Medical definitions - S

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Saline - a salt solution, often adjusted to the normal salinity of the human body; used to re-hydrate the body and flush IV’s.

Scoliosis - a curve in the spine.

Sedative - a drug that calms a patient down, easing agitation and permitting sleep.

Sepsis – a blood stream infection.

Seroma - a mass or swelling caused by the localized accumulation of serum, rather than blood (hematoma), within a tissue or organ.

Stoma – an opening into the body from the outside created by a surgeon.

Suctioning - procedure during which a small catheter, attached to a suction machine, is inserted into a patient's trach or ET tube to remove secretions that a patient could not normally cough out.