Medical terms - Letter C (page 19) | MedicalVocabulary.org

CME

Stands for Continuing Medical Education. CME programs are intended, literally, to continue the medical education of physicians. Doctors are required to earn CME credits to retain their medical licenses. They may do so…
CMG2

Capillary morphogenesis gene 2, a transmembrane protein that is induced during capillary morphogenesis (the development of capillaries). Mutations in CMG2 cause infantile systemic hyalinosis and juvenile hyaline…
CML

Chronic myelogenous leukemia, which is also known as chronic myeloid leukemia and chronic myelocytic leukemia
CML, juvenile

See: Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia
CMT

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
CMV (cytomegalovirus)

A virus that infects 50-85% of adults in the US by age 40 and is also the virus most frequently transmitted to a child before birth. Persons with symptoms have a mononucleosis-like syndrome with prolonged fever and mild…
CNM

Certified Nurse-Midwife
CNP

Copy number polymorphism
CNPs

Copy number polymorphisms
CNR1

Cannabinoid receptor 1
CNR2

Cannabinoid receptor 2
CNS (central nervous system)

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 peripheral nervous system (PNS)…
CNS prophylaxis

Chemotherapy or radiation therapy to the central nervous system (CNS). This is preventative treatment. It is given to kill cancer cells that may be in the brain and spinal cord, even though no cancer has been detected…
Co-morbid

Pertaining to two or more disorders simultaneously
Co-payment

A payment made by an individual who has health insurance, usually at the time a service is received, to offset some of the cost of care. Co-payments are a common feature of HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) and PPO…
Co-stimulation

An event in the immune system involving the delivery of a second signal by an antigen-presenting cell. The second signal rescues the activated T cell from anergy (which is a state of immune unresponsiveness), allowing…
Coagulation

In medicine, the clotting of blood. The process by which the blood clots to form solid masses, or clots. More than 30 types of cells and substances in blood affect clotting. The process is initiated by blood platelets…
Coagulation, laser

The coagulation (clotting) of tissue using a laser. A coagulation laser produces light in the visible green wavelength that is selectively absorbed by hemoglobin, the pigment in red blood cells, in order to seal off…
Coal miner's pneumoconiosis

See: Black lung disease
Coarctation

A narrowing, a stricture, a constriction. Although the best known coarctation is of the aorta, any artery can have a coarctation. The word 'coarctation' comes from the Latin 'coartare' meaning :to press together.' The…
Coarctation of the aorta

A congenital constriction of the aorta, impeding the flow of blood below the level of the constriction and increasing blood pressure above the constriction. Symptoms may not be evident at birth but may develop as soon…
Coated stent

Also known as a medicated stent. A tiny cage coated with a drug to prop open an artery and prevent it from closing again. The stent is a minute metal mesh tube. It is inserted into a coronary artery usually just after…
Cobalamin

Also called vitamin B12. A vitamin important for the normal formation of red blood cells and for the health of the nerve tissues. Undetected and untreated vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to anemia and permanent nerve…
Cocaine

The most potent stimulant of natural origin, a bitter addictive anesthetic (pain blocker) which is extracted from the leaves of the coca scrub (Erythroxylon coca) indigenous to the Andean highlands of South America…
Cocci

Pleural of coccus. Bacteria which are spherically shaped
Coccidioidomycosis (CM)

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…
Coccus

A bacterial cell which has the shape of a sphere. Coccus enters into the name of a number of bacteria. For example, enterococcus, meningococcus, pneumococcus, staphylococcus, and streptococcus
Coccydynia

Coccydynia: Pain in the coccyx (the tailbone). The coccyx is the small bone at the bottom of the spine very near the anus. The coccyx is made up of 3-5 rudimentary vertebrae and is the lowest part of the spinal column…
Coccygeal

Referring to the coccyx, the small tail-like bone at the bottom of the spine, that is made up of 3-5 (average of 4) rudimentary vertebrae. There is a coccygeal nerve that originates in the spinal cord and emerges at the…
Coccygeal vertebrae

The coccyx, the small tail-like bone at the bottom of the spine near the anus, is made up of 3-5 (average of 4) rudimentary vertebrae
Coccyx

The small tail-like bone at the bottom of the spine very near to the anus. The coccyx is made up of 3-5 rudimentary vertebrae. It is the lowest part of the spinal column
Coccyx bone

The small tail-like bone at the bottom of the spine very near to the anus. The coccyx is made up of 3-5 rudimentary vertebrae. It is the lowest part of the spinal column. The word 'coccyx' comes from the Greek 'kokkyx'…
Cochlea

The cochlea is the part of the inner ear that converts mechanical energy (vibrations) into nerve impulses sent to the brain. It is also known as the organ of hearing. The cochlea is a small conical structure resembling…
Cochleae

The plural of cochlea
Cochlear

Pertaining to the cochlea, the organ of hearing
Cochlear implant

A small complex electronic device that is surgically placed (implanted) within the inner ear to help persons with certain types of deafness to hear. Cochlear implants rarely cure severe or profound deafness but they can…
Cockayne syndrome

A genetic disorder that involves progressive multisystem degeneration and is classified as a segmental premature-aging syndrome. Cockayne syndrome is characterized by dwarfism, prematurely aging, visual problems and…
Cockle

The ventricle of the heart. The origin of the word cockle in this sense is a matter of conjecture but in medieval Latin, the ventricle of the heart was called cochlea cordis and cochlea may have been corrupted to…
Cockles of the heart

The ventricles of the heart. If a cup of tea or coffee warms the cockles of your heart, it gives you a feeling of happiness, contentment, satisfaction. See: Cockle
Cockroach allergy

Allergy: A condition that manifests as an allergic reaction when one is exposed to tiny particles from cockroaches. Asthma can be due to exposure to cockroach allergens (allergy-provoking substances). These substances…
Cod liver oil

An oil extracted from the liver of the cod. Cod liver oil was once given religiously to children every day as a rich source of vitamins A and D. It was also used to treat children with rickets, a bone disease due to…
Code

The genetic code is the correspondence between the triplet of bases in DNA with the amino acids. The discovery of the genetic code clearly ranks as one of the premiere events of what has been called the Golden Age of…
Code black

While there is no formal definition for a 'Code,' doctors often use the term as slang to refer to a patient in cardiopulmonary arrest , requiring a team of providers (sometimes called a 'code team') to rush to the…
Code blue

While there is no formal definition for a 'Code,' doctors often use the term as slang to refer to a patient in cardiopulmonary arrest , requiring a team of providers (sometimes called a 'code team') to rush to the…
Code, emergency

While there is no formal definition for a 'Code,' doctors often use the term as slang to refer to a patient in cardiopulmonary arrest , requiring a team of providers (sometimes called a 'code team') to rush to the…
Code, hospital

While there is no formal definition for a 'Code,' doctors often use the term as slang to refer to a patient in cardiopulmonary arrest , requiring a team of providers (sometimes called a 'code team') to rush to the…
Codes, drug caution

Abbreviations on medications that indicate caution. While not a part of the historical heritage of ancient prescription abbreviations, drug caution codes provide very valuable warnings. They include both universal and…
Coding DNA

A sequence of DNA that codes for protein. Coding DNA sequences are separated by long regions of DNA called introns that have no apparent function. Coding DNA is also known as an exon
Codon

A set of any three adjacent bases in the DNA or RNA. There are 64 different codons of which 61 specify the incorporation of an amino acid into a polypeptide chain while the remaining three are stop codons that signal…
Coefficient of inbreeding

A measure of how close two people are genetically to each another. The coefficient of inbreeding, symbolized by the letter F, is the probability that a person with two identical genes received both genes from one…