Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

quadriparesis
Weakness of all four limbs, both
arms and both legs, as from muscular dystrophy.
quadriplegia
Paralysis of all four limbs, both
arms and both legs, as from a high spinal cord acci-
dent or stroke.
qualitative
Having to do with quality, in contrast
to quantitative, which pertains strictly to quantity.
See also 
quantitative.
quality of life
The patient’s ability to enjoy nor-
mal life activities. Quality of life is an important con-
sideration in medical care. Some medical
treatments can seriously impair quality of life with-
out providing appreciable benefit, whereas others
greatly enhance quality of life.
quantitative
Having to do with quantity or with
the amount. See also 
qualitative.
quarantine
A period of isolation decreed to con-
trol the spread of infectious disease. Before the era of
antibiotics and other medications, quarantine was
one of the few available means for halting the spread
of infectious diseases.
quasi-
Prefix meaning seemingly, as in qua-
sidominant (seemingly dominant).
Queensland tick typhus
See 
typhus,
Queensland tick.
quickening
The moment during pregnancy when
the baby is first felt to move.
quiescent
Inactive, resting. For example, tuber-
culosis can be a quiescent (inactive) infection.
quinacrine 1
A drug that has been used to treat
malaria as well as giardiasis.
2
In cytogenetics, a
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fluorescent dye used to stain chromosomes. See
also 
malaria; plasmodium.
quinidine
A medication (brand name:
Cardioquin, Quinaglute, Quinalan, Quinidex,
Quinora) that is prescribed to treat abnormal heart
rhythms. Quinidine is derived from the same botan-
ical source as quinine. Quinidine interacts with a
number of other medications, particularly over-the-
counter cold and cough remedies. See also 
quinine.
quinine
An antimalarial agent. Quinine takes its
name from the Peruvian Indian word for “bark of
the tree,” referring to the cinchona tree from which
quinine was obtained. Until World War I, quinine
was the only effective treatment for malaria. In fact,
quinine was the first chemical compound to be suc-
cessfully used to treat an infectious disease. See also
malaria; plasmodium.