Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «C»:
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Cachexia
Cachexia: Physical wasting with loss of weight and muscle mass caused by disease. Patients with advanced cancer, AIDS, and some other major chronic progressive diseases may appear cachectic. Cachexia is a wasting syndrome that causes weakness and a loss of weight, fat, and muscle. Anorexia (lack of ...
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CAD
CAD: coronary artery disease. CAD is a major cause of illness and death. It begins when hard cholesterol substances (plaques) are deposited within a coronary artery. These arteries arise from the aorta adjacent to the heart and supply the heart muscle with blood that is rich in oxygen. They are call...
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CADASIL
CADASIL: Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy. An inherited form of vascular
dementia that strikes relatively young adults of both sexes and is characterized by multiple strokes, dementia, migraine-like headaches, and psychiatric disturbances. C...
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Cadaver
Cadaver: A dead human body that may be used by physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a living human being. Students in medical schools study and dissect cadavers as part of their education.
Othe...
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Cadaver wart
Cadaver wart: A warty growth on the hand due to tuberculosis, typically of someone doing postmortem examinations. A cadaver with unsuspected tuberculosis was once a major hazard for pathologists and others in the autopsy room. Cadaver warts were among the least of the dangers.
A cadaver wart is know...
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Cadmium
Cadmium: A metallic element whose salts are toxic and cause cancer.
Cadmium and cadmium compounds were upgraded in 2000 by the US government to the status of "known human carcinogens." These materials are used in batteries, coating and plating, plastic and synthetic products and alloys, and have be...
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Caduceus
Caduceus: 1. A rod with two snakes entwined about it topped by a pair of wings.
2. An insignia of a caduceus meant, mistakenly, to symbolize a physician.
The caduceus served as the symbol of Hermes and Mercury, the Greek and Roman messenger gods. The caduceus was the sign of a herald and hence a l...
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Caecal
Caecal: Pertaining to the caecum (also spelled cecum), the first portion of the large bowel, situated in the lower right quadrant of the abdomen.
The caecum receives fecal material from the small bowel (ileum) which opens into it. The appendix is attached to the cecum.
The word "caecum" comes from ...
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Caecum
Caecum: The caecum (also spelled cecum), the first portion of the large bowel, situated in the lower right quadrant of the abdomen.
The caecum receives fecal material from the small bowel (ileum) which opens into it. The appendix is attached to the caecum.
The word "caecum" comes from the Latin "ca...
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Caenorhabditis elegans genome
Caenorhabditis elegans genome: See: C. elegans genome....
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Caesarian section
Caesarian section: Also referred to as a C-section. A procedure in which a baby, rather than being born vaginally, is surgically extracted (removed) from the uterus.
As the name "Caesarian" suggests, this is not exactly a new procedure. It was done in ancient civilizations upon the death of a pregn...
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Caesarian section, lower segment
Caesarian section, lower segment: A Caesarian
section in which the surgical incision is made in the lower
segment of the uterus. Abbreviated LSCS....
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Caesarian section, vaginal birth after
Caesarian section, vaginal birth after: It was once the rule that after a C-section, the next delivery also
had to be by C-section. Now vaginal delivery after Caesarian section (VBAC) is frequently feasible....
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Cafe au lait spot
Café au lait spot: A flat spot on the skin that is the color of coffee with milk (café au lait) in persons with light skin, or a darker appearance (café noir) than the surrounding skin in persons with dark skin. About 10% of the general population have cafe au lait spots, and th...
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Caffeine
Caffeine: A stimulant found naturally in coffee beans, tea leaves, cocoa beans (chocolate) and kola nuts (cola) and added to soft drinks, foods, and medicines. A cup of coffee has 100-250 milligrams of caffeine. Black tea brewed for 4 minutes has 40-100 milligrams. Green tea has one-third as much ca...