Medical terms - Letter C (page 18) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Clinical

1. Having to do with the examination and treatment of patients. 2. Applicable to patients. A laboratory test may be of clinical value (of use to patients). The term comes through the French 'clinique' from the Greek…
Clinical aspirin resistance

The inability of aspirin to protect a person from cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes
Clinical cytogenetics

The application of chromosome studies to clinical medicine. For example, clinical cytogenetic testing is done to see if a child with possible Down syndrome has an extra chromosome #21, as is most often the case…
Clinical depression

Depression that meets the DSM-IV criteria for a depressive disorder. The term is usually used to denote depression that is not a normal, temporary mood caused by life events or grieving
Clinical disease

A disease with clinical signs and symptoms that are recognizable. As distinct from a subclinical illness without clinical manifestations. Diabetes, for example, can be subclinical in someone before emerging as a…
Clinical investigator

A medical researcher who carries out a clinical trial or another type of clinical research
Clinical psychology

A professional specialty concerned with diagnosing and treating diseases of the brain, emotional disturbance, and behavior problems. Psychologists can only use talk therapy as treatment; you must see a psychiatrist or…
Clinical Research Center

(CRC) A key resource for clinical research. Also called a General Clinical Research Center (GCRC). One in a national network of centers in the US that provide optimal settings for medical investigators to conduct safe…
Clinical research trials

Clinical research trials: Trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications or medical devices by monitoring their effects on large groups of people. Clinical research trials may be conducted by government…
Clinical social worker, licensed

See: Licensed clinical social worker
Clinical trial

See: Clinical trials. See also: Inconclusive clinical trial; Negative clinical trial; Non-inferior clinical trial; Positive clinical trial
Clinical trials

Clinical trials: Trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications or medical devices by monitoring their effects on large groups of people. Clinical research trials may be conducted by government health…
Clinodactyly

Curving of the fifth finger (the little finger) toward the fourth finger (the ring finger). Sometimes called 'fifth finger clinodactyly' to distinguish it from similar curving of other finger or toes. Clinodactyly is a…
Clinophobia

An abnormal and persistent fear of going to bed. Sufferers from clinophobia experience anxiety even though they realize that going to bed normally should not threaten their well-being. However, because they worry about…
CLIP

1. Abbreviation for Corticotropin-Like Intermediate-lobe Peptide, a molecule identical to part of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) produced in the intermediate lobe of the pituitary gland.2. Abbreviation for…
Clip

A device used to hold something or things together. A surgical clip may be used to prevent a blood vessel from bleeding into the brain or a clip may be used in a vasectomy to pinch together the sides of the vas deferens
Clitoral

Pertaining to the clitoris, the small elongated erectile body in the female homologous with the penis in the male
Clitoral amputation

A surgical procedure in which all or part of the clitoris and sometimes also the labia are removed. Clitoral amputation is a form of female circumcision (female genital mutilation). Also called clitorectomy or…
Clitoral cancer

See: Cancer of the vulva
Clitorectomy

A surgical procedure in which all or part of the clitoris and sometimes also the labia are removed. Clitorectomy is a form of female circumcision (female genital mutilation). Also called clitoridectomy or clitoral…
Clitoridectomy

See Clitorectomy
Clitoris

A small mass of erectile tissue situated at the anterior apex of the vestibule.
CLL

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia. See: Leukemia, chronic lymphocytic
Cloaca

A common passageway for feces, urine and reproduction. At one point in the development of the human embryo, there is a cloaca. It is the far end of a structure called the hindgut. This structure then divides to form a…
Cloacal exstrophy

A birth defect involving the pelvic area that is termed a malformation sequence and involves the cloaca. A cloaca is a common passageway for feces, urine and reproduction. During human embryogenesis (development), there…
Clone

Literally a fragment, the word in modern medical science has come to mean a replica, for example, of a group of bacteria or a macromolecule such as DNA. Clone also refers to an individual developed from a single somatic…
Clone bank

Synonym for Genomic library.
Clones, recombinant

Clones containing recombinant DNA molecules.
Clonic seizure

A seizure in which there are generalized clonic contractions with the entire body jerking, but without a preceding tonic phase
Cloning

The process of making a clone, a genetically identical copy. Cloning can refer to the technique of producing a genetically identical copy of an organism by replacing the nucleus of an unfertilized ovum with the nucleus…
Cloning vector

A DNA molecule originating from a virus, a plasmid (see below) or the cell of a higher organism into which another DNA fragment can be integrated without loss of the vector's (carrier's) capacity for self-replication…
Cloning, cell

The process of producing a group of cells (clones), all genetically identical, from a single ancestor.
Cloning, DNA

The use of DNA manipulation procedures to produce multiple copies of a single gene or segment of DNA
Cloning, therapeutic

See: Therapeutic cloning
Clonote

The first cell produced by the combination of a nucleus and an enucleated ovum that launches the process of somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). As opposed to the zygote, the first cell resulting from fertilization…
Clostridium

A group of anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that thrive in the absence of oxygen). There are 100+ species of Clostridium. They include, for examples, Clostridium difficile, Clostridium perfringens (also called Clostridium…
Clostridium botulinum

A group of rod-shaped bacteria commonly found in the soil that grow best under low oxygen conditions. The bacteria form heat-resistant spores which allow them to survive in a dormant state until exposed to conditions…
Clostridium difficile

A brain disorder in which there is an abnormal enlargement of the occipital horns of the brain --the posterior or rear portion of the lateral ventricles (cavities or chambers) of the brain. This enlargement occurs when…
Clostridium perfringens

A type of bacteria that is the most common agent of gas gangrene and can also cause food poisoning as well as a fulminant form of bowel disease called necrotizing colitis. Clostridium perfringens is the same as…
Clostridium welchii

See: Clostridium perfingens.
Clot, blood

See Blood clot
Clot-dissolving medication

See: Thrombolytic agent
Clotbuster

An informal term for a drug that can dissolve a clot. See: Thrombolytic agent
Club drug

A drug such as MDMA (Ecstasy), GHB, Rohypnol, ketamine, methamphetamine, and LSD that is used by young adults at all-night dance parties such as 'raves' or 'trances,' dance clubs, and bars. Use of club drugs can cause…
Clubfoot

A common malformation of the foot that is evident at birth. The foot is turned in sharply so that the person seems to be walking on their ankle. The medical term for the common ('classic') type of clubfoot is talipes…
Cluster

In epidemiology, an aggregation of cases of a disease or another health-related condition, such as a cancer or birth defect, closely grouped in time and place. The number of cases in the cluster may or may not exceed…
Cluster headache

Headache: A distinctive syndrome of headaches, also known as migrainous neuralgia. There are two main clinical patterns of cluster headache -- the episodic and the chronic: > >Episodic: This is the most common pattern…
CM

A centimorgan, 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…
Cm (centimeter)

A unit of measure in the metric system which is 1/100'th of a meter. There are 2.54 centimeters (cms) in one inch. The centimeter is commonly used in medicine to state the size of objects or distance between points. It…
CM (coccidioidomycosis)

A disease due to a fungus called Coccidioides immitis. About 40% of people infected with this fungus develop symptoms. Most often they have an influenza-like illness with fever, cough, headaches, rash, and myalgias…