Medical terms - Letter T (page 6) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Thalassemia, beta

Also known as thalassemia major .The clinical picture of this important type of anemia was first described in 1925 by the pediatrician Thomas Benton Cooley.. Other names for the disease are Cooley's anemia and…
Thalassiosira pseudonana

An ocean diatom that is a major participant in the biological pumping of carbon to ocean depths and that has potential for mitigating global climate change. The DNA of this diatom is being sequenced
Thalidomide baby

An infant affected by prenatal exposure to the drug thalidomide. This medication was prescribed to pregnant women for treatment of morning sickness until removal from the market in 1962. It causes a wide variety of…
Thallium

Thallium: A metallic element having the symbol Tl and the atomic number 81 and an atomic weight of about 204. Thallium enters the environment primarily from coal-burning and smelting, in which it is a trace contaminant…
Thallium poisoning

Poisoning with the element thallium which enters the environment primarily from coal-burning and smelting. It stays in the air, water, and soil for a long time and is not broken down. It builds up in fish and shellfish…
Thallium scan

A method of examining the heart to obtain information about the blood supply to the heart muscle. In the scan, special cameras take a series of pictures of the heart. Radioactive thallium is injected into the…
Thanatology

The study of death and dying, including the medical, psychological, and sociologic aspects of it. Each society has its own responses to death and dying. From the Greek thanatos meaning death + -logy
Thanatophobia

An abnormal and excessive fear of death
Thanatophoric dysplasia

A form of short-limbed (micromelic) dwarfism that usually causes death within the first few hours after birth. Thanatophoric dysplasia is due to a lethal mutation (change) in the same gene that produces achondroplasia…
The Lancet

A weekly medical journal headquartered in London. Published uninterruptedly and with the same title since 1823, The Lancet is 'the longest running medical journal in the world.' Thomas Wakley founded The Lancet and…
The South Beach Diet

The South Beach Diet is a weight loss plan described by cardiologist Arthur Agatston, MD in a best-selling book, The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss. The…
Thelarche

The beginnings of breast development at puberty. Thelarche is now a normal event at an earlier age (e.g., age 8) than in the past. The term thelarche comes from two Greek words: 'thele,' nipple + 'arche,' beginning…
Theorem, Bayes

See: Bayes theorem
Therapeutic

Relating to therapeutics, that part of medicine concerned specifically with the treatment of disease. The therapeutic dose of a drug is the amount needed to treat a disease. Something that is therapeutic is good for the…
Therapeutic abortion

An abortion that is brought about intentionally. Also called an artificial or induced abortion. As opposed to a spontaneous abortion (a miscarriage)
Therapeutic cloning

A procedure in which cells, typically skin cells, are taken from a patient and inserted into a fertilized egg whose nucleus has been removed. The cell that is so created is permitted to divide repeatedly to form a…
Therapeutic touch

A practice derived from an ancient technique called laying on of hands. It is based on the premise that it is the healing force of the therapist that affects the patient's recovery; healing is promoted when the body's…
Therapeutics

In medicine, the branch that deals specifically with the treatment of disease and the art and science of healing. In pharmacology, therapeutics accordingly refers to the use of drugs and the method of their…
Therapy

The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment, as for example: > >Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is treatment that suppresses a retrovirus such as HIV. >Brachytherapy is treatment given by placing…
Therapy, adjuvant

Treatment that is given in addition to the primary (initial) treatment. Adjuvant treatment is an addition to the primary treatment and is designed to help reach the ultimate goal. Adjuvant therapy for cancer usually…
Therapy, antiretroviral (ART)

Treatment that suppresses or stops a retrovirus. One of the retrovirus is the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. Retroviruses are so named because they carry their genetic information in the form of…
Therapy, behavior

A treatment program that involves substituting desirable behavior responses for undesirable ones
Therapy, biological

Treatment to stimulate or restore the ability of the immune (defense) system to fight infection and disease. Biological therapy is thus any form of treatment that uses the body's natural abilities that constitute the…
Therapy, cell

Treatment with cells. A technology that relies on replacing diseased or dysfunctional cells with healthy, functioning ones. Whole blood transfusions, packed red cell transfusions, platelet transfusions, bone marrow…
Therapy, constraint-induced movement

A form of intensive physical therapy aimed at reorganizing and reprogramming the brain after a stroke, a traumatic brain injury, or spinal cord damage
Therapy, electroconvulsive

See Electroconvulsive therapy
Therapy, electroshock

See Electroconvulsive therapy
Therapy, estrogen replacement (ERT)

Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) is used to treat menopause. It reduces or stops the short-term changes of menopause such as hot flashes, disturbed sleep, and vaginal dryness. ERT can prevent osteoporosis, a…
Therapy, external beam radiation

Radiation focused from a source outside the body on the affected area (for example, the cancer) within the body, much like getting a diagnostic x-ray, but for a longer period of time
Therapy, family

See: Family therapy
Therapy, fever

Fever: Using abnormal elevations in body temperature as a tool to treat disease. This was done in the past by deliberately raising the patient's temperature to cause fever. Fever therapy was pioneered by the Austrian…
Therapy, gene

Insertion of normal DNA directly into cells to correct a genetic defect. The treatment of disease by replacing, altering, or supplementing a gene that is absent or abnormal and whose absence or abnormality is…
Therapy, grief

See: Grief therapy
Therapy, hormone replacement (HRT)

The combination therapy of estrogen plus progestogen, termed hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) is used to treat menopause. It reduces or stops the short-term changes of menopause such…
Therapy, human gene

Insertion of normal DNA directly into cells to correct a genetic defect. The treatment of disease by replacing, altering, or supplementing a gene that is absent or abnormal and whose absence or abnormality is…
Therapy, interpersonal

See: Interpersonal therapy
Therapy, maintenance

See: Maintenance therapy
Therapy, psychodynamic

See: Psychodynamic therapy
Therapy, pulmonary

Exercises and treatments designed to help patients maintain and recover lung function, such as with cystic fibrosis and after surgery
Therapy, PUVA

See: PUVA
Therapy, respiratory

Exercises and treatments designed to help patients maintain and recover lung function, such as with cystic fibrosis and after surgery
Therapy, salvage

See: Salvage therapy
Therapy, testosterone replacement

The practice of giving testosterone to treat conditions in which the testes do not produce enough testosterone. This may be due to absence, injury, or disease. Testosterone is available in oral, IV, and patch forms. As…
Thermally induced asthma

Asthma: Asthma that is 'triggered' by vigorous physical activity. Exercise-induced asthma tends particularly to affect children and young adults (because of their high level of physical activity) but can occur at any…
Thermometer

A device used to measure the temperature of gaseous, liquid or solid matter or of a chemical reaction such as fire. Temperature measurement is important to a wide range of activities, including industry, scientific…
Thermometer, ear

A thermometer that registers body temperature via the ear canal. The ear thermometer was invented in 1964 by Dr. Theodor H. Benzinger. Dr. Benzinger worked from 1947 to 1970 at the Naval Medical Research Institute in…
Thermophobia

An abnormal and persistent fear of heat, including hot weather and hot objects. Sufferers from thermophobia experience anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. To avoid heat, they may live in a cold…
Thermostat

A device that monitors temperature and automatically maintains it at certain levels. In a human, a tiny part of the brain called the hypothalamus, located behind the eyes, serves as the thermostat. It can warm the body…
THG

Tetrahydrogestrinone. A 'designer steroid.' THG first surfaced in October 2003 with reports of its illicit use by athletes
Thiamine

Vitamin B1. Thiamine (vitamin B1) acts as a coenzyme in the metabolism of the body. Deficiency of thiamine leads to beriberi, a syndrome characterized by inflammation of multiple nerves (polyneuritis), heart disease…