Medical terms - Letter T (page 14) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Treatment, palliative

To palliate a disease is to treat it partially and insofar as possible, but not cure it completely. Palliation cloaks a disease. Also sometimes called symptomatic treatment. To take a case, a 91-year-old man was found…
Treatment, PUVA

See: PUVA
Treatment, symptomatic

Therapy that eases the symptoms without addressing the basic cause of the disease. For example, symptomatic treatment of advanced lung cancer that has spread (metastasized) beyond the lung is designed to decrease the…
Tremor

Tremor: Any abnormal repetitive shaking movement of the body. Tremors have many causes and can be inherited, be related to illnesses such as thyroid disease, or caused by fever, hypothermia, drugs or fear.
Trench fever

Fever: A disease borne by body lice that was first recognized in the trenches of World War I, when it is estimated to have affected more than a million people in Russia and on the fronts in Europe. Trench fever was…
Trench mouth

A progressive painful infection of the mouth and throat with ulceration, swelling and sloughing off of dead tissue from the mouth and throat due to the spread of infection from the gums. Certain germs (including…
Treponema pallidum

The cause of syphilis, this is a microscopic bacterial organism called a spirochete, a worm-like spiral-shaped organism that wiggles vigorously when viewed under a microscope. Treponema pallidum was discovered in 1905…
Triage

The process of sorting people based on their need for immediate medical treatment as compared to their chance of benefiting from such care. Triage is done in emergency rooms, disasters and wars when limited medical…
Trial, clinical

A trial done to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications or medical devices by monitoring their effects on large groups of people. Clinical research trials may be conducted by government health agencies such…
Triceps

The triceps muscle extends (straightens) the elbow. Its full name is the triceps brachii. It can be felt as the tense muscle in the back of the upper arm while doing push-ups. Its full name is the triceps brachii. The…
Trich- (prefix)

Pertaining to hair. As in trichinosis, a disease due to the parasite Trichinella spiralis which was thought to look like a little spiral hair. From the Greek thrix, trichos, meaning hair. See also: Tricho- (prefix)
Trichina spiralis

Is a parasitic worm that lives in the intestines and causes a serious illness known as trichinosis. The eggs usually enter the body via raw or undercooked pork, sausage or bear meat. In the intestines, the eggs hatch…
Trichinella spiralis

The worm that causes trichinosis. Trichinella spiralis larvae can infest pigs and wild game, hibernating in muscle tissue within a protective cyst. Trichinosis can be correspondingly defined as a disease caused by…
Trichinellosis

A disease that comes from eating raw or undercooked pork or wild game that is infected with the larvae of a worm called Trichinella. The disease is also called trichinosis, The initial symptoms of the disease are…
Trichinosis

Trichinosis: See: Trichinellosis.
Trichloroethylene

A possible carcinogenic (cancer-causing) compound used mainly as a degreaser for metal parts. Trichloroethylene was also at one time used to decaffeinate coffee. There are limited findings of elevated liver and biliary…
Tricho- (prefix)

Pertaining to hair. As in trichobezoar (a hair ball), trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling), trichoepithelioma (a tumor from a hair follicle), etc. From the Greek thrix, trichos, meaning hair. See also: Trich-…
Trichobezoar

A wad of swallowed hair. Also called a hairball. Trichobezoars can sometimes be found to cause blockage of the digestive system, especially at the exit of the stomach. Interestingly, in the Far East culture…
Trichoepithelioma

A small benign tumor derived from basal cells in the hair follicle. Trichoepithelioma may occur sporadically or as the cardinal feature of a relatively common genetic disorder called multiple familial trichoepithelioma…
Trichomonas

A single-celled protozoan parasite best known in medicine because one species causes vaginitis (vaginal inflammation). Infection with trichomonas (trichomoniasis) is the most common curable sexually transmitted disease…
Trichomonas vaginalis

A protozoan parasite that causes vaginitis. See: Trichomonas
Trichomoniasis

Trichomoniasis: Infection with trichomonas, in humans with Trichomonas vaginalis.
Trichotillomania

Compulsive hair pulling. A disorder characterized by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, eyebrows or other body hair. It is believed to be related to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Treatment may include…
Trichuriasis

Infection with the human whipworm, a nematode (roundworm) formally known as Trichuris trichiura. The third most common round worm of humans. Occurs worldwide, with infections more frequent in areas with tropical weather…
Trichuris trichiura

A nematode (roundworm) also called the human whipworm. The third most common round worm of humans. Occurs worldwide, with infections more frequent in areas with tropical weather and poor sanitation practices, and among…
Tricuspid

Having three flaps or cusps. The valve that is called the tricuspid valve is situated between the right atrium and right ventricle and permits blood to flow only from the atrium into the ventricle. The aortic valve in…
Tricuspid valve

One of the four heart valves, the tricuspid valve is the first one that blood encounters as it enters the heart. The tricuspid valve stands between the right atrium and right ventricle and allows blood to flow only from…
Tricyclic antidepressant

One of a class of medications used to treat depression. The tricyclic antidepressants are also used for some forms of anxiety, fibromyalgia, and the control of chronic pain. 'Tricyclic' refers to the presence of three…
Trigeminal nerve

The trigeminal nerve functions both as the chief nerve of sensation for the face and the motor nerve controlling the muscles of mastication (chewing). Problems with the sensory part of the trigeminal nerve result in…
Trigeminal neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia: Also called tic douloureux. Inflammation of the trigeminal nerve (the fifth cranial nerve) that most commonly causes paroxysms of very intense lightning pain in the areas of the face the nerve…
Trigger

Something that either sets off a disease in people who are genetically predisposed to developing the disease, or that causes a certain symptom to occur in a person who has a disease. For example, sunlight can trigger…
Triglyceride test

Triglyceride test: A simple blood test to measure the level of triglycerides in the blood. Triglyceride levels are influenced by recent fat and alcohol intake, so you should fast from food for at least 12 hours and…
Triglycerides

The major form of fat. A triglyceride consists of three molecules of fatty acid combined with a molecule of the alcohol glycerol. Triglycerides serve as the backbone of many types of lipids (fats). Triglycerides come…
Triiodothyronine

A hormone made by the thyroid gland. It has three iodine molecules attached to its molecular structure. It is the most powerful thyroid hormone, and affects almost every process in the body, including body temperature…
Trimester

The nine months of pregnancy is traditionally divided into three trimesters: distinct periods of roughly three months in which different phases of fetal development take place. The first trimester is a time of basic…
Trimethylaminuria (TMA)

An inborn error of metabolism associated with an offensive body odor, the smell of rotting fish, due to the excessive excretion of TMA in urine, sweat, and breath. Persons with TMA may experience tachycardia (fast heart…
Trimox

See: Amoxicillin
Trinucleotide

A sequence of 3 base pairs; a triplet of bases. The gene code is made up of trinucleotides
Trip

Street name for alpha-ethyltryptamine and for LSD
Trip-hammer pulse

See: Pulse, water hammer
Tripeptide

A peptide consisting of three amino acids
Triphalangeal

Having three phalanges in a digit normally composed of only two
Triple C's

Street name for dextromethorphan (DXM)
Triplet

One of three, as: 1. One of three babies in a multiple birth. Or three animals gestated together. 2. In genetics, a set of three bases in DNA. Also called a codon. See: Crick-Brenner experiment. 3. In optics, a…
Triptan

A class of drugs introduced in the 1990s for the treatment of migraine that act as agonists for 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptors. The triptans are often very effective in relieving migraine but do not prevent future…
Triptans (Triptan)

Fear of the number 13. Written reference to this fear dates to the late 1800s. The term triskaidekaphobia appeared in the early 1900s. It is not easy to pronounce unless one speaks Greek. From treiskaideka, the Greek…
Triskaidekaphobia

Fear of the number 13. Written reference to this fear dates to the late 1800s. The term triskaidekaphobia appeared in the early 1900s. It is not easy to pronounce unless one speaks Greek. From treiskaideka, the Greek…
Trismus

Inability to open the mouth fully. This may be due to spasm of the jaw muscles and be a symptom of tetanus (lockjaw). Or it may be due to abnormally short jaw muscles, as in the trismus-pseudocamptodactyly syndrome
Trismus and pseudocamptodactyly syndrome

See: Hecht syndrome
Trismus-pseudocamptodactyly syndrome

See: Hecht syndrome