Human health and medicine

Three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging

Three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (3D MRI) excites a slab of tissue as a whole and reconstructs a continuous block of voxels rather than separate slices, allowing reformatting in arbitrary orientations.

Threesome

Threesome: sexual interaction among three people, at least one active with both others; distinct from group sex (4+). Surveyed lifetime rates 10-18% US adults; motives, safer sex, CNM context, and outcomes covered.

Throat culture

A throat culture is a diagnostic test that grows bacteria from a throat swab on blood agar; it is the gold standard for diagnosing strep throat, with results in 24 to 48 hours.

Throat irritation

Throat irritation (sore throat, pharyngitis): scratchy or painful throat, usually viral and self-resolving within a week; also caused by strep, smoking, allergies, postnasal drip, and reflux; treated with self-care, not routine antibiotics.

Throat lozenge

Throat lozenge (cough drop, troche, pastille): a solid dose dissolved in the mouth for temporary sore throat relief, containing anesthetics, demulcents, or antiseptics; small proven benefit, not for children under 4 to 6 years.

Thrombectomy

Thrombectomy, also called aspiration thrombectomy, is an image-guided procedure that removes a blood clot from a vessel, used mainly for acute ischemic stroke within 24 hours of onset.

Thrombin generation assay

The thrombin generation assay (TGA) is a laboratory hemostasis test measuring how much thrombin plasma produces over time after coagulation is triggered, assessing both bleeding and clotting risk.

Thrombin time

The thrombin time (TT), or thrombin clotting time, is a coagulation blood test measuring how quickly fibrin clots form after thrombin is added to plasma.

Thromboangiitis obliterans

Thromboangiitis obliterans, also called Buerger disease, is a non-atherosclerotic inflammatory disorder that blocks small and medium arteries of the hands and feet, almost exclusively in tobacco users.

Thrombocythemia

Thrombocythemia, especially essential thrombocythemia (ET), is a chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm causing platelet counts above 450 x 10^9/L, driven by JAK2, CALR, or MPL mutations, with thrombosis risk managed by aspirin and hydroxyurea.

Thrombocytopenia

Thrombocytopenia, a low blood platelet count below the normal 140–440 × 10^9/L range, causes petechiae and mucosal bleeding; causes include ITP, drugs, infection, sequestration, and marrow failure, with transfusion thresholds of 10–50 × 10^9/L.

Thrombocytopenia with congenital dyserythropoietic anemia

Thrombocytopenia with congenital dyserythropoietic anemia (XDAT, XLTDA, ORPHA:67044, OMIM 300367) is a rare X-linked recessive GATA1-related blood disorder of males causing macrothrombocytopenia, bleeding, and variable anemia from infancy.

Thrombocytopenia-absent radius syndrome

Thrombocytopenia-absent radius (TAR) syndrome, radial aplasia-thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare autosomal recessive disorder from compound RBM8A null and hypomorphic alleles, causing absent radii with present thumbs and transient infantile thrombocytopenia.

Thrombocytosis

Thrombocytosis is an elevated platelet count above 450 × 10⁹/L, most often reactive to infection, inflammation, or iron deficiency, but sometimes a clonal disorder such as essential thrombocythemia.

Thromboelastography

Thromboelastography (TEG), invented by Hellmut Hartert in Germany in 1948, is a viscoelastic whole-blood point-of-care coagulation test measuring R, K, alpha-angle, MA, and LY30 to guide transfusion in cardiac surgery, liver transplantation, and trauma.

Thromboelastometry

Thromboelastometry is a point-of-care viscoelastic test that measures clot formation and strength in whole blood, guiding transfusion and anticoagulant therapy in trauma, cardiac surgery, and obstetric bleeding.

Thromboembolism

Thromboembolism, chiefly venous thromboembolism (VTE), combines deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Key facts: Virchow's triad, duplex ultrasound and CTPA diagnosis, anticoagulant and DOAC treatment, prevention after surgery.

Thromboendarterectomy

Thromboendarterectomy is a surgical procedure removing obstructive material, such as thrombus or plaque, from an artery along with its diseased inner wall layers, chiefly for stroke prevention and pulmonary hypertension.

Thrombolysis

Thrombolysis is the pharmacological dissolution of blood clots by drugs that convert plasminogen to plasmin, used for acute ischemic stroke within 4.5 hours and pulmonary embolism.

Thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke

Thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke: intravenous alteplase (tPA, Activase) or tenecteplase given within 4.5 hours of onset, FDA-approved 1996 after the NINDS trial, with extended imaging-selected windows and hemorrhage as the main risk.

Thrombolytic therapy

Thrombolytic therapy is treatment with clot-dissolving drugs such as alteplase and tenecteplase, given intravenously to break up clots in stroke, heart attack, and pulmonary embolism.

Thrombophilia

Thrombophilia, also known as a hypercoagulable state, is a condition in which the blood has an increased tendency to clot, raising the risk of venous thromboembolism.

Thrombophilia testing

Thrombophilia testing is the laboratory workup identifying inherited or acquired tendencies to venous thromboembolism, testing factor V Leiden, antithrombin, protein C and S, and antiphospholipid antibodies.

Thrombophlebitis

Thrombophlebitis, also called phlebitis or superficial vein thrombosis, is vein inflammation caused by a blood clot, usually in leg veins near the skin; distinguished from deep vein thrombosis by ultrasound and treated with heat, NSAIDs, or anticoagulants.

Thrombophlebitis migrans

Thrombophlebitis migrans, or migratory thrombophlebitis, is recurrent thrombosis of vein segments at shifting sites; when unexplained it is Trousseau syndrome, a paraneoplastic sign of occult cancer, especially pancreatic, gastric, and lung adenocarcinoma.

Thrombosis

Thrombosis, from Greek thrombos, is blood clot formation inside a vessel, explained by Virchow's triad of stasis, endothelial injury, and hypercoagulability; arterial clots cause heart attack and stroke, venous clots cause DVT and pulmonary embolism, treated with anticoagulants from heparin to DOACs.

Thrombosis and haemostasis

Thrombosis and haemostasis: paired medical field covering clot formation (thrombosis) and bleeding control (hemostasis), and the 1957-founded Thieme journal of the same name tied to the ISTH.

Thrombosis prevention

Thrombosis prevention (thromboprophylaxis) uses anticoagulants such as LMWH and DOACs, compression devices, and early mobilization to prevent DVT and pulmonary embolism in surgical, medical, pregnant, and high-risk travel populations.

Thrombosis Research

Thrombosis Research is an Elsevier peer-reviewed journal (ISSN 0049-3848) covering thrombosis, hemostasis, and vascular biology since 1972; Scopus Q1 hematology, CiteScore 5.8, Impact Factor 3.4, companion title Thrombosis Update.