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Heterotaxy 101

Heterotaxy Connection strives to be a place where hope and support converge to create a community bound by resilience and understanding. We recognize that everyone's path is unique, and we seek to come alongside each family the the way that best supports them, whatever their journey may hold.

acholic stool - Stool (poop) that doesn't contain the usual brown coloring provided by bile from the liver. Acholic stools are white or a pale clay-like color.
asplenia - The absence of a spleen. "Functional asplenia" refers to a situation where one or more spleens are present but do not function to provide the protection from infection normally provided by the spleen.
atrioventricular canal defect (AV canal) - A type of congenital heart defect where the person is born with a hole in the wall separating the heart chambers. People with AV canal defects typically also have defects in the valves separating the top chambers of the heart from the bottom chambers. AV canal defects can be partial (where there is only a hole between the top chambers, or atria) or complete, where there are holes between the atria and the ventricles (the bottom chambers).
bacteremia - The presence of bacteria in the bloodstream. (Words ending in '-emia' tend to relate to the blood.) Bacteremia is a type of infection that can cause sepsis, but bacteremia itself does not always lead to sepsis.
biliary atresia - A blockage in the tubes that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder. Bile is created in the liver and has two main functions in digestion: carrying away waste products and breaking down fats. When the bile ducts (the tubes that carry the bile away from the liver) are blocked, bile backs up in the liver, causing it to become enlarged and damaged. Biliary atresia requires surgical correction and often results in the need for a liver transplant.  
bilious vomiting - Vomit is typically colored like whatever food was most recently eaten, but can have a slight yellow tinge if the stomach was empty. Bilious vomit is bright green or yellow and is an indication that there is more bile in the stomach than is normal; this is a red flag sign of a blockage in the intestines.
bronchiectasis - Widening of the airways in the lungs. This can happen as the result of an infection, but the cause is not always known. When bronchiectasis is present, extra mucus can build up in the widened airways, which leads to a higher risk for lung infections.
cardiac catheterization - A procedure (done under anesthesia for children) where a thin, flexible tube is guided through a major blood vessel, usually either in the groin or the neck, although in newborns they are sometimes able to use the vessels in the belly button. A cardiac catheterization (often nicknamed a "cath") can be used for both diagnosis and treatment. Some common diagnostic reasons for a cath include finding areas of narrowing in blood vessels, measuring pressures in different areas of the heart, determining exact anatomy, and more. Treatments that can be performed by cath involve passing tiny instruments through the tube, and include (but are not limited to) widening arteries, placing stents, closing holes, and repairing valves.
cardiovascular malformation - definition
cilia (motile, non-motile, dysmotile, pit cell) - definition
ciliopathy - definition
common atrioventricular valve (see also: AV canal) - definition
comorbidity - definition
computerized tomography, cardiac (CCT): static / functional - definition
cyanosis - definition
diagnostic criteria for heterotaxy - definition
encapsulated organism - definition
erythrocytes - definition
Fontan - definition
Glenn - definition
great arteries (transposed / malposed great arteries) - definition
heart block - definition
heterotaxy - A term that literally means "different arrangement," heterotaxy 
Howell Jolly bodies - definition
hyposplenism, functional hyposplenism - definition
immune system (adaptive, innate) - definition
interrupted inferior vena cava - definition
ipsilateral pulmonary venous return - definition
ischemia - definition
isomerism - Isomerism is a situation where structures that are normally found on either the left or right sides of the body are found on both sides. 
isomerism, cardiac (left atrial, right atrial) - definition
jaundice - definition
Ladd's procedure - definition
lateralization - definition
leukocytes - definition
macrophage - definition
magnetic resonance imaging, cardiac (CMR) - definition
malrotation, intestinal - definition
nasal nitric oxide (nNO) - definition
phagocytosis - definition
phenotype (phenotypic) - definition
pitted erythrocytes - definition
polysplenia - definition
primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) - definition
prophylaxis, antimicrobial - definition
pulmonary outflow obstruction - definition
pulp, splenic (red, white) - definition
semilunar valve - definition
sepsis - definition
septal defects - definition
sinus node - definition
situs: ambiguus, solitus, inversus totalis - definition
supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) - definition
Technetium-labeled scintigraphy - definition
total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR) - definition
thoraco-abdominal organs - definition
volvulus - definition
term - definition

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