primary health care

primary health care,

a basic level of health care that includes programs directed at the promotion of health, early diagnosis of disease or disability, and prevention of disease. Primary health care is provided in an ambulatory facility to limited numbers of people, often those living in a particular geographic area. It includes continuing health care, as provided by a family nurse practitioner.

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primary,

n a term indicating the first in time or the first in order in a series.

primary beam,

n See radiation, primary.

primary care,

n the first contact with a health care provider in a given episode of illness that leads to a decision regarding a course of action to resolve the health problem presented by the patient.

primary deficiency,

n the insufficient intake of dietary nutrients that may be due to such factors as illness, ignorance, economic status, fad diets, food preferences, overuse of convenience foods, or poor oral health.

primary dentin,

n the dentin produced after a tooth takes its position in the oral cavity but before the apical foramen is completed.

primary dentition,

n See dentition, primary.

primary fixation,

n the immediate postoperative fastening of an implant to bone by means of wires, screws, or a superstructure until, through natural healing and adhesion, final fixation occurs.

primary health care,

n a basic level of health care that includes programs directed at the promotion of health, early diagnosis of disease or disability, and prevention of disease.

primary intention healing,

n the healing of a wound directly at the incision site.

primary lymphoma of the brain,

n a secondary neoplasm associated with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

primary prevention,

n an action performed to preclude the development of a disease. See also primary health care and secondary prevention.

primary radiation,

n See radiation, primary.

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primary

first; basic.

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primary accession

the first contact with the veterinarian by an animal for the particular condition or disease incident that is the cause of the visit.

primary accession practice

a veterinary practice that does most of its work with primary accession cases—not a specialty practice.

primary bile acids

see bile acids.

primary carcinogens

substances that react directly with a specific biological group in living tissue resulting in the development of a neoplasm. They are mostly synthetic compounds or metals.

primary case

the patient which brings the disease into the population.

primary complex of Ranke

in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis is the primary lesion with a similar lesion in the draining lymph node.

primary health care

routine outpatient care.

primary immune response

see humoral immunity.

primary intention healing

see healing by first intention.

primary rumen cycle

see reticuloruminal contractions.

primary ruminal tympany

intrinsic to reticuloruminal dysfunction; not secondary to traumatic reticulitis, esophageal obstruction.

primary ruminant gastrointestinal dysfunction

dysfunction intrinsic to the gastrointestinal tract of the ruminant; not secondary to dysfunction in some other organ.