Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

active euthanasia
The active acceleration of a
terminally ill patient’s death by use of drugs or other
means. Currently, active euthanasia is openly prac-
ticed in the Netherlands and in the US state of
Oregon. The patient’s request to the physician must
be voluntary, explicit, and carefully considered, and
it must be made repeatedly. Moreover, the patient’s
suffering must be unbearable and without any
prospect of improvement. Suicide for other rea-
sons, whether irrational or rational, is not active
euthanasia. The forced killing of an ill or disabled
person, as has occurred in eugenics programs, is
also not active euthanasia. And although medica-
tions administered for pain relief may hasten death,
aggressive pain relief is a normal medical decision
in terminal care, not in active euthanasia. See also
assisted suicide; eugenics; euthanasia.
active immunity
Immunity produced by the
body in response to stimulation by a disease-caus-
ing organism or other agent.
activities of daily living
Things that a person
normally does during a day, including self-care
(eating, bathing, dressing, grooming), work, home-
making, and leisure. The ability or inability to per-
form these activities can be used as a practical
measure of ability or disability, and it may be used
by insurers and HMOs as a rationale for approving
or denying physical therapy or other treatments.
Abbreviated ADL.
acuity, auditory
The clearness of hearing, a
measure of how well a person hears.
acuity, visual
The clearness of vision, a measure
of how well one sees.
acuity test, visual
The familiar eye chart test,
which measures how well a person can see at vari-
ous distances.
acupressure
The application of pressure on spe-
cific points on the body to control symptoms such
as pain or nausea. Similar in concept to acupunc-
ture, but without needles. See also 
acupuncture.
acupuncture
The practice of inserting needles
into specific points on the body with a therapeutic
aim, such as to reduce pain or to induce anesthesia
without the use of drugs. Traditional Chinese
acupuncturists say the practice unblocks the flow of
a life force called ch’i; Western researchers believe
acupuncture may affect production of endorphins,
the body’s natural painkillers. In 1997, the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a consensus state-
ment stating that “There is sufficient evidence of
acupuncture’s value to expand its use into conven-
tional medicine.” See also 
acupressure.