Proudly Pro-Ana

Don't let the propaganda take away from the truth. Ana is very important medically. Without terminology I fondly like to call Ana-logy, the medical profession would be lost. So let me profess my pro-ana leanings here and now. Ana is a prefix from Greek, meaning up or anew. It leads to many, though not all, of the ana words below (with their definitions from a science and technology dictionary):

(1) Anaphylaxis - An acute immediate hypersensitivity reaction following administration of an antigen to a subject resulting from combination of the antigen with IgE on mast cells or basophils which cause these cells to release histamine and other vasoactive agents.

(2) Anabolic - metabolic events which can lead to the synthesis of body constituents

(3) Anaesthetists - Those skilled in the administration of anaesthetic drugs (drugs producing insensibility to touch, pain and temperature) (in US, called anaesthesiologists)

(4) Anaemia - Diminution of the amount of total circulating haemoglobin in the blood

(5) Anabiosis - A temporary state of reduced metabolism in which metabolic activity is absent or undetectable

(6) Anaplasia - Loss of the differentiation of a cell associated with profligate activity (a characteristic of a malignant tumour)

(7) Anamnesis - The recollection of past things, the patient's recollections of symptoms and past illnesses

(8) Analgesia - Loss of sensibility to pain

(9) Anal - Referring to the opening of the alimentary canal by which indegestible residues are voided

(10) Anorexi... oh, sorry, that begins with ano, don't know how that sneaked in