Andropause: Glossary of Terms (E – H)

-E-

Ejaculate: To eject (semen).

Ejaculatory Ducts: The path through the seminal glands which semen travels during ejaculation.

Emphysema: A chronic respiratory disease where there is over-inflation of the air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs, causing a decrease in lung function, and often, breathlessness.

Empty Nest Syndrome: The conventional public perception about the empty nest syndrome (grown-up children leaving home for college studies, work in other location, or marriage) is that mostly mothers naturally suffer from its consequences. And this perception is wrong. Many women actually look forward to their children leaving home. And when they do, the reduction in day-to-day friction can actually lead to better relationships. But fathers surprisingly have the harder time when their children leave. 

Endocrine System: The glands and parts of glands that produce endocrine secretions, help to integrate and control bodily metabolic activity, and include especially the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroids, adrenals, islets of Langerhans, ovaries, and testes.

Epididymis: The epididymis is a 'holding pen' where sperm produced by the seminiferous tubules mature. The sperm wait here until ejaculation or nocturnal emission.

Epinephrine: Epinephrine, more commonly known as adrenaline, is a hormone secreted by the medulla of the adrenal glands. Strong emotions such as fear or anger cause epinephrine to be released into the bloodstream, which causes an increase in heart rate, muscle strength, blood pressure, and sugar metabolism. This reaction, known as the “Flight or Fight Response” prepares the body for strenuous activity. Epinephrine is found in small amounts in the body and is essential for maintaining cardiovascular homeostasis because of its ability to divert blood to tissues under stress.

Erectile Dysfunction: Erectile dysfunction (ED), formerly known as impotence, is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection long enough to engage in sexual intercourse. Having erection trouble from time to time isn't necessarily a cause for concern. But if erectile dysfunction is an ongoing problem, it may cause stress, cause relationship problems or affect your self-confidence.

Erection: The firm and enlarged condition of a body organ or part when the erectile tissue surrounding it becomes filled with blood, especially such a condition of the penis.

Erogenous Zone: An area of the human body that has heightened sensitivity, the stimulation of which may result in the production of sexual fantasies, sexual arousal and orgasm.

Estradiol: An estrogenic hormone, C₁₈H₂₄O₂, produced by the ovaries and used in treating estrogen deficiency. Estradiol is also present in males, being produced as an active metabolic product of testosterone. The serum levels of estradiol in males (14 - 55 pg/mL) are roughly comparable to those of postmenopausal women (< 35 pg/mL). Estradiol has not only a critical impact on reproductive and sexual functioning, but also affects other organs, including the bones.

Estrogen: A steroid, sex hormone produced by the female ovary, the placenta and, in small amounts, by the male testis and adrenal cortex. Estrogens (the three major types are estrogensestradiol, estrone, and estriolare) affect the ovaries, vagina, fallopian tubes, uterus, and mammary glands and play crucial roles in puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, and labor. They also influence the structural differences between female and male bodies.

Estrogen Dominance: Estrogen dominance is a hormone imbalance that occurs when levels of the hormone estrogen are too high in relation to other hormones in the body. It can be caused either by excessive production of estrogen or insufficient production of other hormones, such as testosterone and progesterone. Although estrogen dominance in men is most commonly caused by factors such as obesity, alcoholism, or exposure to a form of environmental estrogen called xenoestrogens, it can be caused by a number of serious medical problems, including pituitary diseases and testicular tumors.

Exocrine System: The array of glands that secrete their substances outside the skin and not into the bloodstream.

-F-

Fatigue: Fatigue is a term used to describe the general overall feeling of tiredness and/or a lack of energy. Other words that are sometimes used in place of fatigue include exhaustion, weariness, and lethargy. When you are fatigued, you have no motivation and no energy.

Fertility: Ability of an individual or couple to reproduce through normal sexual activity.

Flexibility Exercises: Type of physical exercises, such as stretching, targeting improving the range of motion of muscles and joints.

Follicle-stimulating hormones (FSH): Gonadotropic hormones of the anterior pituitary gland that stimulate the growth of follicles in the ovary and induce the formation of sperm in the testis. These hormones are not required to maintain life, but they are necessary for reproduction. 

Frailty: Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome that embodies an elevated risk of catastrophic declines in health and function among older adults. As our population ages, a central focus of geriatricians and public health practitioners is to understand, and then beneficially intervene on, the factors and processes that put elders in the community at such risk, in particular the increased vulnerability to stressors (e.g. extremes of heat and cold, infection, injury, or even changes in medication) that characterizes many older adults.

Frenulum (Frenum): A thin strip of flesh on the underside of the penis that connects the shaft to the head.

-G-

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): A chronic condition in which the lower esophageal sphincter allows gastric acids to reflux into the esophagus, causing heartburn, acid indigestion, and possible injury to the esophageal lining.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The essential feature of GAD is anxiety, which is generalized and persistent but not restricted to, or even strongly predominating in, any particular environmental circumstances. As in other anxiety disorders the dominant symptoms are highly variable, but complaints of continuous feelings of nervousness, trembling, muscular tension, sweating, lightheadedness, palpitations, dizziness, and epigastric discomfort are common.

Gerontology: The study of the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging. It is distinguished from geriatrics, which is the branch of medicine that studies the diseases of older adults.

Glands: In general, glands secrete things and are classified as endocrine or exocrine. Endocrine glands secrete things into the bloodstream, like hormones. Exocrine glands secrete things that go outside of the body, like mucus and sweat.

Globulin: A major class of proteins found in the seeds of plants and in various tissues and substances of vertebrate and invertebrate animals, including blood, muscle, and milk.

Glycation: Any non-enzymic reaction between glucose and amino groups in proteins, resulting in formation of a glycoprotein. Glycation of proteins is the basis of many of the adverse effects of poor glycaemic control in diabetes.

Gonad: A sex gland; a gamete-producing gland; the ovary in the female and the testis in the male.
The ovary produces the ovum and the testis produces the spermatozoon. In addition, the gonads secrete hormones that influence the development of the reproductive organs and the physical traits that differentiate males from females, such as a crest and body form and size (the secondary sex characters). The hormones produced by the ovary include estrogen and progesterone. The principal hormone produced by the testis is testosterone.

Grumpiness: High readiness to show annoyance or impatience.

Gynecomastia: Breast enlargement in a male. It usually involves only the nipple and nearby tissue of one breast. More rarely, the whole breast grows to a size normal in a female. True gynecomastia is related to an increase in estrogens. Testicular or pituitary-gland tumors commonly cause gynecomastia. Similar conditions (pseudogynecomastia) are caused by excessive body fat, inflammatory disorders, granular lesions, or growth of tumors.

-H-

Heart Failure: Heart failure is a condition in which the heart has lost the ability to pump enough blood to the body's tissues. With too little blood being delivered, the organs and other tissues do not receive enough oxygen and nutrients to function properly.

High-density Lipoprotein (HDL): A complex of lipids and proteins in approximately equal amounts that functions as a transporter of cholesterol in the blood. High levels are associated with a decreased risk of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.

Homeostasis: The ability or tendency of an organism or cell to maintain internal equilibrium by adjusting its physiological processes.

Hormones: Chemicals produced by glands in the body that circulate in the blood and control the actions of cells and organs. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism. It is essentially a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one cell to another.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT): Refers to any form of hormone therapy wherein the patient, in the course of medical treatment, receives hormones, either to supplement a lack of naturally occurring hormones, or to substitute other hormones for naturally occurring hormones.

Hot Flashes: A sudden brief sensation of heat, often over the entire body, caused by a transient dilation of the blood vessels of the skin and experienced by some women and men during menopause.

Hyperglycemia: Condition characterized by excessively high levels of glucose in the blood, and occurs when the body does not have enough insulin or cannot use the insulin it does have to turn glucose into energy. Hyperglycemia is often indicative of diabetes that is out of control.

Hypertension (High Blood Pressure): Hypertension is high blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries as it flows through them. There is no cure for primary hypertension, but blood pressure can almost always be lowered with the correct treatment. The goal of treatment is to lower blood pressure to levels that will prevent heart disease and other complications of hypertension. In secondary hypertension, the disease that is responsible for the hypertension is treated in addition to the hypertension itself. Successful treatment of the underlying disorder may cure the secondary hypertension.

Hypogonadism: Medical term for a defect of the reproductive system that results in lack of function of the gonads (ovaries or testes). It is a deficiency state in which the hormone testosterone goes below the normal range for even an aging male.

Hypothalamus: A small portion of the brain derived from the sides and floor of the forebrain. It is the main visceral control centre and is vitally important for homeostasis. It regulates the activity of the autonomic nervous system and a number of endocrine glands. It also contains centers of thermoregulation, ionic regulation, and osmoregulation. The hypothalamus is involved in many other autonomic functions, including the control of thirst, sleep, and hunger. It plays a role in regulating the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins, and is also concerned with motivation and emotions.