Medical terms - Letter C
1,581 terms start with the letter C.
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Cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic
Heart disease. A nonspecific term applicable to any and all diseases of the heart. From cardio- + the Greek pathos, disease.
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Cardiopathy
Heart disease. A nonspecific term applicable to any and all diseases of the heart. From cardio- + the Greek pathos, disease
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Cardioplegia
Paralysis of the heart, as may be done electively in stopping the heart during cardiac surgery. Cardioplegia may be done using chemicals, cold (cryocardioplegia) or electrical stimulation
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Cardiopulmonary
Having to do with both the heart and lungs
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Cardiopulmonary bypass
Bypass of the heart and lungs as, for example, in open heart surgery. Blood returning to the heart is diverted through a heart-lung machine (a pump-oxygenator) before returning it to the arterial circulation. The…
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Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
The circulatory system comprising the heart and blood vessels which carries nutrients and oxygen to the tissues of the body and removes carbon dioxide and other wastes from them. Cardiovascular diseases affect the heart…
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Cardiovascular
The circulatory system comprising the heart and blood vessels which carries nutrients and oxygen to the tissues of the body and removes carbon dioxide and other wastes from them. Cardiovascular diseases affect the heart…
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Cardiovascular disease
Disease affecting the heart or blood vessels. Cardiovascular diseases include arteriosclerosis, coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, arrhythmia, heart failure, hypertension, orthostatic hypotension, shock…
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Cardiovascular syncope
Cardiovascular syncope: Sudden collapse into unconsciousness due to a disorder of heart rhythm in which there is a slow or absent pulse resulting in syncope (fainting) with or without convulsions. In this condition, the…
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Cardiovascular system
The circulatory system which comprises the heart and blood vessels. The system carries nutrients and oxygen to the tissues of the body and removes carbon dioxide and other wastes from them. The cardiovascular system is…
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Cardioversion
The conversion of one cardiac rhythm or electrical pattern to another, almost always from an abnormal to a normal one. This conversion can be accomplished by pharmacologic means using medications or by electrical…
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Cardioverter
Although cardioversion (the conversion of one cardiac rhythm to another) may sometimes be done with medications, a cardioverter is now synonymous with a defibrillator. Implantable defibrillators continuously monitor the…
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Carditis
Inflammation of the heart
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Care proxy, health
A health care proxy is one form of advance medical directive. Advance medical directives pertain to treatment preferences and the designation of a surrogate decision-maker in the event that a person should become unable…
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Care, ambulatory
See: Ambulatory care
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Care, critical
See: Critical care
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Care, hospice
See: Hospice care
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Care, managed
See: Managed care
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Care, nail
See: Nail care
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Care, postoperative
See: Postoperative care
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Care, preoperative
See: Preoperative care
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Caries
Dental cavities. Holes in the two outer layers of a tooth called the enamel and the dentin. The enamel is the outermost white hard surface and the dentin is the yellow layer just beneath enamel. Both layers serve to…
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Carminative
An agent that prevents or relieves flatulence (gas in the gastrointestinal tract) and, in infants, may help in the treatment of colic. The origin of the word 'carminative' is particularly curious. It was borrowed from…
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Carney complex
A multiple neoplasia syndrome with cardiac, endocrine, cutaneous, and neural tumors together with spotty pigmentation of the skin, particularly on the face, lips, and trunk, and mucosa. The Carney complex may…
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Carotene, beta
An antioxidant, a substance that protects cells against oxidation damage which, it is thought, can lead to cancer. Beta carotene is converted, as needed, to vitamin A. Food sources of beta carotene include vegetables…
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Carotenemia
Temporary yellowing of the skin due to excessive beta carotene in the diet. The offending substance, beta carotene, is an antioxidant (a substance that protects cells against oxidation damage) and is converted by the…
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Carotenoid
One of a group of compounds that includes beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin which are converted to vitamin A and are referred to as provitamin A carotenoids. The sole known role of carotenoids is to…
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Carotid
Pertaining to the carotid artery and the area near that key artery located in the front of the neck though which blood from the heart goes to the brain. There are 2 carotid arteries -- the right and left common carotid…
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Carotid artery
A key artery located in the front of the neck though which blood from the heart goes to the brain. There are 2 carotid arteries -- the right and left common carotid arteries -- on each side of the neck. Together, the…
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Carotid body
A small 'body' of tissue rich in capillaries, at the spot the carotid artery branches in the neck, containing cells that sense the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in blood and from which messages are dispatched to the…
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Carotid endarterectomy
Endarterectomy (a surgical procedure designed to clean out material occluding an artery) done on the carotid artery (a major artery in the neck that supplies blood to the brain) to restore normal blood flow through it…
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Carotid stenosis
Abnormal narrowing of the carotid artery, often a preamble to a stroke
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Carotid-artery stenosis
See: Carotid stenosis
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Carpal bone
One of the wrist bones. There are eight carpal bones that are arranged in two rows. The carpal bones articulate (come together to form a joint) proximally (on their near ends) with the long bones of the forearm -- the…
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Carpal tunnel release
A surgical procedure to relieve pressure exerted on the median nerve within the carpal tunnel (the carpal tunnel syndrome). The median nerve is pinched in the wrist as it passes through the carpal tunnel. The buildup of…
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Carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome: A type of compression neuropathy (nerve damage) caused by compression and irritation of the median nerve in the wrist. The nerve is compressed within the carpal tunnel, a bony canal in the palm…
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Carrier test
A test designed to detect carriers of a gene for recessive genetic disorder. For example, carrier testing is done for sickle cell trait, thalassemia trait, and the Tay-Sachs gene
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Carrier, hemophilia
See: Hemophilia carrier
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Cartilage
Firm, rubbery tissue that cushions bones at joints. A more flexible kind of cartilage connects muscles with bones and makes up other parts of the body, such as the larynx and the outside parts of the ears.
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Cartilage hair hypoplasia syndrome
A specific genetic form of short-limbed dwarfism with skeletal features that also include normal head, inability to fully extends the elbows, chest cage deformity, bow legs (genu varum), and the tibia shorter than the…
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Casals-Ariet
See: Casals-Ariet, Jordi
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Casals-Ariet, Jordi
(1911-2004) Spanish-born American physician and viral epidemiologist who discovered Lassa virus in 1969. Dr. Casals nearly died in the process. Casals's team at Yale University found the Lassa virus in the blood of…
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Cascade
A sequence of successive activation reactions involving enzymes (enzyme cascade) or hormones (hormone cascade) characterized by a series of amplifications of an initial stimulus. In blood coagulation, for example, each…
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Case-fatality percentage
See: Case-fatality proportion
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Case-fatality proportion
The number of cases of a disease ending in death compared to the number of cases of the disease. Usually expressed as a percentage
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Case-to-infection proportion
See: Case-to-infection ratio
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Case-to-infection ratio
The ratio of the number of cases of a disease compared to the number of infections with the agent that causes the disease. Also called the case-to-infection proportion
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Casein
The main protein found in milk and other dairy products
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Caseous
Cheeselike. In caseous lymphadenitis, the lymph nodes turn into a soft, dry, crumbly mass resembling cheese, usually due to tuberculosis or a related infection. From caseum, the Latin word for cheese
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Cashew allergy
Allergy: An allergic reaction to cashew nuts. Cashew allergy can be isolated, meaning that the individual is only allergic to cashews and not to other nuts, or the allergy may extend to other kinds of tree nuts such as…