Medical terms - Letter C (page 5) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Carbon dioxide content

A measure of the bicarbonate level in the blood. The normal carbon dioxide content may vary somewhat from one laboratory to another. For example, it may be 20 to 29 milliequivalents per liter (mEq/L) of blood, 22 to 34…
Carbon monoxide hemoglobin

See: Carboxyhemoglobin
Carbon monoxide on houseboats

See: Houseboat carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning

Poisoning with carbon monoxide, a tasteless odorless gas that is a byproduct of combustion. Carbon monoxide acts as a poison by competing with oxygen for binding sites on hemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that…
Carbonmonoxyhemoglobin

See: Carboxyhemoglobin
Carboxyhemoglobin

Hemoglobin that has carbon monoxide instead of the normal oxygen bound to it. Carbon monoxide has a much great affinity than oxygen for hemoglobin. Carboxyhemoglobin is formed in carbon monoxide poisoning. The source of…
Carboxyhemoglobinemia

The presence of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood. Carboxyhemoglobin, hemoglobin that has carbon monoxide bound to it, is formed in carbon monoxide poisoning, as from exhaust (such as from a car, truck, boat or generator)…
Carbuncles

A skin abscess, a collection of pus that forms inside the body. Antibiotics are often not very helpful in treating abscesses. The main treatments include hot packs and draining ('lancing') the abscess, but only when it…
Carcinoembryonic antigen

Carcinoembryonic antigen: Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a protein found in many types of cells but associated with tumors and the developing fetus. CEA is tested in blood. The normal range is <2.5 ng/ml in an…
Carcinogen

A substance or agent that causes cancer. Related terms include the adjective 'carcinogenic' and the nouns 'carcinogenesis' and 'carcinogenicity.' One of the best-known carcinogens is ionizing radiation. The…
Carcinogenic

Causing cancer or contributing to the causation of cancer. Pertaining to a carcinogen
Carcinoid syndrome

A tumor which secretes large amounts of the hormone serotonin. Carcinoid tumor is also called an argentaffinoma. The tumor usually arises in the gastrointestinal tract, anywhere between the stomach and the rectum (the…
Carcinoid tumor

A tumor which secretes large amounts of the hormone serotonin. Carcinoid tumor is also called an argentaffinoma. The tumor usually arises in the gastrointestinal tract, anywhere between the stomach and the rectum (the…
Carcinoma

Cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover body organs. For example, carcinoma can arise in the breast, colon, liver, lung, prostate, and stomach
Carcinoma in situ

Cancer that involves only the place in which it began and that has not spread. Carcinoma in situ is an early-stage tumor. For example, squamous cell carcinoma in situ (Bowen's disease) is an early cancer of the skin. It…
Carcinoma in situ, squamous cell

An early stage of skin cancer. Also known as Bowen's disease. This is a tumor that develops from the squamous cells which are flat, scalelike cells in the outer layer of the skin (the epithelium). The term 'in situ'…
Carcinoma of the breast, infiltrating ductal

Breast, infiltrating ductal: Infiltrating ductal carcinoma is one of several recognized specific patterns of cancer of the breast. It is so named because it begins in the cells forming the ducts of the breast. It is the…
Carcinoma of the breast, infiltrating lobular

Breast, infiltrating lobular: Infiltrating lobular carcinoma is the second most common type of invasive breast cancer next to infiltrating ductal carcinoma, accounting for 5 to 10% of breast cancer. Infiltrating lobular…
Carcinoma of the tongue

See: Tongue cancer
Carcinoma, ampullary

Cancer of a structure called the ampulla of Vater, a small muscle located at the junction where the common bile duct (carrying bile from the liver and secretions from the pancreas) empties into the duodenum (upper small…
Carcinoma, basal cell

Carcinoma, basal cell: The most common type of skin cancer, a disease in which the cancer cells resemble the basal cells of the epidermis, the outer layer of the skin. Basal cell carcinomas usually appear as the classic…
Carcinoma, hepatocellular

A tumor in which the cancer starts during adulthood in cells in the liver. Also called adult primary liver cancer. Primary liver cancer is different from cancer that has metastasized (spread) from another place in the…
Carcinoma, islet cell

See: Islet cell cancer
Carcinoma, Merkel cell

Carcinoma, Merkel cell: An infrequent but highly malignant type of skin cancer. Characteristically starts in a sun-exposed area (of the head, neck, arms or legs) in whites 60-80 years of age as a firm, painless, shiny…
Carcinoma, pancreatic

See: Pancreatic cancer
CARDIA Study

Coronary Artery Risk Development In Young Adults (CARDIA). A study designed to increase understanding of contributors to changes in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors during the critical years of transition from…
Cardiac

Having to do with the heart
Cardiac aneurysm

An outpouching of an abnormally thin portion of the heart wall. Cardiac aneurysms tend to involve the left ventricle because the blood there is under greatest pressure
Cardiac arrest

A medical emergency with absent or inadequate contraction of the left ventricle of the heart that immediately causes bodywide circulatory failure. The signs and symptoms include loss of consciousness; rapid shallow…
Cardiac conduction system

The electrical conduction system that controls the heart rate. This system generates electrical impulses and conducts them throughout the muscle of the heart, stimulating the heart to contract and pump blood. Among the…
Cardiac defibrillator, implantable

A device put within the body that is designed to recognize certain types of abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) and correct them. Defibrillators continuously monitor the heart rhythm in order to detect overly rapid…
Cardiac index

A cardiodynamic measure based on the cardiac output, which is the amount of blood the left ventricle ejects into the systemic circulation in one minute, measured in liters per minute (l/min). Cardiac output can be…
Cardiac insufficiency

See: Heart failure
Cardiac muscle

A type of muscle with unique features only found in the heart. The cardiac muscle is the muscle of the heart and medically is called the myocardium ('myo-' being the prefix renoting muscle).
Cardiac myocyte

A heart muscle cell. Sometimes called a myocyte when it is understood that it is in the heart. See also: Myocyte
Cardiac myxoma

A benign tumor of the heart and the most common type of heart tumor in adults. Cardiac myxomas can appear in an isolated case or in families, sometimes as part of an hereditary syndrome called the Carney complex. Some…
Cardiac output

The amount of blood that is pumped by the heart per unit time, measured in liters per minute (l/min). The amount of blood that is put out by the left ventricle of the heart in one contraction is called the stroke…
Cardiac rehabilitation

A program for people with heart disease designed to reduce future heart risks. Cardiac rehabilitation usually consists of nutritional counseling; management of lipid levels, hypertension, weight, and diabetes; smoking…
Cardiac septum

The septum of the heart is the dividing wall between the right and left sides of the heart. That portion of the septum that separates the two upper chambers (the right and left atria) of the heart is termed the atrial…
Cardiac stress testing, exercise

The exercise cardiac stress testing (ECST) is the most widely used cardiac (heart) screening test. The patient exercises on a treadmill according to a standardized protocol, with progressive increases in the speed and…
Cardiac tamponade

A life-threatening situation in which there is such a large amount of blood or other fluid inside the pericardial sac around the heart that it interferes with the performance of the heart. If cardiac tamponade is left…
Cardiac transplant

See: Heart transplant
Cardiac ventricle

One of the two lower chambers of the heart. The right ventricle is the chamber that receives blood from the right atrium and pumps it into the lungs via the pulmonary artery while the left ventricle is the chamber that…
Cardiac-limb syndrome

See: Holt-Oram syndrome
Cardio-cutaneous syndrome

See: LEOPARD syndrome
Cardiologist

A doctor who specializes in treating heart disorders
Cardiology

The study and treatment of heart disorders
Cardiomyopathy

Disease of the heart muscle (the myocardium). From the Greek roots: 'cardio-', heart + 'mys', muscle + 'pathos', disease = disease (of the) heart muscle
Cardiomyopathy, dilated

See: Dilated cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy, doxorubicin

See: Doxorubicin cardiomyopathy