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

Retinal wrinkling

See: Macular pucker
Retinitis pigmentosa

Any one of a large group of inherited disorders in which abnormalities of the photoreceptors (the rods and cones) in the retina lead to progressive visual loss. People with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) first experience…
Retinitis pigmentosa and congenital deafness

(Also called Usher syndrome.) A genetic disorder characterized by hearing impairment and an eye disorder called retinitis pigmentosa in which vision worsens over time. Some people with Usher syndrome also have balance…
Retinoblastoma

Retinoblastoma: A malignant eye tumor in children, usually under age 5, that arises in cells in the developing retina containing cancer-predisposing mutations in both copies of the gene RB1. The most common sign of…
Retinoic acid syndrome

A syndrome that occurs from treatment with retinoic acid and is characterized by fever, dyspnea (difficulty breathing), chest pain, lung infiltrates evident on chest X-ray, pleural and pericardial effusions (fluid…
Retinoid

Retinol is vitamin A. Carotene compounds (found, for example, in egg yolk, butter and cream) are gradually converted by the body to vitamin A (retinol). A form of vitamin A called retinal is responsible for transmitting…
Retinol

>Beta carotene: An antioxidant which protects cells against oxidation damage that can lead to cancer. Beta carotene is converted, as needed, to vitamin A. Food sources of beta carotene include vegetables such as…
Retinopathy

Any disease of the retina, the light-sensitive membrane at the back of the eye. The type of retinopathy is often specified. Arteriosclerotic retinopathy is retinal disease due to arteriosclerosis ('hardening of the…
Retinopathy, arteriosclerotic

See: Arteriosclerotic retinopathy
Retinopathy, diabetic

See: Diabetic retinopathy
Retinoschisis

Splitting of the retina. From retina + -schisis (splitting)
Retinoschisis, juvenile

See: Juvenile retinoschisis
Retinoschisis, X-linked

See: Juvenile retinoschisis
Retinoschisis, X-linked juvenile

See: Juvenile retinoschisis
Retraction syndrome

See: Duane syndrome
Retrodiagnosis

Retrospective diagnosis. The proposal that the mysterious illness that killed Alexander the Great more than 2,300 years ago was West Nile fever is an exercise in retrodiagnosis
Retrograde amnesia

Amnesia in which the lack of memory relates to events that occurred before a traumatic event. Retrograde amnesia is in contrast to antegrade amnesia in which the lack of memory relates to events that occurred after a…
Retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS)

Retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) is a procedure for doing surgery within the kidney using a viewing tube called a fiberoptic endoscope. In RIRS the scope is placed through the urethra (the urinary opening) into the…
Retromingent

Urinating backwards. Also an animal such as a raccoon that urinates backwards. As in: 'You have revealed yourself as a miserable, carping, retromingent vigilante, and I for one am sick of wasting my time communicating…
Retroposition

1. Simple backward displacement of a structure or organ such as the uterus.2. In genetics, the integration of a sequence derived from RNA into a DNA genome. Messenger RNA (mRNA) is reverse-transcribed and reintegrated…
Retropubic prostatectomy

Surgical removal of the prostate through an incision in the abdomen. NTER>
Retrospective

Looking backward on the past, on what has already taken place. A retrospective study looks backward in time, usually using medical records and interviews with patients who already known to have or have had a disease
Retrospective diagnosis

See: Retrodiagnosis
Retrospective study

Behind the sternum (the breastbone).
Retrosternal

Behind the sternum (the breastbone)
Retrovirus

An RNA virus (a virus composed not of DNA but of RNA). Retroviruses have an enzyme called reverse transcriptase that gives them the unique property of transcribing RNA (their RNA) into DNA. The retroviral DNA can then…
Rett syndrome

An X-linked dominant neurological disorder that affects girls only and is one of the most common causes of mental retardation in females. Girls with the syndrome show normal development during the first 6-18 months of…
Reuptake

The reabsorption of a secreted substance by the cell that originally produced and secreted it. The process of reuptake, for example, affects serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter (a chemical messenger). It is…
Reversal of organs, total

This condition (medically called situs inversus totalis) involves complete transposition (right to left reversal) of the thoracic and abdominal organs. The heart is not in its usual position in the left chest but is on…
Reverse genetics

In classic genetics, the traditional approach was to find a gene product and then try to identify the gene itself. In molecular genetics, the reverse has been done by identifying genes purely on the basis of their…
Reverse transcriptase

The enzyme that permits the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other retroviruses to use their viral RNA as a template to make DNA. Reverse transcriptase is so-named because it reverses the usual transcription of…
Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction

Abbreviated RT-PCR. See: RT-PCR
Reye syndrome

Reye syndrome: A sudden, sometimes fatal, disease of the brain (encephalopathy) with degeneration of the liver, occurs in children (most cases 4-12 years of age), comes after the chickenpox (varicella) or an…
RF

Rheumatoid factor. Rheumatoid factor is an antibody that is measurable in the blood. It is commonly used as a blood test for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid factor is present in about 80% of adults…
RFA

Radiofrequency ablation
RFID

Radio frequency identification, a system for remotely storing and retrieving data. RFID tags can serve to identify and track medications
RFLP

An antigen found in the red blood cells of most people: those who have Rh factor are said to be Rh positive (Rh+), while those who do not are Rh negative (Rh-) Blood used in transfusions much match donors for Rh status…
Rh factor

An antigen found in the red blood cells of most people: those who have Rh factor are said to be Rh positive (Rh+), while those who do not are Rh negative (Rh-) Blood used in transfusions much match donors for Rh status…
Rh incompatibility

The difference in Rh blood group types between an Rh negative mother and her Rh positive baby that leads to hemolytic disease of the newborn. The mother and baby's Rh blood group types are therefore said to be…
Rhabdomyolysis

A condition in which skeletal muscle cells break down, releasing myoglobin (the oxygen-carrying pigment in muscle) together with enzymes and electrolytes from inside the muscle cells. The risks with rhabdomyolysis…
Rhabdomyosarcoma

A malignant tumor that starts in muscle. Rhabdomyosarcoma is primarily a childhood tumor and occurs most often in children under 5 years of age. Over 60% of cases show up before age 10. On rare occasions…
Rheumatic fever

An illness that occurs following a streptococcus infection (such as a 'strep throat') or scarlet fever and predominantly affects children. Symptoms include fever, pain in the joints, nausea, stomach cramps, and…
Rheumatic heart disease

Heart damage caused by rheumatic fever. Treatment is by preventing reinfection with strep and by treating with heart drugs as needed
Rheumatism

Rheumatism is an older term, used to describe any of a number of painful conditions of muscles, tendons, joints, and bones. Rheumatism conditions have been classified as either localized, regional, or generalized…
Rheumatism, generalized

Rheumatism affecting many and diverse parts of the body, such as fibromyalgia
Rheumatism, localized

Rheumatism confined to a specific location, such as bursitis and tendonitis
Rheumatism, psychogenic

Rheumatism in which the patient reports inconsistent pains of muscles and joints that do not correspond to true anatomy and physiology. The patient is felt to have underlying psychological causes for these symptoms
Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis: An autoimmune disease which causes chronic inflammation of the joints, the tissue around the joints, as well as other organs in the body. Autoimmune diseases occur when the body tissues are…
Rheumatoid arthritis, systemic-onset juvenile

See: Arthritis, systemic-onset juvenile rheumatoid
Rheumatoid factor

Rheumatoid factor: Rheumatoid factor is an antibody that is measurable in the blood. It is commonly used as a blood test for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid factor is present in about 80% of adults…