Medical terms - Letter C
1,581 terms start with the letter C.
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Contraceptive, combined oral
Commonly called 'the pill,' combined oral contraceptives are the most commonly used form of reversible birth control in the United States. This form of birth control suppresses ovulation (the monthly release of an egg…
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Contraceptive, diaphragm
A barrier method of contraception that is available by prescription only and must be sized by a health professional to achieve a proper fit. The diaphragm has a dual mechanism to prevent a pregnancy. A dome-shaped…
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Contraceptive, implantable progestin
Implantable progestin in the form of Norplant was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for contraception in 1990 and the newer Norplant 2 was approved by the FDA in 1996. Made up of matchstick-sized…
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Contraceptive, injectable progestin
Injectable progestin (Depo-Provera) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for contraception in 1992. It is injected by a health professional into the woman's buttocks or arm muscle every three…
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Contraceptive, minipill
A form of oral contraceptive taken daily, like combined oral contraceptives (the 'pill'), but containing only the hormone progestin and no estrogen. The minipill works by reducing and thickening cervical mucus to…
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Contraceptive, pill
Commonly called 'the pill,' combined oral contraceptives are the most commonly used form of reversible birth control in the United States. This form of birth control suppresses ovulation (the monthly release of an egg…
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Contraction
The tightening and shortening of a muscle
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Contraction, premature
See: Extrasystole
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Contraction, uterine
The tightening and shortening of the uterine muscles. During labor, contractions accomplish two things: (1) they cause the cervix to thin and dilate (open); and (2) they aid the baby to descend into the birth canal
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Contractions, Braxton Hicks
Irregular contractions of the womb (the uterus) occurring towards the middle of pregnancy in the first pregnancy and, earlier and more intensely, in subsequent pregnancies. These contractions tend to occur during…
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Contraindicate
To make a treatment or procedure inadvisable because of a particular condition or circumstance. For examples, certain medications are contraindicated during pregnancy because of the danger they pose to the fetus and the…
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Contraindication
>An absolute contraindication is a situation which makes a particular treatment or procedure absolutely inadvisable. In a baby, for example, aspirin is absolutely contraindicated because of the danger that aspirin will…
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Contralateral
On the other side. The contralateral breast is the breast on the other breast. A stroke affecting the right side of the brain may cause contralateral paralysis, affecting the left arm and leg. The opposite of…
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Contrast
Short for 'contrast media.' Contrast media are X-ray dyes used to provide contrast, for example, between blood vessels and other tissue
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Contrast media
X-ray dye. Commonly spoken of as 'contrast.
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Contrast nephropathy
A form of acute renal failure that starts soon after administration of contrast media (dye) for X-rays. The disorder usually runs a benign course and only rarely requires recourse to dialysis
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Contrast sensitivity, visual
The ability to perceive differences between an object and its background
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Control (genetic)
The control of gene expression. Genetic control may be on the transcriptional or translational level. Transcriptional control works by controlling the number of RNA transcripts of a region of DNA, indirectly controlling…
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Control (research)
In research, control subjects or control procedures permit comparison with experimental results. The first controlled clinical research was probably done in 1875 by the British naval surgeon James Lind who, on board the…
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Contusion
Another name for a bruise. What is a bruise ? A bruise, or contusion, is caused when blood vessels are damaged or broken as the result of a blow to the skin (be it bumping against something or hitting yourself with a…
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Conventional medicine
Medicine as practiced by holders of M.D. (medical doctor) or D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) degrees and by their allied health professionals, such as physical therapists, psychologists, and registered nurses. Other terms…
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Convulsion
An abnormal, involuntary contraction of the muscles most typically seen with certain seizure disorders. The term convulsion is sometimes used as a synonym for seizure, but not all seizures are characterized by…
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COPD
Two chambers in the penis which run the length of the organ and are filled with spongy tissue. Blood flows in and fills the open spaces in the spongy tissue to create an erection.
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Coprolalia
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…
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Coprolith
See: Fecalith
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Coprophobia
An abnormal and persistent fear of feces (bowel waste). Sufferers of coprophobia experience anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. They go out of their way to avoid coming into contact with feces or…
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Copy number polymorphism
Abbreviated CNP. A normal variation in DNA due to variation in the number of copies of a sequence within the DNA. Large-scale copy number polymorphisms are common and widely distributed in the human genome.
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CoQ10
See: Coenzyme Q10
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Cor
The Latin word for the heart. For example, cor pulmonale is heart disease that results from abnormally high resistance to the passage of blood through the lungs. Cor biloculare is a two-chambered heart resulting from…
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Cor biloculare
A two-chambered heart. Cor biloculare is due to failure of development of the walls that normally separate the two atria (interatrial septum) and the two ventricles (interventricular septum). 'Cor' is the Latin word for…
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Cor pulmonale
Heart disease that results from abnormally high resistance to the passage of blood through the lungs; it often leads to right heart failure. Cor is the Latin word for the heart.
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Cord
1. In anatomy, a long ropelike structure. 2. Short for the spinal cord or the umbilical cord
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Cord, spinal
See: Spinal cord
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Cord, umbilical
See: Umbilical cord
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Cord, vocal
See: Vocal cord
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Cordectomy
1. Surgical removal of a vocal cord. 2. Surgical removal of part of the spinal cord. From cord + -ectomy (removal).
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Corn
A small calloused area of skin caused by local pressure irritating tissue over a bony prominence. Corns most commonly occur over a toe where they form what is referred to as a hard corn. Between the toes, pressure can…
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Cornea
The clear front window of the eye that transmits and focuses light into the eye. Although the cornea is clear and seems to lack substance, it is a highly organized group of cells and proteins. Unlike most tissues in the…
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Corneal
Pertaining to the cornea, the clear front window of the eye that transmits and focuses light into the eye
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Corneal abrasion
A scratch or scrape on the cornea, the clear front window of the eye that transmits and focuses light into the eye
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Corneal dystrophy
A condition in which one or more parts of the cornea lose their normal clarity due to a buildup of cloudy material. There are over 20 corneal dystrophies that affect all parts of the cornea. These diseases share many…
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Corneal dystrophy, Cogan
A disorder in which the cornea (the normally clear front window of the eye) shows grayish fingerprint lines, geographic map-like lines, and dots (or microcysts) on examination with a slit-lamp that focuses a high…
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Corneal dystrophy, epithelial basement
A disorder in which the cornea (the normally clear front window of the eye) shows grayish fingerprint lines, geographic map-like lines, and dots (or microcysts) on examination with a slit-lamp that focuses a high…
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Corneal dystrophy, Fuchs endothelial
A common adult-onset form of corneal dystrophy with autosomal dominant inheritance. The disorder is caused by mutation in the COL8A2 gene. In this disease, the endothelial cells in the cornea gradually deteriorate. As…
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Corneal dystrophy, lattice
See: Lattice dystrophy
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Corneal dystrophy, map-dot-fingerprint type
A disorder in which the cornea (the normally clear front window of the eye) shows geographic map-like lines, dots (or microcysts), and grayish fingerprint lines on examination with a slit-lamp, a device that focuses a…
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Corneal dystrophy, microcystic
A disorder in which the cornea (the normally clear front window of the eye) shows dots (or microcysts), geographic map-like lines, and grayish fingerprint lines on examination with a slit-lamp, a device that focuses a…
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Corneal ring, intrastromal
A plastic ring designed to be implanted in the cornea, the transparent structure in the front of the eye. The aim of the corneal ring implant is to flatten the cornea and in so doing to correct or reduce the degree of…
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Corneal topography
Also known as videokeratography or corneal mapping, corneal topography is a method of computer-assisted examination of the cornea, the clear front portion of the eye that transmits and focuses light into the eye…
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Corneal transplant
The replacement of the clear window on the front of the eye (cornea) by a healthy cornea. The procedure is typically done under local anesthesia in an outpatient setting. Transplantation of the cornea may be indicated…