Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

grand mal seizure
See 
seizure, tonic-clonic.
granular cell tumor
A typically benign, uncom-
mon tumor characterized by the presence of cells
with a striking granularity of the cytoplasm when
viewed under the microscope. The tumors are
derived from neural cells, and the granularity of the
cytoplasm is due to the accumulation of secondary
lysosomes. Granular cell tumors are generally slow-
growing, solitary, painless nodules that can occur
anywhere in the body. Malignant granular cell
tumors occur rarely.
goose bumps
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granulation
That part of the healing process in
which lumpy, pink tissue containing new connective
tissue and capillaries forms around the edges of a
wound. Granulation of a wound is normal and
desirable.
granulocyte
A type of white blood cell that is
filled with microscopic granules, little sacs contain-
ing enzymes that digest microorganisms.
Granulocytes are part of the innate immune system,
and they have somewhat nonspecific, broad-based
activity. They do not respond exclusively to specific
antigens, as do B-cells and T-cells. Neutrophils,
eosinophils, and basophils are all types of granulo-
cytes, and their names are derived from the staining
features of their granules in the laboratory, a naming
scheme that dates back to a time when certain struc-
tures could be identified in cells by histochemistry,
but the functions of these intracellular structures
were still not known.
granulocytopenia
A marked decrease in the
number of granulocytes that results in frequent
chronic bacterial infections of the skin, lungs, throat,
and other tissues. Granulocytopenia can be inher-
ited, or it can be acquired. For example, it may be
acquired as an aspect of leukemia. Granulocytopenia
can more specifically be neutropenia (shortage of
neutrophils), eosinopenia (shortage of eosinophils),
and/or basopenia (shortage of basophils). The term
neutropenia is sometimes used interchangeably with
granulocytopenia. See also 
agranulocytosis; agran-
ulocytosis, infantile genetic; neutropenia; severe
congenital neutropenia.
granulocytosis
An elevated number of granulo-
cytes in the peripheral blood. The term is often used
to refer to an increase in the number of neutrophils,
the predominant type of granulocyte. Granulocytosis
may be a sign of numerous abnormal conditions,
including infection or cancer. See also 
granulocyte.
granuloma
One of several forms of localized,
nodular inflammation found in tissues. Granulomas
have a typical pattern when examined under a
microscope. They can be caused by a variety of bio-
logic, chemical, and physical irritants of tissue. See
also 
granuloma, calcified; granuloma, fishbowl.