Medical terms - Letter B
752 terms start with the letter B.
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Basal ganglia
A region consisting of 3 clusters of neurons (called the caudate nucleus, putamen, and the globus pallidus) located at the base of the brain that are responsible for involuntary movements such as tremors, athetosis, and…
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Basal metabolic rate
A measure of the rate of metabolism. For example, someone with an overly active thyroid will have an elevated basal metabolic rate
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Basal nuclei
A region located at the base of the brain composed of 4 clusters of neurons, or nerve cells. This area of the brain is responsible for body movement and coordination. The groups of neurons most prominently and…
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Basal temperature
1) Usually, a person's temperature on awakening in the morning. As changes in basal temperature accompany ovulation, it is often tracked by women who wish to ensure or avoid pregnancy. 2) A crude measure of thyroid…
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Basal thermometer
Colloquially used as a synonym for basal temperature. Any thermometer can be used to take the basal temperature, although special digital thermometers that are capable of storing and tracking basal temperatures over a…
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BASE breast cancer gene
A breast cancer gene first reported in 2003 that encodes a protein secreted only by breast cancer and salivary gland cells. Hence the name, BASE (Breast cancer And Salivary gland Expression). The normal breast makes…
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Base excision repair
A process of DNA repair in which an altered base is excised (removed) by a DNA glycosylase enzyme, followed by excision of the resulting sugar phosphate. The small gap left in the DNA helix is then filled in by the…
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Base in DNA
A unit of the DNA. There are 4 bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), thymine (T), and cytosine (C). The sequence of bases (for example, CAG) is the genetic code.
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Base of tongue
The back third of the tongue. In contrast to the anterior tongue, which is the front two-thirds of the tongue. The distinction between the anterior and base of the tongue reflects the fact that they are of different…
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Base pair
Two DNA bases complementary to one another (A and T or G and C) that join the complementary strands of DNA to form the double helix characteristic of DNA
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Base sequence
The order of the nucleotide bases -- adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C) -- in a DNA molecule. Also the order of the nucleotide bases A, G, U (uracil), and C in an RNA molecule.
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Base sequence analysis
A method for determining the order of nucleotide bases in DNA
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Base, pressor
A pressor base is a substance chemically classified as a base (or amine) that is capable of raising the blood pressure. 'Pressor' refers to causing a rise in blood pressure. The word comes from the French verb 'presser'…
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Base-excision repair
See: Base excision repair
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Baseline
1. Information gathered at the beginning of a study from which variations found in the study are measured.2. A known value or quantity with which an unknown is compared when measured or assessed.3. The initial time…
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Basement membrane
A thin membrane upon which is posed a single layer of cells. The basement membrane is made up of proteins held together by type IV collagen. The epithelial cells are anchored with hemidesmosome to the basement membrane…
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Basic Local Alignment Search Tool
Abbreviated BLAST. A computer program that identifies homologous genes in different organisms (such as worms, the fruit fly, mice, and humans). Homologous genes are genes in different species that share similar…
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Basilar
Located at or near the base of a structure, especially the base of the skull. For example, a basilar fracture is a break in the bone at the base of the skull and can be life-threatening.
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Basilar fracture
A break in bone at the base of the skull. About a half of basilar fractures are caused by bicycle or motor vehicle accidents, about a quarter by falls, and a tenth by recreational activities, particularly by diving…
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Baskerville effect
A fatal heart attack triggered by extreme psychological stress. The effect is named after Charles Baskerville, a character in the Arthur Conan Doyle story 'The Hound of the Baskervilles,' who suffers a fatal heart…
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Basophil
A type of leukocyte (white blood cell) with coarse bluish-black granules of uniform size within the cytoplasm and typically a bilobate (two-lobed) nucleus. Basophils are so named because their cytoplasmic granules stain…
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Basophilic leukocyte
See: Basophil
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Bather's eruption
An intensely itchy rash due to contact with the tiny thimble jellyfish (Linuche unguiculata). These jellyfish are common between March and August in the waters off of Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean…
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Bathophobia
An abnormal and persistent fear of depths. Sufferers from bathophobia experience anxiety even though they realize they are safe from falling into or being consumed by depths. The feared object may be a long, dark…
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Battered child syndrome
A disease in which children are physically abused. The battered child syndrome is a form of child abuse. Not until the 19th century were children granted the same legal status as domesticated animals in regard to…
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Battle fatigue
The World War II name for what is known today as post-traumatic stress, this is a psychological disorder that develops in some individuals who have had major traumatic experiences (and, for example, have been in a…
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Bayes theorem
A probability principle set forth by the English mathematician Thomas Bayes (1702-1761). Bayes' theorem is of value in medical decision-making and some of the biomedical sciences. Bayes' theorem is employed in clinical…
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Bayes' theorem
See: Bayes theorem
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Bayesian
Pertaining to Thomas Bayes (1702-1761) and to probability methods based on Bayes theorem. As in Bayesian logic, Bayesian probability, Bayesian reasoning, Bayesian statistics, and so on. Now much used, the term…
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Baylisascaris
Infection by the raccoon roundworm. Baylisascaris procyonis is found commonly in raccoons. When infective eggs of this roundworm are ingested by humans, Baylisascaris larvae hatch in the intestine and travel through the…
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BCC
Basal cell carcinoma
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BCG
An effective immunization against tuberculosis. BCG stands for Bacille Calmette Guerin. BCG is a weakened (attenuated) version of a bacteria called Mycobacterium bovis which is closely related to Mycobacterium…
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BCM
Body cell mass
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BCNS
Basal cell nevus syndrome, also known as the Gorlin syndrome
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BDD
Body dysmorphic disorder
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Beaded vitreous type Stickler syndrome
Stickler syndrome, type II. See: Stickler syndrome
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Beals
See: Beals, Rodney K.
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Beals, Rodney K.
The hair that normally grows on the male face after puberty. Testosterone, the most potent of the naturally occurring androgens, causes the development of secondary sex features such as the beard that are characteristic…
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Beard
The hair that normally grows on the male face after puberty. Testosterone, the most potent of the naturally occurring androgens, causes the development of secondary sex features such as the beard that are characteristic…
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Beard ringworm
Ringworm: A superficial fungal infection of the skin, affecting the bearded area of the face and neck, with swellings and marked crusting, often with itching, sometimes causing the hair to break off. In the days when…
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Beat, premature
See: Extrasystole
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Beau lines
See: Beau's lines
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Beau's lines
Transverse lines or grooves across the fingernails; transverse depressions in the nail plate. Beau's lines are caused by temporary cessation of cell division in the proximal nail matrix. The condition may be caused by…
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Beau-Reil cross furrows
See: Beau's lines
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Beaufort wind scale
A widely used wind force scale whih is a simple numerical relationship to wind speed based on an observation of the effects of the wind. The Beaufort wind scale is of importance in preparations for a tropical storm or…
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Becker muscular dystrophy
A chronic, progressive muscle degeneration disease. A form of muscular dystrophy that is quite similar to Duchenne muscular dystrophy, except that patients with Becker do produce some of the key protein, dystrophin…
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Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome
An overgrowth syndrome, whose clinical manifestations typically include macrosomia (large body size), macroglossia (large tongue), omphalocele (exomphalos), organomegaly (enlarged organs), hemihypertrophy (overgrowth of…
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Bed blocker
See: Bed blocker
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Bed blocker
A patient who uses a hospital bed for a long period of time because they are chronically ill. The patient inadvertently blocks the use of the bed by other patients. The term 'bed blocker' appears to date back into the…
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Bed bug
A blood-sucking bug in the Cimex family that lives hidden in bedding or furniture, coming out at night to bite their victims