Medical terms - Letter R | MedicalVocabulary.org

R (symbol)

This much-used symbol has many meanings in medicine. They include: > >Respiration: a nurse's note of 'R20' is shorthand for 20 respirations (breaths) per minute. >Right: A doctor's note of a burn on the 'R digit 5'…
R-2

Street term for Rohypnol
R-tPA

Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator. See: Tissue plasminogen activator
R/O

Medical abbreviation for rule out
RA

Rheumatoid arthritis
Rabbit fever

An infection in rabbits and other wild rodents caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis that can be transmitted to humans by contact with infected animal tissues or ticks. Also called tularemia. The main mode of…
Rabies

Rabies: A potentially fatal viral infection that attacks the central nervous system. The rabies virus is carried primarily by wild animals, especially bats and raccoons. It finds its way to humans by direct contact with…
Raccoon roundworm infection

Infection by the raccoon roundworm is also called Baylisascaris. The species commonly found in raccoonsis Baylisascaris procyonis. When infective eggs of this roundworm are ingested by humans, Baylisascaris larvae hatch…
Race

An ethnic stock or division of humans. Naturalists and ethnographers have long divided humans into a variable number of distinct races. However, DNA and other genetic studies have revealed that that most genetic…
Race-based drug

A drug designed for a particular racial group. The first race-based drug was BiDil, a combination of two old drugs that increase levels of nitric oxide. BiDil was tested in African-Americans and reported in 2004 to…
Race-based medication

See: Race-based drug
Race-based therapy

See: Race-based drug
Racemose

A descriptive term for something that is in a cluster or bunch. From the Latin 'racemus' meaning 'a cluster or bunch, particularly of grapes.'
Racemose aneurysm

An aneurysm that looks like a bunch of grapes
Rad

Radiation absorbed dose, a measure for a dose of ionizing radiation
RAD51

An enzyme that coordinates recombination and that is important to the process of error-free DNA repair by recombination
Radial

>Pertaining to the radius, the smaller bone in the forearm. The radial artery is so named because of its proximity to the radius. >Pertaining to the radius of a circle. >Spreading from a central point. A radial…
Radial drusen

See: Malattia leventinese
Radial head dislocation

See: Nursemaid's elbow
Radial head subluxation

See: Nursemaid's elbow
Radial keratotomy

An eye surgery procedure designed to flatten the cornea, reducing its optical power, to correct nearsightedness (myopia). In the procedure, incisions (cuts) are made in the cornea. The procedure is said to be radial…
Radiate

To spread out from a central area. For example, sciatic pain may radiate outward from the lower back
Radiation

1. Rays of energy. Gamma rays and X-rays are two of the types of energy waves often used in medicine. 2. The use of energy waves to diagnose or treat disease. See also: Irradiation
Radiation during pregnancy

See: Prenatal radiation exposure
Radiation fibrosis

Scarring of the lungs from radiation. Radiation fibrosis is a sequel of radiation pneumonitis (inflammation of the lungs due to radiation), as from radiation therapy. Radiation pneumonitis typically occurs after…
Radiation menopause

Menopause: Menopause induced by radiation. Radiation menopause is a type of 'induced menopause', menopause induced by an unusual event, such as occurs when the ovaries are damaged by radiation, chemotherapy or other…
Radiation oncologist

A specialist in the use of radiation therapy as a treatment for cancer
Radiation oncology

Also called radiation therapy or radiotherapy, radiation oncology is the use of high-energy rays to damage cancer cells and stop them from growing and dividing. A specialist in radiation therapy is called a radiation…
Radiation pneumonitis

Inflammation of the lungs as a result of radiation. Although the radiation can be from various sources including accidents, today it is usually from radiation therapy. Radiation pneumonitis typically occurs after…
Radiation sickness

See: Acute radiation syndrome
Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy: The use of high-energy rays to damage cancer cells, stopping them from growing and dividing. Like surgery, radiation therapy is a local treatment that affects cancer cells only in the treated area…
Radiation therapy, 3-D

A procedure that uses computers to create a 3-dimensional picture of the tumor in order to target it as accurately as possible and give it the highest possible dose of radiation while sparing normal tissue as much as…
Radiation therapy, conformal

A procedure that uses computers to create a 3-dimensional picture of the tumor in order to target the tumor as accurately as possible and give it the highest possible dose of radiation while sparing normal tissue as…
Radiation therapy, conformational

A procedure that uses computers to create a 3-dimensional picture of the tumor in order to target the tumor as accurately as possible and give it the highest possible dose of radiation while sparing normal tissue as…
Radiation therapy, external

Radiation therapy in which the source of radiation is a machine outside the body
Radiation therapy, internal

Radiation therapy in which a small container of radioactive material is implanted in the body, in or near the cancerous tumor
Radiation therapy, stereotactic

The use of a number of precisely aimed beams of ionizing radiation, each coming from different directions and meeting at a specific point, to deliver radiation treatment to that spot
Radiation therapy, targeted

A procedure that uses computers to create a 3-dimensional picture of the tumor in order to target the tumor as accurately as possible and give it the highest possible dose of radiation while sparing normal tissue as…
Radiation toxicity

See: Acute radiation syndrome
Radiation, background

See: Background radiation
Radiation, food

See: Food irradiation
Radiation, ultraviolet

Invisible rays that are part of the energy that comes from the sun. Ultraviolet radiation can burn the skin and cause skin cancer. Ultraviolet radiation is made up of three types of rays -- ultraviolet A, ultraviolet B…
Radical dissection

Removal of not only affected tissue, but also nearby tissue that may be covertly affected
Radical neck

See: Radical neck dissection
Radical neck dissection

A surgical procedure involving the removal of a tumor from the neck with an additional margin of normal tissue of at least 2 cm together with the removal of the lymph nodes from the neck. A radical dissection is the…
Radical prostatectomy

A surgery procedure that removes the entire prostate gland plus some surrounding tissue. During the procedure the pelvic lymph nodes may also be sampled for a biopsy. The goal is to remove the cancer entirely and…
Radiculopathy

Any disease of the spinal nerve roots and spinal nerves. It is synonymous with radiculitis. Radiculopathy is characterized by pain which seems to radiate from the spine to extend outward to cause symptoms away from the…
Radiculopathy, lumbar

See Lumbar radiculopathy
Radio frequency identification

(RFID) A system for remotely storing and retrieving data. An RFID tag may be a little sticker that can be attached to an object. The tag contains an antenna that enables it to receive and respond to a radiofrequency…
Radioactive

Emitting energy waves due to decaying atomic nuclei. Radioactive substances are used in medicine as tracers for diagnosis, and in treatment to kill cancerous cells