Health Encyclopedia

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

  • Malignant - cancerous

  • Mammogram – A mammogram or x-ray of the breast, along with a clinical breast exam (an exam done by your doctor) is the most effective way to detect breast cancer early. Mammograms have both benefits and limitations. For example, some cancers can't be detected by a mammogram, but may be detectable by breast exam.

  • Marijuana - Marijuana is a green or gray mixture of dried, shredded flowers and leaves of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. It can be eaten in certain foods or smoked. It is an illegal drug.

  • Marital Rape - Coerced sexual intercourse within marriage.

  • Masculine - Characteristics and ways of behaving that a culture associates with being a boy or a man.

  • Masochism - A paraphilia in which sexual arousal becomes dependent on sexual role play or fantasy that includes receiving punishment, discipline, or humiliation.

  • Masturbation - Touching one's own sex organs for pleasure.

  • Mediation - Bringing in an outside person(s) to help end a fight.

  • Megan's Law - Federal and state laws that require police to notify citizens of the presence of convicted pedophiles in their communities.

  • Menarche – The fancy term for first menstrual period or beginning of menstruation.

  • Meningitis - infection which causes inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.

  • Menopause – Menopause is the time in a woman's life when her period stops. It is a normal change in a woman's body. A woman has reached menopause when she has not had a period for 12 months in a row (and there are no other causes, such as pregnancy or illness, for this change). Menopause is sometimes called, "the change of life." Leading up to menopause, a woman’s body slowly makes less and less of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. This change often happens between the ages of 45 and 55 years old.As you get near to menopause, you may have symptoms from the changes your body is making. Many women wonder if these changes are normal, and many are confused about how to treat their symptoms. Menopause affects every woman differently. Your only symptom may be your period stopping. You may have other symptoms, too. Many symptoms at this time of life are because of you getting older. But some are due to menopause.

  • Menorrhagia - The medical name for periods that are unusually heavy or prolonged.

  • Menses - The Latin word meaning month. It is another word for menstruation

  • Menstrual Cycle – Menstruation is part of the menstrual cycle, which helps a woman's body prepare for the possibility of pregnancy each month. A cycle starts on the first day of a period. The average menstrual cycle is 28 days long. However, a cycle can range anywhere from 23 days to 35 days.

  • Menstrual Flow - Blood, fluid, and tissue that are passed out of the uterus during the beginning of the menstrual cycle.

  • Menstruation – Menstruation is a woman's monthly bleeding. It is also called menses, menstrual period, or period. It is a period of about 3-7 days. When a woman has her period, she is menstruating. The menstrual blood is partly blood and partly tissue from the inside of the uterus (womb). It flows from the uterus through the small opening in the cervix, and passes out of the body through the vagina. Most menstrual periods last from three to five days.

  • Menstruation Period - The menstrual cycle begins with the first day of your period and ends the first day of your next period. The cycle usually lasts about 28 days.

  • Metabolism - The different ways that the body makes and uses energy, such as in digesting food.

  • Method-Effectiveness - The reliability of a contraceptive method itself — when it is always used consistently and correctly.

  • Migraine - A migraine headache is a severe pain felt on one, and sometimes, both sides of the head. The pain is mostly in the front around the temples or behind one eye or ear. Besides pain, you may have nausea and vomiting, and be very sensitive to light and sound. Migraine can occur any time of the day, though it often starts in the morning. The pain can last a few hours or up to one or two days.

  • Milk Ducts - The passages in women's breasts through which milk flows from the alveoli to the nipple.

  • Mineral - an element (such as calcium, iron, sodium, or potassium) that is obtained from food and is needed by the body.

  • Mini-Pills - Birth control pills that contain only the hormone progestin.

  • Miscarriage - A miscarriage is the loss of pregnancy from natural causes before the 20th week of pregnancy. Most miscarriages occur very early in the pregnancy, often before a woman even knows she is pregnant. An unplanned loss of a pregnancy. Also called a spontaneous abortion.

  • Moderate exercise - A level of exercise that is not too intense. Fast walking is moderate exercise while running is more vigorous exercise that requires more energy and effort.

  • Molluscum Contagiosum - A virus that can be sexually transmitted causes small, pinkish-white, and waxy, round, polyplike growths in the genital area or on the thighs.

  • Monogamous Relationship - A relationship in which both people date or have sex only with one another and no one else.

  • Mons Pubis - The fatty tissue that covers your pubic bone. (The pubic bone is at the top of your pubic area, between your legs.) After puberty, it is covered with pubic hair.

  • "Morning-After" Pills - Emergency hormonal contraception that is taken within 120 hours of unprotected intercourse.

  • Multiple Orgasms - More than one orgasm occurring within the same sexual encounter.

  • Multiple Sclerosis - Also called MS, a disorder of the brain and spinal cord that causes decreased nerve function associated with the formation of scars on the covering of nerve cells. Symptoms range from numbness to paralysis and blindness. A person with MS slowly loses control over his or her body.

  • Muscular Dystrophy - A group of disorders that causes muscles to be weak and causes loss of muscle tissue.

  • Mutual Masturbation - Touching each other’s sex organs.

  • Mutuality - Reciprocating equally with feelings and behavior.

  • Myths - Unfounded or false stories or ideas.