Medical terms - Letter C
1,581 terms start with the letter C.
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CDHR
Center for Devices & Radiological Health, part of the FDA (the US Food & Drug Administration)
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CDNA
Complementary DNA. cDNA is single-stranded DNA made in the laboratory from a messenger RNA template under the aegis of the enzyme reverse transcriptase. This form of DNA is often used as a probe in the physical mapping…
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CEA
See carcinoembryonic antigen
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CEA assay
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 adult non-smoker and <5.0…
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Cecal
Pertaining to the cecum (also spelled caecum), the first portion of the large bowel, situated in the lower right quadrant of the abdomen. The cecum receives fecal material from the small bowel (ileum) which opens into…
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Cecal volvulus
See: Volvulus
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Cecum
The cecum (also spelled caecum), the first portion of the large bowel, situated in the lower right quadrant of the abdomen. The cecum receives fecal material from the small bowel (ileum) which opens into it. The…
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Celebrity diets
Celebrity diets are weight loss plans that are reportedly endorsed by or used by celebrities. There are many different variations of celebrity diets, but most involve severe restriction of carbohydrates and/or calories…
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Celiac disease
Celiac disease: A disorder resulting from an immune reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat and related grains, and present in many foods. Celiac disease causes impaired absorption and digestion of nutrients…
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Celiac disease, adult
See Celiac sprue
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Celiac sprue
See: Celiac disease
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Cell
The basic structural and functional unit in people and all living things. Each cell is a small container of chemicals and water wrapped in a membrane. Each cell in the human body -- there are 100 trillion cells in each…
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Cell cloning
The process of producing a group of cells (clones), all genetically identical, from a single ancestral cell.
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Cell cycle
The sequence of events within the cell between cell divisions. The cell cycle is conventionally divided into the following phases: > >G0 (G zero, the G standing for gap) >G1, (G one, the first gap) >S (synthesis phase…
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Cell fusion
The melding of two or more cells into one cell called a heterokaryon. A heterokaryon may reproduce itself for at least several generations. Cell fusion provides a method for assigning specific genes to specific…
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Cell lineage
A genealogic pedigree of cells related through mitotic division
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Cell sorter, fluorescence-activated
A flow cytometer (a scientific instrument used to measure the characteristics of individual cells) that is modified for the purpose of separating (sorting) cells based on the amount of light (fluorescence) emitted by…
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Cell suicide
See: Apoptosis
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Cell therapy
Treatment with cells. A technology that relies on replacing diseased or dysfunctional cells with healthy, functioning ones. Whole blood transfusions, packed red cell transfusions, platelet transfusions, bone marrow…
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Cell, alpha (pancreatic)
A type of cell in the pancreas (the organ of the digestive system located behind the stomach). Within the pancreas, the alpha cells are located in areas called the islets of Langerhans. Alpha cells make and release…
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Cell, antigen-presenting
A cell that can 'present' antigen in a form that T cells can recognize it. The cells that can 'present' antigen include B cells and cells of the monocyte lineage (including macrophages)
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Cell, B
See B cell
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Cell, beta (pancreatic)
A type of cell in the pancreas (the organ of the digestive system located behind the stomach). Within the pancreas, the beta cells are located in areas called the islets of Langerhans. They constitute the predominant…
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Cell, cone
A type of specialized light-sensitive cell (photoreceptor) in the retina of the eye that provide sharp central vision and color vision. By contrast, the rods are retinal photoreceptors that provide side vision and the…
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Cell, delta (pancreatic)
A type of cell in the pancreas (the organ of the digestive system located behind the stomach). Within the pancreas, the delta cells are located in areas called the islets of Langerhans. The delta cells make…
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Cell, fat
A cell containing fat. Also called an adipocyte. A fat cell, or adipocyte, is a connective tissue cell that has differentiated and become specialized in the synthesis (manufacture) and storage of fat. The fat cell…
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Cell, helper
A type of T cell that participates in the immune response by recognizing foreign antigens and secreting substances called cytokines that activate T and B cells. Helper cells fall into two main classes: those that…
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Cell, plasma
A type of white blood cell that produces and secretes antibodies. A plasma cell is a fully differentiated lymphocyte in the B-cell (not the T-cell) lineage. As with most cell types, plasma cells can mutate to give rise…
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Cell, rod
A type of specialized light-sensitive cell (photoreceptor) in the retina of the eye that provides side vision and the ability to see objects in dim light (night vision). By contrast, the cones are the retinal…
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Cell, somatic
See: Somatic cell
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Cell, stem
An ancestral cell, the most primitive type of cell. Stem cells are relatively unspecialized (undifferentiated) cells that are characteristically of the same family type (lineage). They retain the ability to divide…
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Cell, T
See T cell
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Cell, T-4
A type of T cell that has CD4 markers on its surface and participates in the immune response by recognizing foreign antigens and secreting substances called cytokines that activate T and B cells. T-helper cells fall…
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Cell, T-helper
See: T-helper cell
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Cell, totipotent
A cell with the capacity to form an entire organism. Human development begins when a sperm fertilizes an egg and creates a single totipotent cell. In the first hours after fertilization, this cell divides into identical…
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Cellophane maculopathy
See: Macular pucker
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Cells, germ
The eggs and sperm are the germ cells: the reproductive cells. Each mature germ cell is haploid in that it has a single set of 23 chromosomes containing half the usual amount of DNA and half the usual number of genes…
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Cells, reproductive
The eggs and sperm are the reproductive cells. Each mature reproductive cell is haploid in that it has a single set of 23 chromosomes containing half the usual amount of DNA. Except for the eggs and sperm, each cell in…
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Cellulite
Cellulite: Popular term for deposits of fat that have a cottage cheese-like or puckered texture. Medically, cellulite is not considered abnormal.
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Cellulitis
Cellulitis: An acute spreading bacterial infection below the surface of the skin characterized by redness (erythema), warmth, swelling, and pain. Cellulitis can also cause fever, chills, and 'swollen glands' (enlarged…
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Cellulitus
Common misspelling of cellulitis
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Celsus
(1st century A.D.) Aulus (Aurelius) Cornelius Celsus. Roman encyclopedist whose only surviving work, De Medicina, was rediscovered and printed early in the Renaissance and became influential. His four classical signs of…
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Cemento-ossifying fibroma
A hard fibrous growth that continues to enlarge, sometimes to very significant size, unless treated, most frequently seen in the jaw or mouth, sometimes in connection with a fracture or another type of injury. Treatment…
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Centenarian
Someone who is 100 or more years old. Someone 110 years old and over (no upper limit) may also be referred to as a supercentenarian. See also: Age by decade
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Center for Biologics Evaluation & Research
Abbreviated CBER. Part of the FDA (the US Food & Drug Administration)
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Center for Devices & Radiological Health
Abbreviated CDRH. Part of the FDA (the US Food & Drug Administration)
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Center, trauma
A specialized facility in a hospital that is designed to provide diagnostic and treatment services for trauma patients with physical injuries. Traumatology is the branch of surgery which deals with trauma patients…
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
>CDC facilities in the US in: > >Anchorage, Alaska >Atlanta >Cincinnati, Ohio >Fort Collins, Colorado >Morgantown, West Virginia >Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania >Research Triangle Park, North Carolina >San Juan, Puerto Rico…
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Centigrade
Thermometer scale in which the freezing point of water is 0°C and the boiling point of water at sea level is 100°C. The Centigrade scale is used around most of the world to indicate the temperature on a thermometer…
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Centimeter (cm)
A unit of measure in the metric system which is 1/100'th of a meter. There are 2.54 centimeters (cms) in one inch. The centimeter is commonly used in medicine to state the size of objects or distance between points. It…