Medical terms - Letter C (page 24) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Congenital rubella syndrome

The constellation of abnormalities caused by infection with the rubella (German measles) virus before birth. The syndrome is characterized by multiple congenital malformations (birth defects) and mental retardation. The…
Congenital stationary night blindness

An inherited eye disorder that is not progressive ('stationary') and principally affects the rod photoreceptors in the retina, impairing night vision. There may also be moderate to high myopia (short sightedness). Under…
Congenital synostosis of cervicothoracic vertebrae

See: Klippel-Feil sequence
Congenital torticollis

A deformity of the neck that is evident at birth. It is due to shortening of the neck muscles. Congenital torticollis tilts the head to the side on which the neck muscles are shortened so that the chin points to the…
Congenital vaccinia

Infection of the fetus in the last trimester of pregnancy due to bloodborne dissemination of the vaccinia virus in the pregnant woman after she has received a smallpox vaccination. The affected infant is often…
Congenital webbed neck syndrome

See: Klippel-Feil sequence
Congestive heart failure

Congestive heart failure: Inability of the heart to keep up with the demands on it and, specifically, failure of the heart to pump blood with normal efficiency. When this occurs, the heart is unable to provide adequate…
Conization

Surgery to remove a cone-shaped piece of tissue from the cervix and cervical canal. Conization may be used to diagnose or treat a cervical condition. Also called cone biopsy.
Conjoined twin

Identical (monozygotic) twins that did not separate fully from one another but are still partially united. Due to the incomplete division of one fertilized ovum. Conjoined twins are popularly known as Siamese twins…
Conjoined twins

See: Conjoined twin
Conjugated linoleic acid

(CLA) A supplement that has been promoted as an aid to weight loss and muscle building and as a deterrent to heart disease, diabetes and cancer. CLA is an unsaturated fatty acid in the milk and meat of cows, sheep and…
Conjunctiva

The excessive and uncontrollable use of foul or obscene language, including words related to feces (bowel waste). Coprolalia is a typical symptom of Tourette syndrome, a condition that has its onset in childhood and is…
Conjunctival

Pertaining to the conjunctiva, the clear moist membrane that covers the inner surfaces of the eyelids and the front of eyeball
Conjunctival fornix

The fornix of the conjunctivae refers to loose arching folds connecting the conjunctival membrane lining the inside of the eyelid with the conjunctival membrane covering the eyeball. In anatomy, a vaultlike or arched…
Conjunctival melanoma

See: Melanoma, conjunctival.
Conjunctivitis

Inflammation of the conjunctiva, the membrane on the inner part of the eyelids and the membrane covering the white of the eye. The conjunctival membranes react to a wide range of bacteria, viruses, allergy-provoking…
Conjunctivitis, allergic

Inflammation of the whites of the eyes (the conjunctivae) with itching and redness of the eyes and tearing, due to allergy. Frequently accompanies hay fever.
Conn syndrome

Overproduction of the hormone aldosterone (pronounced al-do-ster-one) by a tumor that contains tissue resembling that normally present in the outer portion (cortex) of the adrenal gland. The excess aldosterone results…
Connectionism

>An input device receiving signals from the environment or from other neurons, >An integrative device integrating and manipulating the input, >A conductive device conducting the integrated information over distances…
Connective tissue

A material made up of fibers forming a framework and support structure for body tissues and organs. Connective tissue surrounds many organs. Cartilage and bone are specialized forms of connective tissue. All connective…
Connective tissue disease

Connective tissue disease: A disease (autoimmune or otherwise) that attacks the collagen or other components of connective tissue, such as lupus.
Connective tissue disease, heritable

See: Heritable connective tissue disease
Connexin

A subunit of connexon, a protein that forms a gap junction, a channel that permits ions and small molecules to move between adjacent cells. The connexins are important to intercellular communication. Historically, gap…
Connexin 26

Also known as gap junction beta 2, or GJB2. See: GJB2. See also: Connexin
Connexon

A special type of protein composed of an assembly of six subunits that are called connexins. A connexon of one cell is joined to that of an adjacent cell to form an intercellular channel consisting of 12 connexin…
Conor and Bruch disease

African tick typhus, one of the tick-borne rickettsial diseases of the eastern hemisphere similar to Rocky Mountain spotted fever but less severe. Characteristic features include fever, a small ulcer (tache noire) at…
Conotoxin

A toxin made by cone snails (Conidae), also called cone shells, which are fish-eating snails that inhabit tropical coral reefs, mangroves and associated habitats. Each of the 500 species of cone snail produces roughly…
Consanguinity

Blood relationship because of common ancestry. Everyone carries rare recessive alleles, rare genes that are generally innocuous in the heterozygous state but that in the company of another gene of the same type are…
Conservative mutation

A change in a DNA or RNA sequence that leads to the replacement of one amino acid with a biochemically similar one. It is conservative in the sense that it is not a radical change that might, for example, stop all…
Conserved sequence

A base sequence in a DNA molecule (or an amino acid sequence in a protein) that has remained essentially unchanged, and so has been conserved, throughout evolution
Consolidation therapy

Therapy: Cancer treatment given after induction therapy to consolidate the gains obtained, further reduce the number of cancer cells and achieve a complete remission. Often just called consolidation. The overall…
Constipation

Constipation: Infrequent (and frequently incomplete) bowel movements. The opposite of diarrhea, constipation is commonly caused by irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulosis, and medications (constipation can…
Constitutional thrombopathy

See: Von Willebrand disease
Constraint-induced movement therapy

A form of intensive physical therapy aimed at reorganizing and reprogramming the brain after a stroke, a traumatic brain injury, or spinal cord damage
Constrictive pericarditis

Scarring of the pericardial sac. This limits the ability of the heart to function because it cannot expand enough to collect blood and pump it to the lungs and then back to the body. Bleeding into the pericardium from…
Consultant

An individual to whom one refers for expert advice or services. The use of consultants is common in medicine. For example, a man with puzzling pains in the joints of the hands and feet may be referred to a…
Consumption

An old and once common term for wasting away of the body, particularly from pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Other old TB terms include the King's evil or scrofula (TB of the lymph nodes in the neck) and Pott's disease (TB…
Contact dermatitis

A skin condition caused by contact between skin and some substance. Includes irritant contact dermatitis (a rash brought on purely by repeated irritation from a substance such as water causing 'dish pan hands') and…
Contact dermatitis, allergic

Also called allergic contact eczema, this is a red, itchy, weepy reaction where the skin has come into contact with a substance that the immune system recognizes as foreign, such as poison ivy or certain preservatives…
Contact eczema

A localized reaction that includes redness, itching, and burning where the skin has come into contact with an allergen (an allergy-causing substance) or with an irritant such as an acid, a cleaning agent or another…
Contact eczema, allergic

Also called allergic contact dermatitis, this is a red, itchy, weepy reaction where the skin has come into contact with a substance that the immune system recognizes as foreign, such as poison ivy or certain…
Contact healing

Another name for the alternative medicine practice of laying on of hands. See: Laying on of hands. See also: Therapeutic touch
Contig

Contiguous sequence of DNA created by assembling overlapping sequenced fragments of a chromosome. A group of clones representing overlapping regions of the genome. A contig is a chromosome map showing the locations of…
Contig map

A map depicting the relative order of a linked library of small overlapping clones representing a complete chromosome segment. A contig is a chromosome map showing the locations of those regions of a chromosome where…
Contiguous gene syndrome

A disorder due to deletion of multiple gene loci that are adjacent to one another. Contiguous gene syndromes are characterized by multiple, apparently unrelated, clinical features caused by deletion of the multiple…
Continuous passive motion machine

A machine used to help rehabilitate a limb (an arm or leg). The continuous passive motion (CPM) machine is attached to, for example, a knee that has had surgery. The CPM machine then constantly moves the knee through a…
Continuous positive airway pressure

See: CPAP.
Contraception, emergency

See: Emergency contraception
Contraceptive device, intrauterine (IUD)

A device inserted into the uterus (womb) to prevent conception (pregnancy). The IUD can be a coil, loop, triangle, or T in shape made of plastic or metal. An IUD is inserted into the uterus by a health-care…
Contraceptive sponge, vaginal

A contraceptive device that is donut-shaped, made of plastic, contains a spermicide (nonoxynol-9) and is inserted into the vagina to cover the cervix. A loop is provided to ease removal. The sponge protects against…