Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

pediatric
Pertaining to children.
pediatric arthritis
See 
arthritis in children.
pediatric autoimmune disorders associated
with streptococcus
See 
PANDAS.
pediatric rheumatologist
See 
rheumatologist, 
pediatric.
pediatrics
The field of medicine that is con-
cerned with the health of infants, children, and ado-
lescents; their growth and development; and their
opportunity to achieve full potential as adults.
pediculosis
See 
head lice.
pediculus humanus capitis
See 
head lice.
pedigree
In medicine, a family health history that
is diagrammed with a set of international symbols to
indicate the individuals in the family, their gender,
their relationships to one another, those with dis-
eases, and other data. A pedigree is a basic tool of
clinical genetics that is used to determine that a dis-
ease is genetic, track the transmission of the dis-
ease, and estimate risks to the patient, other family
members, and the unborn from a genetic disease.
pedodontics
Children’s dentistry.
pedophilia
Adult sexual fondness for and activity
with children. Pedophilia is a form of paraphilia
(deviant sexual behavior). If acted out, pedophilia
is legally defined as sexual child abuse. Pedophilia
includes fondling a child’s genitals, intercourse,
incest, rape, sodomy, exhibitionism, and commer-
cial exploitation of children through prostitution or
the production of pornographic materials.
Pedophiles who have sexually abused children
require intense psychological and pharmacological
therapy prior to release into the community because
of the high rate of repeat offenders. Treatment is
rarely effective because the disorder is not yet well
understood. The incidence of pedophilia has been
markedly underestimated. It is essential that
pedophilia be reported so that appropriate steps
can be taken to protect the children involved and all
other children.
peer review
The process used by medical jour-
nals to screen articles that are submitted for publi-
cation. Peer-reviewed articles are scrutinized by
members of the biomedical community before
publication.