An infection in which symptoms are sufficiently mild to escape diagnosis other than by serologic determination or confirmation of the ability to transmit the infection.

The subcutaneous tissue is mostly made up of fat. It lies between the dermis and the muscles or bones. It contains blood vessels that expand or contract to help keep your body a constant temperature. Fatty tissue is distributed unevenly over your body and thins with age.

The nerves emerging from the spinal cord; there are 31 pairs, each arising from the cord by rootlets that converge to form two roots, anterior (ventral or motor) and posterior (dorsal or sensory); the latter type is provided with a circumscribed enlargement, the spinal (dorsal root) ganglion; the two roots unite in the intervertebral foramen, and the mixed spinal nerve almost immediately divides again into anterior and posterior (primary) rami, the former supplying the anterolateral trunk and the limbs, the latter the true muscles and overlying skin of the back.

Measurement of the air capacity of the lungs; spirometry deals with the recording of air moved into and out of the lungs during different conditions of breathing.

One of three nerves supplying the viscera.

Saturation measured via Pulse oximetry

Forward movement of the body of a lumbar vertebra on the one below it and especially of the fifth lumbar vertebra on the sacrum producing pain by compression of nerve roots.

A patient triggered and cycled breath. Term is often used to denote the first unassisted breath by patient when determining if they can be removed from mechanical ventilation.

A dormant, tough structure produced by some Gram-positive bacteria to ensure their survival through periods of environmental stress. The presence of oxygen is one such stress for Clostridium. Spores are formed when the vegetative bacterium produces a thick internal wall enclosing its DNA and part of its cytoplasm. Spores are resistant to ultraviolet radiation, desiccation, starvation, and chemical disinfectants, putting them at a significant advantage for successful dispersion. Once in a favorable habitat, a spore germinates (transforms) into its more vulnerable vegetative form where it can multiply and produce toxins.

An agent that destroys microbial spores. Spores are more difficult to kill than vegetative bacteria including mycobacteria, and thus must pass stringent test requirements before making the claim.