Medical terms - Letter D (page 3) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Deficiency, GALT

Lack of the enzyme called GALT (galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase) which causes the genetic metabolic disease galactosemia, one of the diseases in many newborn screening panels. The disease can be fatal, if…
Deficiency, glucocerebrosidase

Causes type 1 Gaucher disease, a progressive genetic disease due to an enzyme defect. The enzyme, glucocerebrosidase, is needed to break down the chemical glucocerebroside. The enzyme defect leads to the progressive…
Deficiency, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase

D): Deficiency of G6PD is the commonest disease-causing enzyme defect in humans affecting an estimated 400 million people. The G6PD gene is on the X chromosome. Males with the enzyme deficiency develop anemia due to…
Deficiency, hex-A

See: Tay-Sachs disease
Deficiency, hexosaminidase A

See: Tay-Sachs disease
Deficiency, iron

The most common known form of nutritional disorder in the world, iron deficiency results in anemia because iron is necessary to make hemoglobin, key molecule in red blood cells responsible for the transport of oxygen…
Deficiency, lactase

Not enough of an enzyme called lactase in the small intestine to digest lactose, a prominent component of milk and most other dairy products. Lactose is sometimes also used as an ingredient in other foods, so anyone…
Deficiency, LCHAD

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) has been found to be associated in some cases with an abnormality of fatty-acid metabolism. This abnormality is a deficiency of the enzyme long-chain-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA…
Deficiency, magnesium

Can occur due to inadequate intake or impaired intestinal absorption of magnesium. Low magnesium (hypomagnesemia) is often associated with low calcium (hypocalcemia) and potassium (hypokalemia) levels. Deficiency of…
Deficiency, niacin

See: Pellagra
Deficiency, phenylalanine hydroxylase

See Phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency
Deficiency, protein C

Protein C is a protein in plasma that enters into the cascade of biochemical events leading to the formation of a clot. Deficiency of protein C results in thrombotic (clotting) disease.
Deficiency, selenium

Lack of the essential mineral selenium, which can cause Keshan disease, a fatal form of cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle) that was first observed in Keshan province in China and has since found elsewhere…
Deficiency, sphingomyelinase

Also called Niemann-Pick disease, this is a disorder of the metabolism of a lipid (fat) called sphingomyelin that usually causes the progressive development of enlargement of the liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly)…
Deficiency, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase

Underactivity of a liver enzyme that is essential to the disposal of bilirubin (the chemical that results from the normal breakdown of hemoglobin from red blood cells). The deficiency of this enzyme…
Deficiency, UROD

See: UROD deficiency
Deficiency, uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase

See: UROD deficiency
Deficiency, vitamin K

A lack of vitamin K resulting in an increase in the clotting time of the blood, impaired clotting and a tendency to excessive bleeding. Blood clotting is delayed or prevented because vitamin K is unavailable to act as…
Deficiency, zinc

According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Recommended Dietary Allowances of zinc are 12 milligrams per day for women and 10 milligrams per day for men. Food sources of zinc include meat including liver, eggs…
Deformation

A setting of limits; a boundary; marking the limits of, delimiting; setting apart, separating. The word "demarcation" is used in medicine mainly in the sense of determining and marking off boundaries. For example, the…
Deformity, cauliflower-ear

Deformity, cauliflower-ear: Destruction of the underlying cartilage framework of the outer ear (pinnae), usually caused by either infection or trauma, resulting in a thickening of the ear. Classically, blood collects…
Deformity, Klippel-Feil

See: Klippel-Feil sequence
Degeneration, macular

Degeneration, macular: A disease that progressively destroys the macula, the central portion of the retina, impairing central vision. Macular degeneration rarely causes blindness because only the center of vision is…
Degenerative arthritis

Also known as osteoarthritis, this type of arthritis is caused by inflammation, breakdown and eventual loss of the cartilage of the joints. Among the over 100 different types of arthritis conditions, osteoarthritis is…
Degenerative joint disease

Also known as osteoarthritis, this type of arthritis is caused by inflammation, breakdown and eventual loss of the cartilage of the joints. Among the over 100 different types of arthritis conditions, osteoarthritis is…
Deglutition

The act of swallowing, particularly the swallowing of food. The muscles of deglutition are the muscles employed in the act of swallowing. 'Deglutition' is a French word, which evolved from the Latin 'deglutire' (to…
Dehisce

To burst open or gape. A surgical wound may partially or completely dehisce after surgery, depending upon whether some or all of the layers of tissue come open. The noun is dehiscence. From the Latin dehiscere (to split…
DEHP

A softener for polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a plastic polymer used in a wide array of products. Unplasticized PVC is hard and brittle at room temperature. A plasticizer (softener) is typically added to increase the…
Dehydration

Dehydration: Excessive loss of body water. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that cause vomiting or diarrhea may, for example, lead to dehydration. There are a number of other causes of dehydration including heat…
Dehydroepiandrosterone

DHEA. A steroid hormone made by the adrenal glands that acts on the body much like testosterone and is converted into testosterone and estrogen. DHEA and its sulfate (DHEAS) are abundant in the body, but their normal…
Deinococcus radiodurans

A bacterium that can survives extremely high levels of radiation and therefore has high potential for radioactive waste cleanup. The genome of Deinococcus radiodurans has been sequenced. It is composed of two…
Deja vu

(In French, dejà vu means 'already seen.' and the word dejà has an acute accent on the e and a grave accent on the à but we have omitted the accents from the entry term for the sake of the English-speaking search…
Dejerine-Klumpke palsy

See: Klumpke palsy
Dejerine-Klumpke paralysis

See: Klumpke palsy
Delay, developmental

Behind schedule in reaching milestones of early childhood development.
Deletion

Loss of a segment of DNA from a chromosome (and hence from the genome). The first human chromosome deletion was detected in 1963 by Jerome Lejeune and his colleagues in Paris. They discovered loss of part of 5p, the…
Delirium

A sudden state of severe confusion and rapid changes in brain function, sometimes associated with hallucinations and hyperactivity, in which the patient is inaccessible to normal contact. Symptoms may include inability…
Delirium tremens

A neurological symptom of alcohol withdrawal seen in chronic alcoholism, with includes symptoms of psychosis. These may include uncontrollable trembling, hallucinations, severe anxiety, sweating, and sudden feelings of…
Delivery, breech

Delivery in which the buttocks present before the head
Delivery, footling

There are single-footling or double-footling deliveries depending upon whether the presenting part of the baby at delivery is just one foot or both feet
Delivery, vertex

In a vertex delivery, the top of the baby's head comes first. The vertex here refers to the top of the head. The word 'vertex' in Latin means a 'whirlpool, whirlwind, top of the mountain, or the top of the head.' Why…
Della Robbia

The infant in swaddling, today the symbol of pediatrics, sculpted by the Florentine artist Andrea della Robbia (1437-1528)
Delta cell, 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…
Delta-storage pool disease

See: Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome
Deltoid

An adjective and a noun. Adjective: In the shape of delta, the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet. A capital delta is a triangle. Hence, deltoid means triangular in configuration. Noun: The large muscle, roughly…
Delusion

A false personal belief that is not subject to reason or contradictory evidence and is not explained by a person's usual cultural and religious concepts (so that, for example, it is not an article of faith). A delusion…
Delusional jealousy

See: Othello syndrome
Delusional parasitosis

Pertaining to dermatoglyphics -- the study of dermal ridges on the fingers, palms, toes, and soles.
Demarcation

A setting of limits; a boundary; marking the limits of, delimiting; setting apart, separating. The word 'demarcation' is used in medicine mainly in the sense of determining and marking off boundaries. For example, the…
Dementia

Dementia: Significant loss of intellectual abilities such as memory capacity, severe enough to interfere with social or occupational functioning. Criteria for the diagnosis of dementia include impairment of attention…