Medical terms - Letter D (page 12) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Diseases, Musculoskeletal, Nat'l Inst

Al Institute of Arthritis and (NIAMS): One of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. As its somewhat cumbersome name indicates, NIAMS's mission is a broad and important one, namely to 'conduct and support a broad…
Diseases, rickettsial

The infectious diseases caused by the rickettsiae fall into 4 groups:(1) typhus: epidemic typhus, Brill-Zinsser disease, murine (endemic) typhus, and scrub typhus; (2) spotted fever-Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Eastern…
DISH

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis
Disinsection

Spraying aircraft for insects, a procedure called disinsection. Some countries in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia and the South Pacific require the spraying of the aircraft passenger compartment with…
Disk, intervertebral

See: Intervertebral disk
Dislocated shoulder

See: Shoulder dislocation
Dislocation of the radial head

See: Nursemaid's elbow
Dislocation, congenital hip

The abnormal formation of the hip joint in which the ball at the top of the thighbone (the femoral head) is not stable within the socket (the acetabulum). The ligaments of the hip joint may also be loose and stretched…
Disorder, anxiety

A chronic condition characterized by an excessive and persistent sense of apprehension with physical symptoms such as sweating, palpitations, and feelings of stress. Anxiety disorders have biological and environmental…
Disorder, articulation

See: Articulation disorder
Disorder, attention deficit (ADD)

An inability to control behavior due to difficulty in processing neural stimuli. In November, 1998 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a consensus report developed by a panel of experts. The panel concluded…
Disorder, autoimmune

See Autoimmune disease
Disorder, bipolar

See: Bipolar disorder
Disorder, borderline personality

A serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This instability often disrupts family and work life, long-term planning, and the…
Disorder, central auditory processing

A condition in which there is an inability to differentiate, recognize or understand sounds while both the hearing and intelligence are normal. (In technical terms, a central auditory processing disorder is a disease of…
Disorder, cephalic

A congenital condition that stems from damage to, or abnormal development of, the budding nervous system. Cephalic is a term that means 'head' or 'head end of the body.' Congenital means the disorder is present at, and…
Disorder, mathematics

A condition characterized by math skills that are significantly below normal, given the person's age, intelligence, and education. A mathematics disorder can include problems writing or printing numbers, counting…
Disorder, orgasmic

See: Anorgasmia
Disorder, seasonal affective (SAD)

Depression that tends to occur (and recur) as the days grow shorter in the fall and winter. It is believed that affected persons react adversely to the decreasing amounts of light and the colder temperatures as the fall…
Disorder, social anxiety

Excessive fear of embarrassment in social situations that is extremely intrusive and can have debilitating effects on personal and professional relationships. Also called social phobia. Phobias are persistent…
Disorder, specific developmental

A disorder that selectively affects one area of development, sparing essentially all other areas of development. For example, dysgraphia is one type of specific developmental disorder. In dysgraphia there is inability…
Disordered thinking

A failure to be able to 'think straight.' Thoughts may come and go rapidly. The person may not be able to concentrate on one thought for very long and may be easily distracted, unable to focus attention. The person may…
Disorders, lymphoproliferative

Malignant diseases of the lymphoid cells and cells from the reticuloendothelial system (which take up and sequester inert particles). The lymphoproliferative disorders are in contrast to the myeloproliferative disorders…
Disorders, myeloproliferative

Malignant diseases of certain bone marrow cells including those that give rise to the red blood cells, the granulocytes (types of white blood cells), and the platelets (crucial to blood clotting). The myeloproliferative…
Disruption sequence

The events that occur when a fetus that is developing normally is subjected to a destructive agent such as the rubella (German measles) virus.
Dissect

To cut apart or separate tissue as, for example, for anatomical study or in surgery. Also, an artery is said to dissect when its wall is torn, as in a dissecting aneurysm
Dissecting aneurysm

A localized widening (dilatation) of an artery (an aneurysm) in which the wall of an artery rips (dissects) longitudinally. This occurs because bleeding into the weakened wall splits the wall. Dissecting aneurysms tend…
Dissection

The process of cutting apart or separating tissue as, for example, in the study of anatomy or in the course of a surgical procedure
Dissection, aortic

See: Aortic dissection
Dissection, axillary

Surgery in which the axilla (the armpit) is opened -- to 'dissect' means to 'cut apart' -- in order to identify, examine, and sometimes remove structures such as lymph nodes or other tissue for diagnosis or treatment
Dissection, neck

Surgery in which the neck is opened -- to 'dissect' means to 'cut apart' -- in order to identify, examine, and sometimes remove structures such as lymph nodes or other tissue for diagnosis or treatment. A radical neck…
Dissection, radical neck

See: Multiple sclerosis.
Disseminated sclerosis

See: Multiple sclerosis
Disseminated vaccinia

See Progressive vaccinia
Dissociation

In psychology and psychiatry, a perceived detachment of the mind from the emotional state or even from the body. Dissociation is characterized by a sense of the world as a dreamlike or unreal place and may be…
Distal

The more (or most) distant of two (or more) things. For example, the distal end of the femur (the thigh bone) is the end down by the knee; the end more distant from the torso. The distal bile duct is the far end of the…
Distance healing

Healing in which people seek to help patients simply with the power of the mind. Distance healing can include anything from therapeutic touch -- in which practitioners, without touching their patients, try to alter…
Distention

The state of being distended, enlarged, swollen from internal pressure. For example, on inhalation there is distention of the lungs due to the increased air pressure within the lungs. The word 'distention' comes from a…
Distichiasis

Double rows of eyelashes. The extra eyelashes grow from glands called the Meibomian glands and may protrude into the cornea, producing severe corneal abrasions
Disto-

Distal
Diuresis

The increased formation of urine by the kidney. See diuretic for more detail
Diuretic

Anything that promotes the formation of urine by the kidney. (The word 'diuretic' comes from a combination of the Greek 'dia-', thoroughly + 'ourein', to urinate = to urinate thoroughly). Diuresis may be due to a huge…
Diurnal

Occurring in the daytime. A patient may have a diurnal fever rather than a nocturnal one. Diurnal also can refer to recurring every day. Pronounced die-URN-ul, it comes from the Latin 'dies' for day, the root of many…
Diverticula

The plural of diverticulum. As a person ages, pressure within the large intestine (colon) causes pockets of tissue (sacs) that push out from the colon walls. A small bulging sac pushing outward from the colon wall is a…
Diverticulitis

Inflammation of the diverticula (small outpouchings) along the wall of the colon, the large intestine. (One outpouching is a diverticulum; two or more are diverticula). For diverticulitis to occur, there must be…
Diverticulitis, bleeding from

Diverticular bleeding typically occurs intermittently over several days. Colonoscopy is usually performed to confirm the diagnosis and exclude bleeding from other causes. Thermal probes cannot be employed to stop active…
Diverticulitis, treatment of acute

Antibiotics are usually needed. Oral antibiotics are sufficient when symptoms are mild. Liquid or low fiber foods are advised during acute diverticulitis attacks. In severe diverticulitis with high fever and pain…
Diverticulosis

Diverticulosis: Diverticulosis is the condition of having diverticula, small outpouchings from the large intestine, the colon. (One outpouching is a diverticulum; two or more are diverticula). Diverticulosis can occur…
Diverticulosis/diverticulitis and fiber

Fiber: High fiber diets help delay the progression of diverticulosis and, at least, reduce the bouts of diverticulitis.
Diverticulum

A small bulging sac pushing outward from the colon wall is a diverticulum. As a person ages, pressure within the large intestine (colon) causes pockets of tissue (sacs) that push out from the colon walls. The plural is…