Medical Dictionary: Glossary (Q)

What is qinghaosu?

A Chinese herb (also called sweet wormwood) from which is extracted the antimalarial agent artemisinin.

What is quadriceps?

Although the term “quadriceps” technically may refer to any four-headed muscle, it usually refers to the muscle of the front of the thigh.

What is quadriparesis?

Weakness of all four limbs, both arms and both legs, as happens due to muscular dystrophy.

What is quadriplegic?

Paralysis of all four limbs — both arms and both legs as from a high spinal cord injury.

What is quarantine?

A period of isolation in order to control 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.

What is quickening?

The moment during pregnancy when the baby is first felt to move.

What is quinine?

The original antimalarial agent, quinine took its name from the Peruvian Indian word “kina” meaning “bark of the tree” referring to the cinchona tree.