Glossary

Health Terms beginning with "K"

Kegel exercises

An exercise of the pelvic floor muscles named for world-renowned gynecologist Dr. Arnold Kegel used to strengthen the muscles that support the urethra, bladder, uterus, and rectum.

Keloids

A skin problem most common for people with dark complexions, keloids form when scars “overgrow" and form a mass of dark or red "scar tissue."

Keratin

Specialized proteins that make up part of the stratum corneum.

Keratoconjunctivitis sicca

Dry eye syndrome. A group of disorders affecting the film of tears over the eye.

Ketoacidosis

An accumulation of ketones in the blood; can cause coma and death.

Ketogenic diet

A strict diet rich in fats and low in carbohydrates and protein that causes the body to break down fats instead of carbohydrates to survive; developed to treat epileptic seizures.

Ketone bodies

Chemicals made by the body when there is not enough insulin available and it has to break down fat for its energy. Ketone bodies provide energy to the heart and brain during starvation or in serious cases of diabetes.

Ketones

Substances produced in the body through a normal change fats undergo in the liver.

Ketosis

A buildup of ketones in the body's fluids and tissues. Signs of ketosis are nausea, vomiting and stomach pain.

Kidneys

Organs that remove waste and water from blood to produce urine.

Kidney stone

A stone that develops from crystals that form in urine and build up on the inner surfaces of the kidney, in the renal pelvis or in the ureters.

Kyphosis

Curvature of the spine often caused by multiple vertebral compression fractures that results in stooped posture and a hunched back, or humpback; also known as a dowager's hump.