Appendix B
Glossary
Thermal Stress: Overheating; a condition that is a threat to the organism’s thermal regulation, but may be mild enough to permit core temperature to remain within normal limits. Hyperthermia has been used as a term equivalent to thermal stress, but hyperthermia should be reserved for conditions in which the core body temperature is elevated, such as with fevers. (Pediatrics Vol. 107, No. 4, April 2001, pp. 693-698; Thermal Stress in Sudden Infant Death: Is There an Ambiguity With the Rebreathing Hypothesis? Warren G. Guntheroth, MD, and Philip S. Spiers, PhD, from the Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington.)
Thymus: The thymus produces lymphocytes and is therefore involved in the immune system. It is in the chest cavity just in front of the heart.
Title V Program: Title V of the Social Security Act is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services. It is the Maternal Child Health Service grants which mandate services to families.
Toxicology: The scientific study of the characteristics and effects of poisons. In the context of SIDS and SUID, toxicology screening is used to determine whether abnormal levels of drugs or other substances are present in the blood.
Tuberculosis: A highly-contagious infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, abbreviated as TB. Tubercles (tiny lumps) are a characteristic finding in TB. Diagnosis may be made by skin test, which if positive should be followed by a chest X-ray to determine the status (active or dormant) of the infection. Tuberculosis is more common in people with immune system problems, such as AIDS, than in the general population.
Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW): Birth of an infant weighing less than 1,500 grams.
Vital Statistics: A group of official facts that show such things as the number of births, deaths and marriages in a particular area.
Vomitus: Matter from the stomach that has come up into and may be ejected beyond the mouth, due to the act of vomiting.
Unless otherwise noted, these definitions have been adapted from the Webster’s New World Medical Dictionary and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
