Human health and medicine

Ventricular fibrillation

Ventricular fibrillation (VF), a pulseless chaotic arrhythmia of the heart's ventricles causing cardiac arrest and sudden death; treated by immediate CPR and defibrillation, prevented with ICDs; most serious abnormal heart rhythm.

Ventricular Function

Ventricular function: the hemodynamic and electrophysiological action of the heart ventricles, assessed by ejection fraction, global longitudinal strain, pressure-volume analysis, and diastolic indices; EF remains the heart failure classifier while GLS detects subclinical dysfunction.

Ventricular hypertrophy

Ventricular hypertrophy, chiefly left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), is thickening of the ventricular heart muscle from pressure or volume overload (hypertension, aortic stenosis, valve regurgitation) or physiologic athlete's heart; diagnosed by ECG, echocardiography, and cardiac MRI.

Ventricular outflow tract obstruction

Ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO, RVOTO) blocks blood leaving the heart ventricles; classified valvular, subvalvular, supravalvular; LVOTO defined as gradient ≥30 mmHg, common in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and congenital heart disease.

Ventricular Pressure

Ventricular pressure, also called intraventricular pressure, is the pressure within a ventricle of the heart, measured by catheterization or imaging to evaluate heart and valve function.

Ventricular remodeling

Ventricular remodeling: pathological change in ventricular size, shape, and function after myocardial injury, driven by myocyte hypertrophy, apoptosis, and fibrosis; reversible in some patients as reverse remodeling or heart failure remission.

Ventricular septal defect

A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a hole in the wall between the heart's two lower chambers, present at birth and among the most common congenital heart defects.

Ventricular system

Ventricular system: interconnected brain cavities (two lateral, third, fourth ventricles) that produce and circulate cerebrospinal fluid via the choroid plexus, foramina of Monro, Luschka, and Magendie; obstruction causes hydrocephalus.

Ventricular tachyarrhythmia

Ventricular tachyarrhythmia (ICD-11 BC71): abnormally fast ventricular rhythms including ventricular tachycardia (≥3 consecutive complexes, ≥100 bpm) and ventricular fibrillation; mechanisms include reentry in scarred hearts; managed by cardioversion, ablation, and ICDs.

Ventricular tachycardia

Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a rapid heart rhythm, three or more beats at 120 bpm or faster, that starts in the ventricles and can cause cardiac arrest.

Ventricular tachycardia ablation

Ventricular tachycardia ablation is a catheter-based procedure that destroys heart tissue generating abnormal electrical circuits, reducing recurrent VT and ICD shocks in randomized trials against drugs.

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement

Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt placement is a neurosurgical procedure implanting a catheter system that drains cerebrospinal fluid from a brain ventricle into the peritoneal cavity to treat hydrocephalus.

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery

Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt surgery is a neurosurgical procedure implanting a catheter system that drains excess cerebrospinal fluid from the brain's ventricles into the abdominal cavity, treating hydrocephalus.

Ventriculostomy

Ventriculostomy is a neurosurgical procedure creating an opening into a cerebral ventricle, either to drain cerebrospinal fluid through an external catheter or, endoscopically, to bypass obstruction in hydrocephalus.

Venturi mask

Venturi mask, also called air-entrainment or HAFOE mask: an oxygen facemask designed by E. J. Moran Campbell in 1960, using the Venturi effect to entrain room air and deliver a fixed FiO2, used especially for COPD.

Vepdegestrant

Vepdegestrant (Veppanu, ARV-471, PF-07850327) is an oral PROTAC estrogen receptor alpha degrader, the first PROTAC approved (FDA, May 1, 2026), for ESR1-mutated ER-positive HER2-negative advanced breast cancer after endocrine therapy.

Veralipride

Veralipride (Agreal, Agradil), a benzamide neuroleptic antidopaminergic drug first marketed in 1979 for menopausal hot flushes; withdrawn across the EU by European Commission decision on 1 October 2007 after safety concerns.

Verapamil

Verapamil is a phenylalkylamine calcium channel blocker introduced in 1962 and FDA-approved in the US in 1981, used for hypertension, angina, arrhythmias, and cluster headache prevention, with emerging beta-cell-protective roles in diabetes.

Verbal autopsy

Verbal autopsy is a survey-based method that infers the cause of death from structured interviews with the deceased's relatives, used where medical certification is unavailable.

Vercirnon

Vercirnon (CCX282-B, GSK1605786, Traficet-EN) is an oral small-molecule antagonist of chemokine receptor CCR9, developed for Crohn's disease; phase 3 SHIELD trials failed to show efficacy and development was terminated.

Verdiperstat

Verdiperstat (AZD-3241, BHV-3241) is an investigational oral myeloperoxidase inhibitor developed by AstraZeneca and Biohaven for multiple system atrophy and ALS; its Phase 3 trials failed and it is not approved.

Vergence

Vergence: disconjugate eye movements (convergence, divergence) rotating the eyes oppositely to fixate targets at different depths, driven by retinal disparity, cross-linked with accommodation, and disrupted in convergence insufficiency.

Oct 20, 2026

Vericiguat

Vericiguat (Verquvo; BAY-1021189, MK-1242) is an oral soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator approved in 2021 to reduce cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalization in adults with worsening chronic HFrEF, based on the VICTORIA trial.

Vernakalant

Vernakalant (Brinavess) is an atrial-selective intravenous antiarrhythmic for rapid cardioversion of recent-onset atrial fibrillation, approved in the EU (2010) and Canada but not the US; blocks I_Kur, I_K,ACh, and rate-dependent atrial Na+ channels.

Oct 20, 2026

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a rare, chronic, sight-threatening allergic inflammatory eye disease of children, mainly boys in warm climates, marked by giant tarsal papillae, Horner-Trantas dots, shield ulcers, and Th2-driven inflammation.

Vernix caseosa

Vernix caseosa, also called vernix, is the waxy white biofilm coating fetal skin in the last trimester, made of about 80% water, 10% lipids, and 10% proteins; uniquely human, it waterproofs, protects against infection, and should not be washed off at birth.

Vernon Coleman

Vernon Coleman (born 1946, Walsall) is an English author, former GP, and columnist, also known as "Old Man In A Chair", who wrote over 100 books including The Medicine Men and Bodypower, and became a prominent source of debunked COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation.