Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

acrodermatitis enteropathica
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acupuncturist
A person skilled in the practice of
acupuncture, who may or may not be credentialed
by an accrediting body.
acute
Of short duration, rapid, and abbreviated in
onset. A condition is termed acute in comparison to
a subacute condition, which lasts longer or changes
less rapidly; or a chronic condition, which may last
almost indefinitely, with virtually no change. Each
disease has a unique time scale: An acute myocar-
dial infarction (heart attack) may last a week,
whereas an acute sore throat may last only a day or
two. See also 
chronic.
acute abdomen
Medical shorthand for the acute
onset of abdominal pain. A potential medical emer-
gency, an acute abdomen may reflect a major prob-
lem with one of the organs in the abdomen, such as
appendicitis (inflamed appendix), cholecystitis
(inflamed gallbladder), a perforated ulcer in the
intestine, or a ruptured spleen.
acute esophageal stricture
See 
esophageal
stricture, acute.
acute fatty liver of pregnancy
Abbreviated
AFLP, liver failure in late pregnancy, usually of
unknown cause. Symptoms include nausea and
vomiting, abdominal pain, yellowing of the skin and
eyes (jaundice), frequent thirst (polydipsia),
increased urination (polyuria), headache, and
altered mental state. Laboratory features of AFLP
include low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), elevated
liver enzymes, and low levels of blood platelets.
Untreated AFLP can cause complete liver failure,
bleeding due to impaired blood clotting, and death
of the mother and fetus. AFLP is treated by deliver-
ing the baby as soon as possible, often by inducing
early labor. It usually subsides after delivery and
does not occur in subsequent pregnancies. In some
cases AFLP is associated with an abnormality of
fatty-acid metabolism: a deficiency of the enzyme
long-chain-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenease
(LCHAD). The mother and father have half the nor-
mal LCHAD activity, and the fetus has no LCHAD
activity. This metabolic disease in the baby’s liver
causes the fatty liver disease in the mother.