Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

Blount disease
See 
tibia vara.
blue baby
See 
cyanosis.
blush
Redness of the skin as a result of dilated
capillaries, typically over the cheeks or neck.
Blushing is an involuntary response of the nervous
system that leads to widening of the capillaries in
the involved skin. A blush is temporary, and it may
be brought on by excitement, exercise, fever, or
embarrassment. Also known as flush.
BM
Physician’s shorthand for black male.
BMD
See 
bone mineral density.
BMI
Body mass index.
BMJ
British Medical Journal
, one of the major
general medical journals in the world. 
BMJ
states
that it “aims to help doctors everywhere practice
better medicine and to influence the debate on
health.”
BNP
See 
B-type natriuretic peptide.
board certified
In medicine, a description for a
physician who has taken and passed a medical spe-
cialty examination by one of several recognized
boards of specialists. Before obtaining board certi-
fication, the physician must become board eligible.
board eligible
In medicine, a description for a
physician who has completed the requirements for
admission to a medical specialty board examination
but has not passed that examination. For example, a
physician must have 3 years of training in an
approved pediatric residency to be eligible for cer-
tification by the American Board of Pediatrics.
body dysmorphic disorder
A psychiatric disor-
der characterized by excessive preoccupation with
imagined defects in physical appearance. It is classi-
fied as an anxiety disorder, and it is believed to be a
variant of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Also known
as somatoform disorder and dysmorphophobia.
body mass index
A key index for relating weight
to height. Abbreviated BMI. BMI is a person’s weight
in kilograms (kg) divided by his or her height in
meters squared. The National Institutes of Health
(NIH) now defines normal weight, overweight, and
obesity according to BMI rather than the traditional
height/weight charts. Overweight is a BMI of 27.3 or
more for women and 27.8 or more for men. Obesity
is a BMI of 30 or more for either sex (about 30
pounds overweight). A very muscular person might
have a high BMI without health risks.