Elemental
Elemental (medicine)
Elemental (pronounced: /ˌelɪˈmɛnt(ə)l/) is a term used in medicine to refer to a type of diet or nutritional supplement that contains basic, chemically simple nutrients.
Etymology
The term "elemental" comes from the Latin word elementum, meaning "a first principle, element, rudiment". In the context of medicine, it refers to the basic, fundamental nutrients that the body needs to function properly.
Usage in Medicine
In medicine, an elemental diet or elemental nutrition is a diet that proposes the ingestion or in some cases intravenous feeding of pre-digested nutrients, often in the form of amino acids, sugars, dietary minerals and sometimes fatty acids. They are used in cases where a patient has compromised ability to digest food normally, such as in cases of Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, and certain types of cancer.
An elemental formula is a type of medical food that contains essential nutrients in their simplest form. These formulas are often used for patients who have difficulty digesting or absorbing nutrients from regular food.
Related Terms
- Amino acids: These are the building blocks of proteins and are essential for many bodily functions. They are often included in elemental diets or formulas.
- Dietary minerals: These are chemical elements required by living organisms, other than the four elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen present in common organic molecules.
- Intravenous feeding: This is a method of getting nutrition into the body through the veins. It is often used in cases where a patient cannot eat or digest food normally.
- Medical food: This is a type of food that is formulated to be consumed or administered under the supervision of a physician and which is intended for the specific dietary management of a disease or condition.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Elemental
- Wikipedia's article - Elemental
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