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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.

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PalpitationsPalpitations are an awareness of your own heartbeat — racing, thumping, fluttering or seeming to skip. Most are harmless, but the pattern and the company they keep decide whether they need investigating.
PancreasAn organ behind the stomach that makes insulin to control blood sugar, and enzymes that digest food. Diabetes is a disease of its insulin-making cells.
Panic attackPanic attacks, Ghabrahat ka daura, Anxiety attackA sudden rush of intense fear with strong physical symptoms such as a racing heart, breathlessness and shaking. It peaks within minutes and, although frightening, is not dangerous.

PathogenInfectious agent, GermA pathogen is any organism capable of causing disease — a bacterium, a virus, a fungus or a parasite. The term covers the cause of an infection regardless of which kind of organism it is.

Personality disorderPersonality disorders, PDA long-standing pattern of thinking, feeling and relating to others that differs markedly from most people's and causes real distress or problems for the person or those around them.

PhobiaPhobias, Specific phobia, Irrational fearAn intense, lasting fear of a particular thing or situation, such as heights, injections or dogs, that is out of proportion to the real danger and leads a person to avoid it.

PlaceboDummy treatment, Placebo effectA placebo is a treatment with no active ingredient, used in trials as the comparison against which a real medicine is judged. The placebo effect is the genuine improvement people report after receiving one.

PlateletThrombocyte, PLTPlatelets are the smallest cells in blood and their job is clotting — they clump at the site of an injury and form the initial plug that stops bleeding. A platelet count is part of a standard blood test.

PolydipsiaExcessive thirstConstant, excessive thirst that is not relieved by drinking — a common early symptom of untreated diabetes.

PolyuriaFrequent urination, Passing urine oftenPassing unusually large amounts of urine, often the first symptom of diabetes. Getting up repeatedly at night is the classic pattern.

Post-traumatic stress disorderPTSD, Posttraumatic stress disorder, Post traumatic stress disorderA condition that can follow a frightening or life-threatening event, in which the memory keeps intruding, reminders are avoided and the person stays constantly on guard.

Postnatal depressionPostpartum depression, PPDDepression that begins during pregnancy or in the year after having a baby. It is common, it is not a sign of being a bad mother, and it is treatable.

Postprandial blood sugarAfter-meal blood sugar, PP sugar, Two-hour postprandialBlood sugar measured two hours after starting a meal. It shows how well your body handled that particular food.

PrediabetesBorderline diabetes, Impaired glucose tolerance, IGTBlood sugar that is higher than normal but not yet high enough to be called diabetes. It usually causes no symptoms at all, and it can often be reversed.

Prefrontal cortexPFC, Frontal lobeThe front part of the brain, behind the forehead, responsible for planning, decision-making, self-control and weighing consequences. It is one of the last areas to mature, in the mid-to-late 20s.

PrognosisOutlookA prognosis is the expected course of a condition — how it is likely to develop and what the chances of recovery are. It is a statement about probability across many people, not a prediction about one.

Prolonged grief disorderComplicated grief, PGD, Persistent complex bereavement disorderIntense grief that lasts much longer than expected after a death and stops a person from functioning. ICD-11 uses at least six months; DSM-5-TR uses twelve months for adults.

ProphylaxisPreventive treatment, ProphylacticProphylaxis is treatment given to prevent a disease rather than to cure one. Vaccines, malaria tablets taken before travel and antibiotics given before surgery are all examples.

ProteinuriaProtein in urine, AlbuminuriaProteinuria means protein is leaking into the urine, which healthy kidneys prevent. It is one of the earliest signs of kidney damage, often appearing long before any symptom does.

PsychiatryPsychiatrist, Psychiatric doctorThe branch of medicine that diagnoses and treats mental illness. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor with specialist training who can prescribe medicine as well as offer therapy.

PsychoeducationPsycho-education, Patient educationClear information about a mental health condition — what it is, why it happens, how it is treated and what helps — given to the person and often their family. It is usually the first step of treatment.

PsychologyNafsiyat, PsychologistThe scientific study of how people think, feel and behave. Most psychologists are not medical doctors and do not prescribe medicine.

PsychosisPsychotic episode, Psychotic symptomsA state in which a person loses some contact with reality — hearing or seeing things others do not, or firmly believing things that are not true. It is a symptom with many causes, and it is treatable.

Psychosomatic symptomsSomatisation, Functional symptoms, Somatic symptomsReal physical symptoms — pain, dizziness, stomach upset, weakness — that are driven or worsened by stress and emotion rather than by damage to an organ. They are not imagined.

PsychotherapyTalking therapy, Talk therapy, TherapyTreatment through regular, structured conversations with a trained professional, to help with mental illness, emotional problems or unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviour.

Pulse oximeterOximeter, SpO2 monitorA pulse oximeter is the clip placed on a fingertip to measure how much oxygen the blood is carrying, shown as a percentage. A reading of 95% or above is normal for most healthy adults.

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

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

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