Medical terms - Letter D (page 6) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Dextroposition

Move to the right
Dextroposition of the heart

The heart is displaced to the right (from its usual location in the left chest). There is no anatomic alteration in the heart itself, just in its location. Dextroposition occurs when the contents of the left side of the…
Dextrose

Better known today as glucose, this sugar is the chief source of energy in the body. Glucose is chemically considered a simple sugar. It is the main sugar that the body manufactures. The body makes glucose from all…
DFSP

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans
DGS

See: DiGeorge syndrome
DHA

1. Docosahexaenoic acid, an essential fatty acid, thought to be important to the development of infants, particularly as regards their eyes and brain. DHA is present in breast milk and has been added to some infant…
DHEA

Dehydroepiandrosterone
DHF (dengue hemorrhagic fever)

A syndrome due to the dengue virus that tends to affect children under 10, causing abdominal pain, hemorrhage (bleeding) and circulatory collapse (shock). DHF starts abruptly with high continuous fever and headache plus…
DHHS

Acronym for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Also known as HHS. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has two types of operating divisions: the Human Services and the Public Health Service…
DHRD

Doyne honeycomb retinal dystrophy, an eye disease also known as malattia leventinese. See: Malattia leventinese
DHT

Dihydrotestosterone
Di Bella cancer therapy

An alternative medicine cancer treatment program developed by Dr. Luigi Di Bella based on a drug cocktail containing a low dose of cyclophosphamide -- a chemotherapy drug -- plus other drugs and vitamins and given to…
Di-

A byproduct of the male hormone testosterone. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is considered to be the essential androgenic hormone. DHT is responsible for the formation of male primary sex characteristics during embryonic…
Dia-

Prefix taken straight from the Greek meaning 'through, throughout, completely' as in diachronic, diagnosis, dialysis, etc. Dia- should not be confused with the prefix di- which has a wholly different meaning
Diabesity

Diabetes caused by overweight or obesity. From diabetes + obesity. Synonymous with the usual form of type 2 diabetes. UCLA started a Diabesity Research Program in 1998
Diabetes

Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus. Diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus share the name 'diabetes' because they are both conditions characterized by excessive urination…
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Stitute of (NIDDK): One of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., the NIDDK has a multisystem name and a comparably broad mission, namely, to 'conduct and support basic and applied research and provide…
Diabetes and fiber

Soluble fibers (oat bran, apples, citrus, pears, peas/beans, psyllium, etc.) slow down the digestion of carbohydrates (sugars), which results in better glucose metabolism. Some patients with the adult-onset diabetes may…
Diabetes Association, American (ADA)

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) states: 'The American Diabetes Association is the nation's leading nonprofit health organization providing diabetes research, information and advocacy. Founded in 1940, it was…
Diabetes insipidus

Diabetes insipidus: Excessive urination and extreme thirst as a result of inadequate output of the pituitary hormone ADH (antidiuretic hormone, also called vasopressin) or the lack of the normal response by the kidney…
Diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus: Better known just as 'diabetes' -- a chronic disease associated with abnormally high levels of the sugar glucose in the blood. Diabetes is due to one of two mechanisms:(1) Inadequate production of…
Diabetes skin condition

See: Diabetic skin disease
Diabetes, adult-onset

Type 2 diabetes. See also Diabetes, type 2
Diabetes, brittle

A type of diabetes when a person's blood glucose (sugar) level often swings quickly from high to low and from low to high. Also called 'unstable diabetes' or 'labile diabetes.
Diabetes, gestational

A form of diabetes mellitus that appears during pregnancy (gestation) in a woman who previously did not have diabetes and usually goes away after the baby is born. Factors that increase the chance of a woman's…
Diabetes, insulin-dependent

Also called type 1 diabetes. See Diabetes, type 1
Diabetes, insulin-resistant

An autoimmune form of diabetes, in which the body develops an immune response to its own insulin hormone. This form of diabetes is probably the most difficult type to treat, but it can be done. Treatment includes very…
Diabetes, juvenile

See Diabetes, type 1
Diabetes, juvenile-onset

See Diabetes, type 1
Diabetes, ketosis-prone

See Diabetes, type 1
Diabetes, labile

A type of diabetes when a person's blood glucose (sugar) level often swings quickly from high to low and from low to high. Also called 'unstable diabetes' or 'brittle diabetes.
Diabetes, non-insulin-dependent

Type 2 diabetes. See also Diabetes, type 2.
Diabetes, type 1

An autoimmune disease that occurs when T cells attack and decimate the beta cells in the pancreas that are needed to produce insulin, so that the pancreas makes too little insulin (or no insulin). Without the capacity…
Diabetes, type 2

One of the two major types of diabetes, the type in which the beta cells of the pancreas produce insulin but the body is unable to use it effectively because the cells of the body are resistant to the action of insulin…
Diabetes, unstable

A term used when a diabetic person's blood glucose (sugar) level often swings quickly and widely from high to low and from low to high. Also called brittle and labile diabetes
Diabetic air travel

A concern for patients with diabetes is flying with medications and supplies. Letters from doctors are not recommended since security has concerns that these may be easily forged. The currently recommended way to fly…
Diabetic coma

Coma in a diabetic due to the buildup of ketones in the bloodstream. Ketones are a product of metabolizing (using) fats rather than the sugar glucose for energy. The best approach to diabetic coma is prevention. Careful…
Diabetic dermatology

See: Diabetic skin disease
Diabetic dermopathy

A skin condition characteristic of diabetes involving light brown or reddish oval or round scaly patches, most often on the shins or front of the thighs and less often on the scalp, forearm and trunk. The cause of…
Diabetic eye disease

1. A disease of the small blood vessels of the retina of the eye in people with diabetes. The vessels swell and leak liquid into the retina, blurring the vision and sometimes leading to blindness. Also called diabetic…
Diabetic ketoacidosis

High blood glucose with the presence of ketones in the urine and bloodstream, often caused by taking too little insulin or during illness. See: Ketoacidosis
Diabetic macular edema

Edema: Swelling of the retina in diabetes mellitus due to leaking of fluid from blood vessels within the macula. The macula is the central portion of the retina, a small area rich in cones, the specialized nerve endings…
Diabetic musculoskeletal disorder

A musculoskeletal problem associated with diabetes mellitus. These include: > >Diabetic syndrome of limited joint mobility (cheiroarthropathy) -- a syndrome characterized by thickening of the skin over the joints…
Diabetic nephropathy

The kidney disease associated with long-standing diabetes. Diabetic nephropathy is also called Kimmelstiel-Wilson disease (or Kimmelstiel-Wilson syndrome) or intercapillary glomerulonephritis. Diabetic nephropathy…
Diabetic neuropathy

Diabetic neuropathy: A family of nerve disorders caused by diabetes. Diabetic neuropathies cause numbness and sometimes pain and weakness in the hands, arms, feet, and legs. Neurologic problems in diabetes may occur in…
Diabetic retinopathy

A common complication of diabetes affecting the blood vessels in the retina (the thin light-sensitive membrane that covers the back of the eye). If untreated, it may lead to blindness. If diagnosed and treated promptly…
Diabetic shock

Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) associated with diabetes. Symptoms include a sweet, chemical odor on the patient's breath that is similar to that of acetone or alcohol ('acetone breath'), fatigue, light-headedness or…
Diabetic skin disease

A skin disorder that is caused by diabetes or affected by diabetes. Skin disorders are common in diabetes. Some of these disorders are conditions that anyone can have but to which people with diabetes are particularly…
Diabetic spinal cord disease

Involvement of the spinal cord in diabetes. Most of the neurologic attention in diabetes mellitus has focused on distal symmetric polyneuropathy (DSP) -- abnormalities of the peripheral nerves, in particular, the nerves…
Diabetic xanthoma

See: Eruptive xanthoma