Medical terms - Letter M
1,075 terms start with the letter M.
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Mad deer disease
See Chronic wasting disease
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Madelung disease
A disorder characterized by painless symmetrical diffuse deposits of fat beneath the skin of the neck, upper trunk, arms and legs. The condition is thought to be genetic although its exact mode of inheritance is…
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MADH4
A tumor suppressor gene (also known as SMAD4/DPC4) located on chromosome 18 in band 18q21 1. About 15% to 20% of cases of juvenile polyposis are due to germline mutations in MADH4. About 90% of pancreatic carcinomas…
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Mag sulfate
Informal shortening of magnesium sulfate
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Magendie, foramen of
An opening from the fourth ventricle, which is one in a system of four communicating cavities called ventricles within the brain that are continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord. The four ventricles consist…
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Maggot
A soft-bodied wormlike larva of a fly that lays its eggs in living or especially in decaying tissues. The living or rotting material furnishes heat for the hatching of the eggs and food for the newly hatched maggots…
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Magic bullet
Or, sometimes, silver bullet. 1. The perfect drug to cure a disease with no danger of side effects. The term magic bullet was first used in this sense by the German scientist Paul Ehrlich to describe antibody and…
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Magnesia
Named after a town in present day Turkey where an ore containing magnesium carbonate was mined. Milk of Magnesia, the laxative, is magnesium hydroxide
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Magnesium
A mineral involved in many processes in the body including nerve signaling, the building of healthy bones, and normal muscle contraction. About 350 enzymes are known to depend on magnesium. Magnesium is contained in all…
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Magnesium deficiency
Can occur due to inadequate intake or impaired intestinal absorption of magnesium. Low magnesium (hypomagnesemia) is often associated with low calcium (hypocalcemia) and low potassium (hypokalemia). Deficiency of…
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Magnesium excess
Persons with impaired kidney function should be especially careful about their magnesium intake because they can accumulate magnesium, a dangerous situation. According to the National Academy of Sciences, the…
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Magnesium sulfate
A remarkably versatile compound administered intramuscularly and intravenously as an anticonvulsant and as a tocolytic agent (to halt premature labor), taken by mouth as a fast-acting laxative, and applied locally as an…
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Magnet therapy
An alternative therapy in which magnetic fields are administered by application of magnets to certain parts of the body, by magnetic field-generating machines, or by magnetic mattresses or blankets. Magnet therapy has…
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Magnetic resonance elastography
An imaging technique used to measure the elasticity of tissue by gently shaking the tissue in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. The technique employs standard MRI equipment with a few modifications and a…
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Magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging: A special radiology technique designed to image internal structures of the body using magnetism, radio waves, and a computer to produce the images of body structures. In magnetic resonance…
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Magnetic resonance perfusion imaging
A special type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that uses an injected dye in order to see blood flow through tissues
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Magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging
(MRSI) A noninvasive imaging method that provides information about cellular activity (metabolic information). It is used in oncology along with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which provides information about the…
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Magnetic-targeted carrier
A prayer that is said to have been written by the 12th-century physician-philosopher Moses Maimonides. Like the famous oath of Hippocrates, the prayer of Maimonides is often recited by new medical graduates. This…
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Maimonides' prayer
R of a Physician: A prayer that is said to have been written by the 12th-century physician-philosopher Moses Maimonides. Like the famous oath of Hippocrates, the prayer of Maimonides is often recited by new medical…
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Mainstream medicine
Medicine as practiced by holders of M.D. or D.O. degrees and by their allied health professionals, such as physical therapists, psychologists, and registered nurses. The term 'mainstream medicine' implies that other…
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Maintenance therapy
Treatment designed to help the original primary treatment succeed. Maintenance chemotherapy may be given to patients with cancer in remission to prevent a relapse
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Major
A major may be an officer in the military but, in a larger sense, it can be anything that is more than something else. For example, the teres major muscle is larger than the teres minor muscle. In anatomy, wherever…
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Major anomaly
An unusual anatomic feature that is of serious medical or cosmetic consequence to the patient. For example, a major anomaly might be a cleft lip and palate. By contrast, a minor anomaly is an unusual anatomic feature…
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Major anxiety disorder
>panic disorder; >obsessive-compulsive disorder; >PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder); >social phobia; >specific phobias such as claustrophobia; and >generalized anxiety disorder.
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Major depression
A disease with certain characteristic signs and symptoms that interferes with the ability to work, sleep, eat, and enjoy once pleasurable activities. The characteristic signs and symptoms of major depression include…
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Major gene
A gene that is necessary and sufficient by itself to cause a condition. For example, the APC gene is a major gene for colorectal cancer
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Major histocompatibility complex
See: Permanent makeup.
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Makeup, permanent
See: Permanent makeup
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Malabsorption
The impaired absorption by the intestines of nutrients from food. Malabsorption can be specific and involve sugars, fats, proteins, or vitamins. Alternatively, malabsorption can be general and nonspecific. The causes of…
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Malacia
Softening. For example, osteomalacia is softening while chondromalacia is softening of cartilage. From the Greek malakia, softness
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Malady
From the French maladie for illness.
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Malaise
A vague feeling of discomfort, one that cannot be pinned down but is often sensed as 'just not right.' Malaise comes straight from the French who compounded it from 'mal' (bad or ill) + 'aise' (ease) = ill at ease.
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Malar
Referring to the cheek.
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Malaria
Malaria: An infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites from the Plasmodium family that can be transmitted by the sting of the Anopheles mosquito or by a contaminated needle or transfusion. Falciparum malaria is…
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Malaria, falciparum
The most dangerous type of malaria. Caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, this type of malaria is associated with high levels of parasites in the blood. Red blood cells infected with the parasites tend to sludge…
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Malaria, pregnancy-associated
Someone who is versed in or engaged in the study of malaria. "Independent malariologists believe it kills two million people a year, mainly children under 5 and 90 percent of them in Africa." (Tina Rosenberg, writing in…
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Malariologist
Someone who is versed in or engaged in the study of malaria. 'Independent malariologists believe it kills two million people a year, mainly children under 5 and 90 percent of them in Africa.' (Tina Rosenberg, writing in…
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Malariology
The study of malaria. Someone who is versed in malariology is a malariologist
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Malattia leventinese
An hereditary form of macular degeneration that results in progressive and irreversible visual loss. This disease is characterized by the appearance in early adulthood of small round white spots (drusen), particularly…
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Male
The traditional definition of male was 'an individual of the sex that produces sperm' (or some such). However, things are not so simple today. Male can be defined by physical appearance, by chromosome constitution (see…
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Male breast cancer
Male breast cancer: See: Breast cancer, male.
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Male chromosome
See: Y chromosome
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Male chromosome complement
The large majority of males have a 46, XY chromosome complement (46 chromosomes including an X and a Y chromosome). A minority of males have other chromosome constitutions such as 47,XXY (47 chromosomes including two X…
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Male condom
The male condom is a sheath placed over the erect penis before penetration, preventing pregnancy by blocking the passage of sperm. It is a barrier method of contraception. A condom can be used only once. Although some…
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Male external genitalia
The external genital structures of the male, comprising the penis, the male urethra, and the scrotum
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Male genitalia
The genital organs of the male. These are usually separated by convention into the external and internal genitalia. The male external genitalia comprise the penis, the male urethra, and the scrotum. The male internal…
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Male gonad
The male gonad, the testicle (or testis), located behind the penis in a pouch of skin (the scrotum). The testicles produce and store sperm, and they are also the body's main source of male hormones (testosterone). These…
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Male internal genitalia
The internal genital structures of the male that are concerned with reproduction, including the testis, epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicle, ejaculatory duct, bulbourethral gland, and the prostate
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Male organs of reproduction
>The male external genitalia -- the penis, the male urethra, and the scrotum; and >The male internal genitalia -- the testis, epididymis, ductus deferens, seminal vesicle, ejaculatory duct, bulbourethral gland, and the…
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Male pelvis
The lower part of the abdomen located between the hip bones in the male. There are significant differences in the anatomy of the pelvis in the female and male. The male pelvis is more robust, narrower, and taller than…