Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

failure, heart
See 
congestive heart failure.
failure to thrive
The inability of a child to phys-
ically grow as quickly and as much as his or her
peers. Abbreviated FTT. There is no official consen-
sus as to what constitutes FTT. It usually refers to a
child whose growth is below the 3rd or 5th per-
centiles for his or her age or whose growth has
fallen off precipitously and crossed two major
growth quartiles (for example, from above the 75th
percentile to below the 25th percentile). FTT in
early infancy sometimes results in death, and in
older infancy or childhood it is an important disease
marker. FTT has many causes, including exposure
to toxins in utero, chronic diseases, infection,
chronic kidney disease, gastrointestinal disorders,
undiagnosed metabolic disorders, emotional depri-
vation and other psychosocial conditions, and other
diseases. Treatment of FTT requires discovery and
treatment of the underlying causes. In the interim,
IV feeding is necessary in some cases, and in others,
supplemental high-calorie feedings can help.
fainting
See 
syncope.
falciparum malaria
See 
malaria, falciparum.
FALDH deficiency
See 
Sjogren’s syndrome.
fallopian tube
One of the two tubes that trans-
port eggs from the ovary to the uterus. The Fallopian
tubes have small hair-like projections called cilia on
the cells of the lining. These tubal cilia are essential
to the movement of the egg through the tube and
into the uterus. If the tubal cilia are damaged by
infection, an egg may not be pushed along normally
but may stay in the tube. Infection can also cause
partial or complete blockage of the tube with scar
tissue, physically preventing eggs from getting to the
uterus. Infection, endometriosis, tumors, scar tissue
in the pelvis (pelvic adhesions), and any other
process that damages a Fallopian tube or narrows
its diameter increase the chance of an ectopic preg-
nancy. See also 
ectopic pregnancy.
false negative
A result that appears negative
when it should not. An example of a false negative
would be if a particular test designed to detect can-
cer returns a negative result but the person actually
does have cancer.
false positive
A result that indicates that a given
condition is present when it is not. An example of a
false positive would be if a particular test designed
to detect cancer returns a positive result but the
person does not have cancer.
false rib
One of the last five pairs of ribs. A rib is
said to be false if it does not attach to the sternum
(the breastbone). The upper three false ribs con-
nect to the costal cartilages of the ribs just above
them. The last two false ribs usually have no ventral
attachment to anchor them in front and so are
called floating, fluctuating, or vertebral ribs.
familial
A condition that tends to occur more
often in family members than is expected by chance
alone. A familial disease may be genetic (such as
cystic fibrosis) or environmental (such as chicken
pox).