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sexual health

A state of biological, cognitive, emotional, and social well-being in regards to sexual behavior. SEE: sexually transmitted disease.

sexual intercourse

Any sexual union between two or more partners in which at least one partner's genitalia are stimulated. SYN: coition; coitus; copulation; pareunia.

sexual interest/arousal disorder

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder.

sexuality

(sĕks-ū -ăl′ĭ-tē) [L. sexus, sex] 1. The state of having sex; the collective characteristics that mark the differences between the male and the female. 2. The constitution and life of an individual as related to sex; all the dispositions related to intimacy, whether associated with the sex organs or not.

sexuality pattern, ineffective

Expressions of concern regarding one's own sexuality. SEE: Nursing Diagnoses Appendix.

sexually transmitted disease

ABBR: STD. Any disease that may be acquired as a result of sexual intercourse or other intimate contact with an infected individual. Sexually transmitted disease is more inclusive than venereal disease because it includes diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi, and ectoparasites. SYN: sexually transmitted infection. SEE: table.

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Causative Agents of Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Organism Associated Diseases
Bacteria
Klebsiella granulomatis Donovanosis (granuloma inguinale)
Campylobacter species Enteritis, proctocolitis
Chlamydia trachomatis Genital tract infections and Reiter's syndrome
Gardnerella vaginalis Bacterial (nonspecific) vaginosis
Group B streptococcus Neonatal sepsis
Haemophilus ducreyi Chancroid
Mycoplasma hominis Postpartum fever; meningitis
Neisseria gonorrhoeae Genital tract infections, disseminated gonococcal infection
Shigella species Shigellosis; gay bowel syndrome
Treponema pallidum Syphilis
Ureaplasma urealyticum Nongonococcal urethritis
Viruses
Cytomegalovirus Heterophile-negative infectious mononucleosis, birth defects, protean manifestations in the immunocompromised host
Hepatitis A Acute hepatitis
Hepatitis B Acute and chronic hepatitis B, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma
Hepatitis C Acute and chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma
Herpes simplex Genital herpes, aseptic meningitis
Human herpesvirus type 8 Kaposi's sarcoma, lymphoma
Human immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2 AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome)
Human papilloma (70 separate types) Condyloma acuminata, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and carcinoma, vulvar carcinoma, penile carcinoma
Human T-lymphotrophic retrovirus, type 1 Human T-cell leukemia or lymphoma
A pox virus Genital molluscum contagiosum
Protozoa
Entamoeba histolytica Amebiasis in people who have oroanal sex
Giardia lamblia Giardiasis in people who have oroanal sex
Trichomonas vaginalis Trichomonal vaginitis
Ectoparasites
Phthirus pubis Pubic lice infestation
Sarcoptes scabiei Scabies

NOTE: Many of these diseases can be transmitted by contact that is not sexual.

sexual maturity rating

The order and extent of the development of a patient's primary and secondary sexual characteristics as compared with the established norms for chronological age. In both sexes, the changes leading to puberty are the result of major hormonal changes that, although somewhat variable in age of occurrence, proceed in a predictable sequence. Assessing the ...

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