A “medicine” (sometimes called a “sugar pill”) that—unknown to the patient—has no active medicinal ingredients. It is used in drug studies to compare the efficacy of a new drug to no treatment at all without the patient being aware of which “treatment” they are receiving.
Pitch
The subjective impression of frequency.
Pinna
(PIN-uh) The external or outer ear (auricle).
Pidgin Signed English (PSE)
A form of signing that uses American Sign Language signs for the most part, but signed in English word order. People that are hard of hearing, if they sign, generally use PSE to supplement their oral communication. (See also Signed English.)
Physicians’ Desk Reference (PDR)
The main drug reference book used by doctors, pharmacists and hospitals in the USA.
Phoneme
The smallest unit in a language that is capable of conveying a change in meaning. For example, the “m” in “mat” versus the “b” in “bat.” There are 41 phonemes in the English language.