Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «P»:
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PAP
PAP: 1. Prostatic acid phosphatase.
2. Pulmonary artery pressure....
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Pap Smear
Pap Smear: A screening test for cervical cancer based on the examination under the microscope of cells collected from the cervix, smeared on a slide and specially stained to reveal premalignant (before cancer) and malignant (cancer) changes as well as changes due to noncancerous conditions such as ...
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Pap test
Pap test: A screening test for cervical cancer based on the examination under the microscope of cells collected from the cervix, smeared on a slide and specially stained to reveal premalignant (before cancer) and malignant (cancer) changes as well as changes due to noncancerous conditions such as in...
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Pap test, ThinPrep
Pap test, ThinPrep: A modified Pap test technique designed to reduce some of the technical problems inherent in the traditional type of Pap smear.
In the traditional Pap test, cell samples are obtained from the vagina, cervix, and cervical canal and spread on a glass slide. In the ThinPrep Pap test...
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Papilla of Vater
Papilla of Vater: See: Ampulla of Vater....
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Papilla, anal
Papilla, anal: See: Anal papilla....
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Papilla, cancer of
Papilla, cancer of: Cancer of a structure called the papilla or ampulla of Vater, a small muscle located at the junction where the common bile duct (carrying bile from the liver and secretions from the pancreas) empties into the duodenum (upper small intestine).
Because of its location, this cance...
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Papilla, fungiform
Papilla, fungiform: The fungiform papillae are broad flat structures that house taste buds in the central portion of the dorsum (back) of the tongue.
These papillae were thought to resemble a fungus: a little mushroom. Fungiform means mushroom-shaped. From fungi-, fungus + forma, shape....
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Papillary muscle
Papillary muscle: Small muscles within the heart
that anchor the heart valves.
The anchor ropes are the chordae tendineae, thread-like bands
of fibrous tissue that attach on one end to the edges of the
tricuspid and mitral valves of the heart and on the other end to the
papillary muscles....
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Papillary renal cell carcinoma
Papillary renal cell carcinoma: A type of kidney cancer that accounts for 15 to 20% of renal carcinomas. It occurs in both sporadic and familial forms. Hereditary papillary renal carcinoma is characterized by the development of multiple papillary tumors in both kidneys. The pattern of inheritance is...
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Papillary tumor
Papillary tumor: A tumor shaped like a small mushroom with its
stem attached to the inner lining of the bladder....
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Papilledema
Papilledema: Swelling of the head of the optic nerve, a sign of increased intracranial pressure. The optic nerve head, also called the optic disk or papilla, is the area where the optic nerve (the nerve that carries messages from the eye to the brain) enters the eyeball.
The finding of papilledema ...
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Papilliferous
Papilliferous: See: Papuliferous....
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Papilloma
Papilloma: A small solid benign tumor with a clear-cut border that projects above the surrounding tissue....
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Papilloma, cutaneous
Papilloma, cutaneous: A small tag of skin that may have a stalk (a peduncle). Cutaneous papillomas may appear on the skin almost anywhere although the favorite locales are the eyelids, neck, armpits (axillae), upper chest, and groin.
Invariably benign, this tiny tumor of the skin usually causes n...
