Aslam Clinic

Digital Care

Aslam Clinic

Digital Care

Skip to content

Aslam ClinicWikiAslam Clinic Wiki — home

Glossary Quizzes About Contact

General Medicine Cardiology Neurology Orthopedics Gastroenterology Endocrinology Pulmonology Dermatology Pediatrics Women's Health Infectious Diseases Nephrology & Urology

Home
Glossary
B

Medical glossary

227 words and abbreviations, explained without jargon. Every one of them also appears inside our articles — hover or tap the dotted underline and the definition comes to you, so you never have to leave what you were reading.

All
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

B

Baby bluesMaternity blues, Postpartum bluesBrief tearfulness, mood swings and anxiety in the first days after giving birth. It is very common, normal, and settles within about two weeks.
BacteriaBacterium, GermsBacteria are single-celled living organisms, most of them harmless or useful, a minority of which cause infection. Unlike viruses they can be killed by antibiotics, which is the whole reason the distinction matters at the point of treatment.
Basal insulin

Background insulin, Long-acting insulin

Long-acting insulin that provides a steady background level through the day and night, usually injected once daily.

Behavioural activationBA, Behavioral activation, Activity schedulingA structured therapy for depression that gets you back into rewarding and meaningful activities in small, planned steps, rather than waiting until you feel like it.

BenignNon-cancerous, Not malignantBenign describes a growth or a finding that is not cancer: it stays where it started, does not invade surrounding tissue and does not spread elsewhere in the body. Benign is not always the same as harmless.

BenzodiazepineBenzos, Benzodiazepines, TranquilliserSedative medicines — such as alprazolam (Xanax), bromazepam (Lexotanil), clonazepam and diazepam — that quickly calm anxiety and aid sleep but are habit-forming. For short-term use only, under a doctor.

Beta cellβ-cell, Islet beta cellThe cells in the pancreas that make insulin. Diabetes develops when they are destroyed or can no longer keep up.

Big Five personality traitsBig Five, Big 5, Five-factor modelThe most widely used scientific model of personality. It describes people on five broad scales: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

BiopsyTissue sampling, Histopathology sampleA biopsy is the removal of a small piece of tissue so that it can be examined under a microscope. It is the test that settles what a lump, an ulcer or an abnormal patch actually is, when scans and blood tests can only suggest.

Bipolar disorderBipolar affective disorder, Manic depression, BipolarA long-term condition with episodes of depression and episodes of abnormally high or irritable mood (mania or hypomania), usually lasting days to weeks, with more stable periods in between.

Blood pressureBP, Arterial pressureBlood pressure is the force of blood against the artery walls, written as two numbers in millimetres of mercury: the higher one is the pressure as the heart squeezes, the lower one the pressure as it refills. It varies through the day, so a diagnosis is never made on one reading.

BMIBody mass index, Quetelet indexBody mass index is weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared, used as a rough screen for whether a person carries too much or too little weight for their frame. South Asians face weight-related risk at a lower BMI than the standard chart assumes.

Bolus insulinMealtime insulin, Rapid-acting insulin, Prandial insulinFast-acting insulin taken with meals to cover the sugar from the food you are about to eat.

BronchodilatorReliever medicine, Airway openerA bronchodilator is a medicine that relaxes the muscle wrapped around the airways so they widen and air moves more freely. It relieves wheeze and breathlessness within minutes but does nothing about the underlying inflammation.

BurnoutBurn-out, Occupational burnout, Work burnoutA state of exhaustion, cynicism and reduced effectiveness caused by long-term workplace stress that has not been managed. WHO calls it an occupational phenomenon, not a medical condition.

Aslam ClinicWikiAslam Clinic Wiki — home

Health, explained plainly. Written for Pakistan and checked by the clinic’s doctors before it is published.

support@aslam.clinic
+92 308 0429292

Aslam Clinic & Al-Shifa Laser Eye Center, Mohalla Masjid Siddique, Circular Road, Jalalpur Jattan

The wiki

All specialties
Medical glossary
Search
Who writes this
Publishing principles
About the wiki
RSS feed

Popular sections

General Medicine
Cardiology
Neurology
Orthopedics
Gastroenterology
Endocrinology

Aslam Clinic

Book an appointment
Find a doctor
Services
Store

© 2026 Aslam Clinic · wiki.aslam.clinic

Privacy
Terms
Editorial policy

Book now