Medical terms - Letter R (page 12) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Rod

A type of specialized light-sensitive cell (photoreceptor) in the retina of the eye that provides side vision and the ability to see objects in dim light (night vision). By contrast, the cones are the retinal…
Rod Beals

See: Beals, Rodney K.
Rodbell

See: Rodbell, Martin
Rodbell, Martin

(1925-1998) American biochemist and molecular endocrinologist who shared the Nobel Prize in 1994 in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of G-proteins and the principles of signal transduction in cellular…
Rodenticidal

Capable of killing rats or other rodent pests or preventing them from damaging food, crops, etc
Rodenticide

A chemical or other agent used to destroy rats or other rodent pests or prevent them from damaging food, crops, etc. Rat poison is a familiar rodenticide
Rodney K. Beals

See: Beals, Rodney K.
Roentgen

An international unit of X-radiation or gamma-radiation. Abbreviated R. Named for Wilhelm Roentgen
Roentgen ray

Term coined around 1890 that preceded X-ray and is now synonymous with it. Named for Wilhelm Roentgen, a German professor of physics. Roentgen wanted to prove his hypothesis that cathode rays could penetrate substances…
Roentgen, Wilhelm

Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen (1845-1923), German-born, Dutch-educated physicist who first observed and documented X-rays on November 8, 1895. He made this seminal discovery by accident while experimenting with a set of…
Roentgenology

Radiology, the science of radiation and, specifically, the use of both ionizing (like X-ray) and nonionizing (like ultrasound) modalities for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Roentgenology is named for Wilhelm…
Rohypnol

The trade name for flunitrazepam, which has been abused as a 'date rape' drug. Rohypnol produces sedative-hypnotic effects including muscle relaxation and amnesia. It can produces physical and psychological dependence…
ROMA

Representational oligonucleotide microarray analysis. A method for the detection of genomic aberrations between any two samples of DNA. ROMA measures the relative concentration of DNA in the two samples by hybridizing…
Romano-Ward syndrome

See: Long QT syndrome
Roofer's knee

See prepatellar bursitis.
Roofies

Street term for Rohypnol
Rooting reflex

A reflex seen in newborn babies, who automatically turn their face toward the stimulus and make sucking (rooting) motions with the mouth when the cheek or lip is touched. The rooting reflex helps to ensure breastfeeding
Rorschach test

A psychological test involving inkblots. The inkblots are used to determine what a person perceives (reads into) in the enigmatic and highly ambiguous shapes. Ten standardized blots are shown one at a time to a subject…
Rosacea

Rosacea: A chronic skin disease that affects the middle third of the face with persistent redness over the areas of the face and nose that normally blush: mainly the forehead, the chin and the lower half of the nose…
Rosacea keratitis

A condition affecting the eyes in about half of all cases of rosacea. It is characterized by burning and grittiness of the eyes (conjunctivitis). If this is not treated, inflammation of the cornea may impair vision
Rosary pea

See: Abrin
Roseola

Roseola: Roseola is a childhood illness caused by virus infection characterized by high fevers followed by a skin rash. Roseola is also formally called roseola infantum or roseola infantilis. The following is a brief…
Roseola infantilis

Roseola infantilis: Roseola infantilis is another name for roseola, also formally called roseola infantum. The following is a brief rundown on roseola: Cause: Roseola is caused by a virus called human herpesvirus 6…
Roseola infantum

Roseola infantum: Roseola infantum is another name for roseola, also formally called roseola infantilis. The following is a brief rundown on roseola: Cause: Roseola is caused by a virus called human herpesvirus 6…
Rossi counter

An instrument used to measure the energy deposited by radiation in microscopic sites such as cells. Named for its creator Harald H. Rossi (1917-2000), a radiobiophysicist who contributed much to our ability to measure…
Rotator cuff

Rotator cuff: A group of four tendons that stabilize the shoulder joint. Each of the four tendons hooks up to a muscle that moves the shoulder in a specific direction. The four muscles whose tendons form the rotator…
Rotator cuff disease

Rotator cuff disease: Damage to the rotator cuff, a group of four tendons that stabilize the shoulder joint and move the shoulder in various directions. A common cause of shoulder pain, rotator cuff disease can be due…
Rotavirus

Rotavirus (RV): A leading cause of severe winter diarrhea in young children, RV each year causes an estimated 500,000 doctor visits and 50,000 hospital admissions in the United States. Almost everyone catches RV before…
Roth's spot

A hemorrhage in the retina with a white center. Originally associated with bacterial endocarditis, Roth's spots may be seen in leukemia, diabetes, collagen-vascular diseases, and other conditions that predispose to…
Rothmund-Thomson syndrome

To go around and see a patient in a hospital or other in-patient setting.
Round

To go around and see a patient in a hospital or other in-patient setting
Round window

The membrane separating the inner ear and middle ear. The tympanum (eardrum) separates the middle ear and outer ear
Rounds

The act of seeing patients in the hospital or another in-patient setting. After doing his hospital rounds, Dr. Moscati felt ill, went to his room, sat in his chair and expired
Roundworm

A type of parasitic worm that hatches in the intestines and lives there. The eggs of the roundworm usually enter the body through contaminated water or food or on fingers placed in the mouth after the hands have touched…
Roundworm C. elegans genome

See: C. elegans genome
Roundworm genome

See: C. elegans genome
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: A surgical procedure which may be done for severe obesity. The procedure involves cutting the stomach in two to create a pouch out of the smaller proximal (near) portion of the stomach…
Royal Society, the

Nerable scientific society in England which in 1665 published one of the first 2 scientific journals in the world: the 'Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.' The other was the 'Journal des Scavants'…
RP

Retinitis pigmentosa
RPR test

Rapid plasma reagin, a blood test for syphilis that looks for an antibody that is present in the bloodstream when a patient has syphilis. A negative (nonreactive) RPR is compatible with a person not having syphilis, but…
RRNA

Ribosomal RNA, a molecular component of a ribosome, the cell's essential protein factory. Strictly speaking, ribosomal RNA (rRNA) does not make proteins. It makes polypeptides (assemblies of amino acids) that go to make…
RS1

The gene on the X chromosome involved in the integrity of retina, Mutation of RS1 is responsible for juvenile retinoschisis
RSV

Although several standard medical dictionaries indicate only that RSV stands for Rous sarcoma virus, RSV in clinical medicine is the abbreviation for respiratory syncytial virus. See: Respiratory syncytial virus
RT

1. Respiratory therapist.2. Radiation therapy.3. Reverse transcriptase
RT-PCR

RT-PCR (Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) is a highly sensitive technique for the detection and quantitation of mRNA (messenger RNA). The technique consists of two parts: 1) The synthesis of cDNA…
RTS

See Rett syndrome.
RTT (Rett syndrome)

See Rett syndrome
RU-486

The French abortion pill, also known as mifepristone. RU-486 has been used in combination with another drug called misoprostol, terminate pregnancy at an early stage. It is used with women who are no more than 7 weeks…
Rubella (historical note)

In 1941 N. M. Gregg, an Australian ophthalmologist, recognized that infection of the mother with rubella (German measles) during early pregnancy could malform an embryo and cause a characteristic syndrome of congenital…
Rubella immunization

The standard MMR vaccine is given to prevent measles, mumps and rubella (German measles). The MMR vaccine is now given in two dosages. The first should be given at 12-15 months of age. The second vaccination should be…