Medical terms - Letter D (page 9) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Discharge

1.The flow of fluid from part of the body, such as from the nose or vagina.2. The passing of an action potential, such as through a nerve or muscle fiber.3. The release of a patient from a course of care. The doctor may…
Discharge, breast

See: Breast discharge
Discharge, nipple

See: Breast discharge
Discoid lupus

A chronic inflammatory condition limited to the skin, caused by an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease occurs when the body's tissues are attacked by its own immune system. Patients with lupus have unusual…
Discordance

1. The presence of any given condition such as HIV in only one member of a couple. 2. In genetics, the presence of a phenotype such as asthma in only one members of a twin pair. 3. In clinical care, lack of agreement…
Discordant

1. Showing discordance, lack of agreement. A couple may be discordant for a sexually transmitted infection, with one partner having it and the other not. 2. In transplantation genetics, between different species. A…
Discordant couple

A pair of long-term sexual partners in which one has a sexually transmitted infection and the other does not. The CDC has guidelines for counseling discordant couples in which the woman is HIV-infected and her husband…
Disease

Illness or sickness often characterized by typical patient problems (symptoms) and physical findings (signs). Disruption sequence: The events that occur when a fetus that is developing normally is subjected to a…
Disease names

See: Disease nomenclature
Disease nomenclature

A system of classifying and naming diseases. The contemporary categories and codes for diseases are outlined in the World Health Organization's 'International Classification of Diseases.' Within some medical fields…
Disease surveillance

The ongoing systematic collection and analysis of data and the provision of information which leads to action being taken to prevent and control a disease, usually one of an infectious nature
Disease, acute respiratory

A sudden condition in which breathing is difficult and the oxygen levels in the blood abruptly drop lower than normal
Disease, Addison

Long-term underfunction of the outer portion of the adrenal gland. In medical terms, chronic insufficiency of the adrenal cortex. This may be due to a number of different insults to the adrenal including physical…
Disease, adult celiac

This condition results from an immune (allergic) reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat and related grains and present in many foods that we eat. Sprue causes impaired absorption and digestion of nutrients through…
Disease, Alexander

See: Alexander disease
Disease, Alpers

See: Alpers disease
Disease, alveolar hydatid

See Nail-patella syndrome.
Disease, Alzheimer

See: Alzheimer disease
Disease, Anderson-Fabry

See: Fabry disease
Disease, autoimmune

See Autoimmune disease
Disease, Behcet's

See: Behcet's syndrome
Disease, Bernard-Soulier

Nt platelet syndrome): This disease is a primary problem of platelets in which the platelets lack the ability to stick adequately to injured blood vessel walls. This is a crucial aspect of the process of forming a blood…
Disease, Binswanger

A form of dementia with blood vessel abnormalities in the deep white-matter of the brain causing loss of memory, decreasing cognition, and mood changes. Patients usually show signs of abnormal blood pressure (too high…
Disease, bipolar

See: Bipolar disorder
Disease, black lung

See: Black lung disease
Disease, Bornholm

Bornholm disease is a temporary illness that is a result of virus infection. The disease features fever and intense abdominal and chest pains with headache. The chest pain is typically worsened by breathing or coughing…
Disease, Bowen's

N early stage of skin cancer. Bowen disease is medically the same as 'squamous cell carcinoma in situ.' Squamous cell carcinoma is a tumor that develops from the squamous cells which are flat, scale-like cells in the…
Disease, Bright's

Chronic inflammation of the blood vessels in the kidney with protein, specifically albumin, in the urine. There are a number of disorders that lead to Bright's disease. With nothing more sophisticated than a candle and…
Disease, Brill-Zinsser

Recrudescence of epidemic typhus years after the initial attack. The agent that causes epidemic typhus (Rickettsia prowazekii) remains viable for many years and then when host defenses are down, it is reactivated…
Disease, Canavan

A severe progressive inherited (genetic) disorder of the central nervous system (CNS). The signs of Canavan disease usually appear when the children are between 3 and 6 months of age. They include developmental delay…
Disease, cardiovascular

Disease affecting the heart or blood vessels. Cardiovascular diseases include arteriosclerosis, coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, arrhythmia, heart failure, hypertension, orthostatic hypotension, shock…
Disease, Castleman

A disorder of lymphoid tissue (lymphadenopathy) with massive overgrowth (hyperplasia) of lymph nodes ('swollen glands'), most commonly affecting the nodes between the lungs (in the mediastinum). There are two quite…
Disease, cat scratch

A bacterial infection due to a cat scratch seen most often today in people with HIV. The disease characteristically presents with swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenitis), sore throat, fatigue, and fever, chills, sweats…
Disease, Chagas

See: Chagas disease.
Disease, Charcot-Marie-Tooth

See: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
Disease, chronic obstructive lung (COLD)

Any disorder that persistently obstructs bronchial airflow. COLD mainly involves two related diseases -- chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Both cause chronic obstruction of air flowing through the airways and in and out…
Disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary (COPD)

Any disorder that persistently obstructs bronchial airflow. COPD mainly involves two related diseases -- chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Both cause chronic obstruction of air flowing through the airways and in and out…
Disease, chronic wasting

See Chronic wasting disease
Disease, clinical

A disease with clinical signs and symptoms that can be recognized. As distinct from a subclinical illness without recognizable clinical manifestations. Diabetes, for example, can be subclinical in a person before…
Disease, congenital heart

A malformation of the heart or the large blood vessels near the heart. The term 'congenital' speaks only to time, not to causation; it means 'born with' or 'present at birth.' Congenital heart disease is the most…
Disease, Conor and Bruch

African tick typhus, one of the tick-borne rickettsial diseases of the eastern hemisphere similar to Rocky Mountain spotted fever but less severe. Characteristic features include fever, a small ulcer (tache noire) at…
Disease, coronary artery

>Chest pain (angina pectoris) from inadequate blood flow to the heart; >Heart attack (acute myocardial infarction), from the sudden total blockage of a coronary artery; or >Sudden death, due to a fatal disturbance of…
Disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD)

A dementing disease of the brain. It is believed due to an unconventional (not a bacteria or virus), transmissible agent called a prion. Symptoms of CJD include forgetfulness, nervousness, jerky trembling hand…
Disease, Crohn

A chronic inflammatory disease primarily involving the small and large intestine but which can affect other parts of the digestive system. It is named for Burrill Crohn, the American gastroenterologist who first…
Disease, Cushing

The constellation of symptoms and signs caused by an excess of cortisol hormone. Cushing disease (or syndrome) is an extremely complex hormonal condition that involves many areas of the body. Common symptoms are…
Disease, cystine transport

Commonly known as cystinuria, this is an inherited (genetic) disorder of the transport of an amino acid (a building block of protein) called cystine resulting in an excess of cystine in the urine (cystinuria) and the…
Disease, degenerative joint

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…
Disease, delta-storage pool

See: Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome
Disease, exaggerated startle

A genetic disorder also known as hyperexplexia in which babies have an exaggerated startle reflex (reaction). This disorder was not recognized until 1962 when it was described by Drs. Kok and Bruyn as a disease with the…
Disease, Fabry

See: Fabry disease