25,729 articles
Phentermine
Phentermine, also known as Adipex-P, is a Schedule IV sympathomimetic amine appetite suppressant approved by the FDA in 1959 for short-term obesity treatment; combined with topiramate (Qsymia) it is among the most effective weight-loss drugs.
Phenyl aminosalicylate
Phenyl aminosalicylate (fenamisal, CAS 133-11-9) is the phenyl ester prodrug of para-aminosalicylic acid, a tuberculostatic antituberculosis drug marketed from 1959 as Pheny-Pas-Tebamin and later discontinued.
Phenylephrine
Phenylephrine, an alpha-1 adrenergic agonist decongestant; IV form treats hypotension, nasal sprays work, but oral phenylephrine (Sudafed PE, DayQuil) was deemed ineffective by FDA advisers in 2023 and proposed for OTC removal in 2024.
Phenylketonuria
Phenylketonuria (PKU), also Fölling disease, an autosomal recessive PAH-gene disorder causing phenylalanine buildup; treated by Phe-restricted diet, sapropterin, pegvaliase, and sepiapterin, detected by Guthrie newborn screening.
Phenylpiracetam
Phenylpiracetam (fonturacetam, carphedon, Phenotropil) is a Soviet-developed 1980 phenyl analog of piracetam, registered in Russia in 2003, more potent than piracetam, and the only racetam on the WADA prohibited stimulant list since 1998.
Phenylthiocarbamide
Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC, phenylthiourea), a synthetic bitter compound whose bimodal tasting ability, controlled by TAS2R38 variants, made it a classic human Mendelian trait discovered in 1931.
Phenytoin
Phenytoin, also called diphenylhydantoin and originally sold as Dilantin, is a hydantoin-derivative anticonvulsant introduced in 1938 that controls tonic-clonic and focal seizures and is used after neurosurgery.
Pheochromocytoma
Pheochromocytoma is a rare catecholamine-producing tumor of the adrenal medulla, the inner adrenal gland, causing hypertension, headaches, sweating, and palpitations; about 35% are hereditary, and surgery after alpha-blockade is the mainstay treatment.
Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma–induced hypertension
Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma–induced hypertension (PPGL) is high blood pressure caused by catecholamine-secreting neuroendocrine tumors, which release norepinephrine and epinephrine and range from sudden crises to sustained hypertension.
Philadelphia chromosome
The Philadelphia chromosome, or Philadelphia translocation, is a shortened chromosome 22 with the BCR::ABL1 fusion gene, found in almost all cases of chronic myelogenous leukemia and some acute leukemias.
Philippa Perry
Philippa Perry, British psychotherapist and author of Couch Fiction, How to Stay Sane, and the bestseller The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read; Observer agony aunt; wife of Grayson Perry.
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), state social health insurer created by RA 7875 in 1995 to administer the National Health Insurance Program; premiums 5% under the 2019 UHC Act, case-rate benefits, and 2025 Supreme Court fund-return ruling distinguish it.
Phimosis
Phimosis: inability to fully retract the foreskin over the glans. Normal in boys under 5-10; pathological forms cause scarring. Treated with topical steroids or surgery; paraphimosis is an emergency.
Phineas Gage
Phineas Gage (1823–1860), American railroad foreman whose 1848 Cavendish, Vermont tamping-iron injury caused frontal lobe damage with reported personality change; famous case in neuroscience, skull and iron at Harvard.
PHIP-related behavioral problems-intellectual disability-obesity-dysmorphic features syndrome
PHIP-related behavioral problems-intellectual disability-obesity-dysmorphic features syndrome, also called Chung-Jansen syndrome or DIDOD (OMIM 617991), is a rare autosomal dominant neurodevelopmental disorder from PHIP haploinsufficiency at 6q14.1, causing developmental delay, behavioral problems, obesity, and facial dysmorphism.
Phlebotomy
Phlebotomy (venipuncture) is puncturing a vein to draw blood for lab testing, donation, or therapy. Once therapeutic bloodletting from ancient Egypt, it peaked in the 19th century; today it is a diagnostic mainstay and treatment for hemochromatosis and polycythemia vera.
Phlegm
Phlegm, also called lung butter, is an unusually large amount of thick mucus produced by cells lining the upper airways and lungs, often causing coughing and chest discomfort.
Phlegmasia cerulea dolens
Phlegmasia cerulea dolens, painful blue inflammation, is a severe form of lower-limb deep vein thrombosis causing total venous outflow obstruction, cyanosis, gangrene risk, 20-40% mortality, and treatment by anticoagulation plus thrombolysis or thrombectomy.
Phobia
Phobia: an intense, persistent fear of a specific object or situation, out of proportion to real danger. Covers specific phobia, agoraphobia, and social anxiety disorder; lifetime prevalence about 7.2%; treated mainly with exposure therapy, including virtual reality exposure.
Phocomelia
Phocomelia, a rare congenital limb deficiency with absent proximal long bones and preserved hands or feet; historically linked to thalidomide, also seen in Roberts, TAR, and Holt-Oram syndromes; prevalence about 0.62 per 100,000 births.
Phocomelia, Schinzel type
Phocomelia, Schinzel type, or Al-Awadi-Raas-Rothschild syndrome (OMIM 276820), is a rare autosomal recessive WNT7A-related limb reduction disorder with pelvic aplasia, intercalary limb deficiencies, and occipital skull defects; intelligence is normal.
Phoenix abscess
Phoenix abscess (ICD-11 DA09.3; フェニックス膿瘍), an acute apical abscess arising from exacerbation of chronic apical periodontitis in a necrotic-pulp or endodontically treated tooth, treated by endodontic retreatment and drainage.
Pholcodine
Pholcodine, an opioid cough suppressant used since the 1950s for dry cough, was withdrawn from the EU, UK, Australia, and Malaysia in 2022–2023 after the ALPHO study linked it to anaphylaxis risk during anaesthesia.
Phonation
Phonation is the production of voiced sound by vibration of the vocal folds, muscular folds of mucous membrane in the larynx, as air from the lungs passes between them.
Phonocardiogram
Phonocardiogram (PCG), phonocardiography: graphic recording of heart sounds and murmurs, first attempted by Donders in 1856, developed by Einthoven and Geluc in 1894; noninvasive cardiac screening and AI-based heart sound analysis.
Phonocardiography
Phonocardiography (PCG) is a biomedical technique that records the heart's acoustic vibrations as a waveform, first performed by Einthoven and Geluc in 1894 and later flown on Gemini missions.
Phonophobia
Phonophobia, fear of sound, is an anticipatory fear of and avoidance of sound in audiology, and migraine-related sound intolerance in neurology; distinct from hyperacusis and misophonia, treated with desensitization and counseling.
Phonophoresis
Phonophoresis, also called sonophoresis, is a physical therapy technique that uses ultrasound to drive topical medication through the skin, used since the 1950s for pain and inflammation, especially knee osteoarthritis.
Phosphodiesterase inhibitor
A phosphodiesterase inhibitor, or PDE inhibitor, is a drug blocking enzymes that break down cAMP and cGMP, ranging from theophylline to PDE5 inhibitors for erectile dysfunction.
Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase deficiency
Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase deficiency (PEPCK deficiency, PEPCK-C deficiency, PCK1/PCK2) is an ultra-rare autosomal recessive gluconeogenesis disorder causing recurrent fasting hypoglycemia, lactic acidosis, liver failure, and TCA-cycle metabolites in urine.