Medical terms - Letter C (page 26) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Cornelia de Lange syndrome

See: de Lange syndrome
Corns

Corns: Small calloused areas 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…
Coronal

A coronal plane through the body is a vertical plane from head to foot and parallel to the shoulders
Coronary angiography

The most accurate method (the 'gold standard') for evaluating and defining coronary artery disease (CAD). Coronary angiography is used to identify the exact location and severity of CAD. During coronary angiography, a…
Coronary arteries

The vessels that supply the heart muscle with blood rich in oxygen. They are called the coronary arteries because they encircle the heart in the manner of a crown. The word 'coronary' comes from the Latin 'corona' and…
Coronary artery brachytherapy

Local radiation treatment within an artery to the heart. Coronary artery brachytherapy has been used to reduce the recurrence of blockage (obstruction) of a coronary artery after successful treatment of a blockage of a…
Coronary artery bypass graft

Coronary artery bypass graft: Abbreviated CABG. A form of bypass surgery that can create new routes around narrowed and blocked coronary arteries, permitting increased blood flow to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the…
Coronary artery disease

>Chest pain (angina pectoris) from inadequate blood flow to the heart; >Heart attack (acute myocardial infarction), from the sudden total blockage of a coronary artery; or >Sudden death, due to a fatal disturbance of…
Coronary artery spasm

A spasm (a sudden constriction) of one of the coronary arteries depriving the (myocardium (the heart muscle) of blood and oxygen. This can cause chest pain referred to as variant (or Prinzmetal's) angina. Coronary…
Coronary bypass

A bypass of a plaque within a coronary artery using part of a vein as a graft. See: Coronary artery bypass graft.
Coronary insufficiency

Insufficient blood flow through one or more coronary arteries
Coronavirus

An agent that inhibits the action of the enzyme cox-1 (cyclooxygenase-1). The common anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen block the action of both cox-1 and cox-2. Cox-1 inhibitors can reduce…
Corpora cavernosa

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
Corporeal

Pertaining to the body of an organ or the entire body. The term also serves as a suffix, as in intracorporeal or extracorporeal. From the Latin corpus meaning body and ultimately from an Indo-European word that is also…
Corpse

A dead body. The term corpse is more often used in in mystery stories than in medicine which, for obscure reasons, prefers the term cadaver. Corpse entered the English language in the 14th century. It came from the…
Corpus

The body of the uterus (womb)
Corpus amygdaloideum

See: Amygdaloid nucleus
Corpus callosotomy

The corpus callosum is a band of nerve fibers connecting the two halves (hemispheres) of the brain. A corpus callosotomy is an operation in which all or part of this structure is cut, disabling communication between the…
Corpus callosum, agenesis of the

See: Agenesis of the corpus callosum
Corpus luteum cyst

This type of functional ovarian cyst occurs after an egg has been released from a follicle. After this happens, the follicle becomes what is known as a corpus luteum. If a pregnancy doesn't occur, the corpus luteum…
Corrigan pulse

A pulse that is full and then suddenly collapses. Named for the Irish physician Dominic John Corrigan (1802-80) who described it in patients with aortic regurgitation due to a leaky aortic valve in the heart. Also…
Cortex

The outer portion of an organ. The outer portion of the adrenal gland is called the adrenal cortex; the outer portion of the cerebrum is the cerebral cortex (a key part of the brain); the outer part of the kidney is the…
Cortex, adrenal

The outer portion of the adrenal gland located on top of each kidney. The adrenal cortex produces steroid hormones which regulate carbohydrate and fat metabolism and mineralocorticoid hormones which regulate salt and…
Cortical

Having to do with the cortex, the outer portion of an organ. The outer portion of the adrenal gland is called the adrenal cortical part; the outer portion of the cerebrum is the cerebral cortical area (a key part of the…
Cortical blindness

Blindness due to loss or injury to the visual cortex, that section of the cerebral cortex responsible for vision, as through a stroke or traumatic brain damage
Corticosteroid

Any of the steroid hormones made by the cortex (outer layer) of the adrenal gland. Cortisol is a corticosteroid
Corticosteroid allergy

A delayed allergic reaction to corticosteroid (drugs similar to cortisone). This occurs in 1-4% of people who use corticosteroids for asthma or other allergic diseases. A positive patch test to a corticosteroid means…
Corticotropin-releasing hormone

A hormone made by the hypothalamus that stimulates the release of corticotropin by the anterior pituitary gland. Corticotropin-releasing hormone is abbreviated and often referred to as CRH. CRH is chemically classed as…
Cortisol

The primary stress hormone. Cortisol is the major natural GLUCOCORTICOID (GC) in humans
Cortisone

An adrenocorticoid hormone, a naturally occurring hormone made by and secreted by the adrenal cortex, the outer part (the cortex) of the adrenal gland. Cortisone was the first of the 'miracle drugs' for the treatment of…
Coryza

A cold in the head. The word 'coryza' came from the Greek 'koryza' which is thought to have been compounded from 'kara', head + 'zeein', to boil. The 'boiling over from the head' refers to the runny nose, an…
Cosmeceutical

A cosmetic product claimed to have medicinal or drug-like benefits. Cosmeceutical products are marketed as cosmetics, but reputedly contain biologically active ingredients. Examples include anti-wrinkle skin creams with…
Cosmid

DNA from a bacterial virus into which is spliced a small fragment of a genome to be amplified and sequenced. A cosmid is an artificially constructed structure. It is used in cloning (copying) pieces of DNA. (On a…
Costal margin

The lower edge of the chest (thorax) formed by the bottom edge of the rib cage
Costochondritis

Costochondritis is inflammation of the cartilage of the chest wall, usually involving that which surrounds the breast bone (sternum). It causes local pain and tenderness of the chest around the sternum.
Cotinine

The major metabolite (breakdown product) of nicotine. Exposure to nicotine can be measured by analyzing the cotinine level in the blood, saliva, or urine. Since nicotine is highly specific to tobacco smoke, serum…
Cotton rat

A rodent capable of carrying the types of hantavirus that cause HPS (hantavirus pulmonary syndrome) in the US. The cotton rate is found in the southeastern US and Central and South America. Its head and body measure…
Cough

A rapid expulsion of air from the lungs typically in order to clear the lung airways of fluids, mucus, or material. Also called tussis
Cough suppressant

A drug used to control coughing, particularly with a dry, nagging, unproductive cough
Coughing syncope

The temporary loss of consciousness upon coughing. Syncope is the temporary loss of consciousness or, in plain English, fainting. The situations that trigger this reaction are diverse and include having blood drawn…
Coumadin, teratogenicity of

The anticoagulant ('blood- thinner') Coumadin is a known teratogen, an agent that can disturb the development of the embryo and fetus and lead to birth defects.. Coumadin taken by a woman during pregnancy can cause…
Counseling, genetic

An educational counseling process for individuals and families who have a genetic disease or who are at risk for such a disease. Genetic counseling is designed to provide patients and their families with information…
Counselor, genetic

A health professional with a specialized graduate degree and experience in the areas of medical genetics and counseling. Genetic counselors enter the field from a variety of disciplines, including biology, genetics…
Count, absolute CD4

See: Absolute CD4 count
Count, platelet

The calculated number of platelets in a volume of blood, usually expressed as platelets per cubic millimeter (cmm) of whole blood. Platelets are the smallest cell-like structures in the blood and are important for blood…
Counter, Geiger

See: Geiger counter
Counterpulsation

A technique that synchronizes the external pumping of blood with the heart's cycle to assist the circulation and decreasing the work of the heart. Counterpulsation pumps when the heart is resting to increase blood flow…
Courier

In the drug trade, someone who internally conceals and transports an illicit drug. Also called a body packer. See: Body packer
Cousin marriage

Marriage involving cousins. 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 capable of causing an…
Cow genome

See: Bovine genome