possible irritable bowel syndrome. “My feet are killing me”, “I can’t get my wedding ring off” are typical complaints by women with FRS. Sometimes a complication of diabetes, or follows abuse of laxatives or diuretic drugs. A part of the premenstrual syndrome.

Alternatives. Teas. Any of the following: Buchu, Dandelion, Hawthorn, Motherwort, Yarrow. One or more cups daily, cold.

Tablets. Popular combination. Powdered Dandelion root BHP (1983) 90mg; powdered Horsetail extract 3:1 10mg; powdered Uva Ursi extract 3:1 75mg. (Gerard House)

Formula. Equal parts: Hawthorn, Dandelion, Broom. Dose: Powders: 750mg (three 00 capsules or half a teaspoon). Liquid extracts: 1 teaspoon. Tinctures: 1-2 teaspoons. Thrice daily.

Practitioner. Tincture Lily of the Valley (Convallaria) BHP (1983) (1:5 in 40 per cent alcohol). Dose 8- 15 drops (0.5-1ml). Thrice daily.

Aromatherapy. 6 drops Lavender oil on wet handkerchief: use as a compress for relief of ankles during a journey.

Traditional Gypsy Medicine. The sufferer is exposed to the rising smoke of smouldering Juniper berries which exudes volatile oils and has a gentle diuretic effect.

Diet. Salt-free. High protein. Dandelion coffee. Supplements. Vitamin B-complex, Potassium, Copper. ... fluid retention syndrome (frs)

Fluid Level

the radiographic finding of a straight line between fluid and gas within a hollow organ or cavity when a horizontal X-ray beam strikes the fluid surface tangentially. Multiple long fluid levels are seen in loops of small bowel that are obstructed. A fluid level in the lung suggests a cavity that is partially filled with fluid (e.g. an abscess).... fluid level

Helly’s Fluid

a mixture of potassium dichromate, sodium sulphate, mercuric chloride, formaldehyde, and distilled water, used in the preservation of bone marrow. [K. Helly (20th century), Swiss pathologist]... helly’s fluid



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