Medical terms - Letter C (page 10) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Centimorgan (cM)

A unit of measure of genetic recombination frequency. One cM is equal to a 1% chance that a marker at one genetic locus will be separated from a marker at another locus due to crossing over in a single generation. In…
Central

At or near the center. In anatomy and medicine (as elsewhere), central is the opposite of 'peripheral' which means away from the center. The word 'peripheral' comes from the Greek 'peripheria' ('peri-', around or about…
Central auditory processing disorder

A condition in which there is an inability to differentiate, recognize or understand sounds while both the hearing and intelligence are normal. (In technical terms, a central auditory processing disorder is a disease of…
Central catheter

See: Catheter, central
Central core disease

See: Central core disease of muscle
Central core disease of muscle

One of the conditions that produces 'floppy baby' syndrome. CCD causes hypotonia (floppiness) in the newborn baby, slowly progressive muscle weakness, and muscle cramps after exercise. Muscle biopsy shows a key…
Central fovea

See: Fovea.
Central line

A catheter (tube) that is passed through a vein to end up in the thoracic (chest) portion of the vena cava (the large vein returning blood to the heart) or in the right atrium of the heart. Central lines have a number…
Central nervous system (CNS)

The central nervous system is that part of the nervous system that consists of the brain and spinal cord. The central nervous system (CNS) is one of the two major divisions of the nervous system. The other is the…
Central nervous system, spongy degeneration of the

Also called Canavan disease, this is a severe progressive fatal inherited (genetic) disorder of the central nervous system (CNS). The signs of Canavan disease usually appear when the children are between 3 and 6 months…
Central retinal artery

The blood vessel that carries blood into the eye and supplies nutrition to the retina. The counterpart to the central retinal artery is the central retinal vein, the vessel that carries blood away from the retina.
Central retinal vein

The blood vessel that carries blood away from the retina of the eye. The counterpart to the central retinal vein is the central retinal artery, the blood vessel that carries blood into the eye and supplies nutrition to…
Central venous catheter

See: Catheter, central venous
Central venous line

A catheter (tube) that is passed through a vein to end up in the thoracic (chest) portion of the vena cava (the large vein returning blood to the heart) or in the right atrium of the heart. Central venous lines have a…
Central vision

Straight-ahead vision. Central vision is the work of the macula, a small area in the center of the retina that contains a rich collection of cones. (The retina is made up of two types of cells, the cones and the rods…
Centrencephalic seizure

See: Grand mal
Centric-fusion translocation

A type of chromosome rearrangement, also called a Robertsonian translocation, in which there is fusion of an entire long arm of one acrocentric chromosome with a similarly intact long arm of another acrocentric…
Centromere

The cinched 'waist' of the chromosome essential for the division and the retention of the chromosome in the cell. The centromere is a uniquely specialized region of the chromosome to which spindle fibers attach during…
CEPH

The Centre d'Etudes du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH), an internationally renowned research laboratory created in Paris in 1984 by Professor Jean Dausset (Nobel Prize, Medicine and Physiology, 1980) to provide the…
Cephal-

Prefix indicating the head
Cephalgia

Headache. (One of those things we all know but that defies an easy definition.) Literally, headache is an ache in the head. It is pain in the head. The Greek 'algos' means 'pain.'
Cephalgia, histamine

A distinctive syndrome of headaches, also known as cluster headache or migrainous neuralgia. The common pattern of cluster headache is termed 'episodic' and is characterized by 1-3 short attacks of pain each day around…
Cephalic

Relating to the head or the head end of the body. Situated on, in, or near the head. Cephalic is synonymous with cranial, relating to the cranium or head. The word 'cephalic' came from the Middle French 'cephalique,'…
Cephalic disorder

A congenital condition that stems from damage to, or abnormal development of, the budding nervous system. Cephalic is a term that means 'head' or 'head end of the body.' Congenital means the disorder is present at, and…
Cephalothoracic lipodystrophy

A disorder characterized by painless symmetrical diffuse deposits of fat beneath the skin of the neck, upper trunk, arms and legs. The condition is thought to be genetic although its exact mode of inheritance is…
Cephaly

Familiar abbreviation of the name of one of the cephalic disorders, a series of congenital condition that stem from damage to, or abnormal development of, the budding nervous system. Cephalic is a term that means 'head'…
Ceps

A combining form referring to the head. Derived from the Latin caput, meaning head. See also: Janiceps
CEPT

Cholesterol ester transfer protein
Cerclage

Encircling with a ring, loop, wire, or ligature. Cerlage can be around bone fragments to hold them together. But it usually refers to the cervix. The word comes from the French 'circlage' meaning an encircling
Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1

See B virus
Cerebellar

Pertaining to the cerebellum, the part of the brain in the back of the head between the cerebrum and the brain stem. The cerebellum controls balance for walking and standing and other complex motor functions
Cerebellar ataxia with progressive dementia

See: Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome
Cerebellum

The portion of the brain in the back of the head between the cerebrum and the brain stem. The cerebellum controls balance for walking and standing and other complex motor functions
Cerebral

Pertaining to the brain, the cerebrum or the intellect. The word 'cerebral' was borrowed directly from the French 'cerebral' which was derived from 'cerebrum' (Latin for the 'brain').
Cerebral amyloidosis and spongiform encephalopathy

See: Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome
Cerebral aneurysm

A localized widening of a vessel within the brain. See: Berry aneurysm
Cerebral arterial gas embolism (CAGE)

Gas bubbles traveling and lodging (embolizing) in the arteries that supply the brain with blood (and oxygen). Gas emboli in the brain can lead to a stroke-like condition with disorientation, difficulty walking and…
Cerebral calcification, nonarteriosclerotic

This syndrome described in 1930 by T. Fahr is a genetic (inherited) neurological disorder characterized by abnormal deposits of calcium in certain of areas of the brain (including the basal ganglia and the cerebral…
Cerebral cortex

A thin mantle of gray matter about the size of a formal dinner napkin covering the surface of each cerebral hemisphere. The cerebral cortex is crumpled and folded, forming numerous convolutions (gyri) and crevices…
Cerebral edema

Edema: Accumulation of excessive fluid in the substance of the brain. The brain is especially susceptible to injury from edema, because it is located within a confined space and cannot expand. Also known as brain edema…
Cerebral fornix

An arching fibrous band in the brain connecting the two lobes of the cerebrum. (The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain and consists of two hemispheres separated by a deep longitudinal fissure). Each fornix --…
Cerebral hemispheres

The two halves of the cerebrum, the largest part of the brain.
Cerebral herniation

The abnormal protrusion of brain tissue through an opening when there is increased intracranial pressure (when the brain is under increased pressure). The increased pressure may be due to a number of causes including…
Cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy: An abnormality of motor function (the ability to move and control movements) that is acquired at an early age, usually less than a year of age, and is due to a brain lesion that is non-progressive…
Cerebral vascular

See: Cerebrovascular
Cerebral vascular disease

See: Cerebrovascular disease
Cerebral ventricle

>Lateral ventricles: The lateral ventricles are in the cerebral hemispheres. Each lateral ventricle consists of a triangular central body and four horns. The lateral ventricles communicate with the third ventricle…
Cerebritis

Inflammation of the brain
Cerebrohepatorenal syndrome

A genetic disorder, which is also called the Zellweger syndrome, characterized by the reduction or absence of peroxisomes (cell structures that rid the body of toxic substances) in the cells of the liver, kidneys, and…
Cerebrospinal fluid

CSF. A watery fluid, continuously produced and absorbed, which flows in the ventricles (cavities) within the brain and around the surface of the brain and spinal cord. The CSF is produced by the choroid plexus, a series…