Medical glossary for healthcare interpreters

U

Ulcer 

sore on the skin surface or on the stomach lining.

Ultraviolet radiation

invisible rays that come from the sun. Uv radiation can damage the skin and cause melanoma and other types of skin cancer.

Upper gi endoscopy

examining into the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum with an endoscope. (see also endoscopy.)

Upper limb tension test (ultt)

test to assess pain.

Urea breath test

test used to detect helicobacter pylori infection. The test measures breath samples for urease, an enzyme h. Pylori produces.

Ureters

two tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder.

Urethra

narrow channel through which urine passes from the bladder out of the body.

Urge incontinence

the inability to hold urine long enough to reach a restroom.

Urgent surgery

an operation performed immediately as a result of an urgent medical condition. (see also emergency surgery.)

Urinary retention

the inability to empty the bladder.

Usher’s syndrome

a hereditary disease that affects hearing and vision.

Uterus (also called the womb.)

the uterus is a hollow, pear-shaped organ located in a woman's lower abdomen, between the bladder and the rectum, that sheds its lining each month during menstruation and in which a fertilized egg implants and grows into a fetus.