Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «R»:
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Rectus abdominis
Rectus abdominis: A large muscle in the front of the abdomen that assists in the regular breathing movement and supports the muscles of the spine while lifting and keeping abdominal organs such as the intestines in place. The rectus abdominis plays a key role in "sit-ups."
Rectus means straight. The...
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Recuperate
Recuperate: To recover health and strength. From the
Latin recuperare meaning to regain, get back, recover. To recuperate is to convalesce....
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Recur
Recur: To occur again. To return. Any symptom (such as fatigue),
any sign (such as a heart murmur), or any disease can recur. ...
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Recurrence
Recurrence: The return of a sign, symptom or disease
after a remission. The reappearance of cancer cells at the same site or in another location is, unfortunately, a familiar form of recurrence.
A recurrence or relapse occur after some weeks or months of remission. A recrudescence flares up after o...
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Recurrence risk
Recurrence risk: In medical genetics, the recurrence
risk is the chance that a genetic (inherited) disease present in the family will recur in
that family and affect another person (or persons). It is the chance of "lightning
striking twice" (or thrice, etc.). ...
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Recurrent
Recurrent: Back again. A recurrent fever is a fever
that has returned after an intermission: a recrudescent fever....
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Recurrent abortion
Recurrent abortion: The occurrence of 3 or more miscarriages (which are medically termed "spontaneous abortions") with no intervening
pregnancies.
Recurrent abortion (or, as it is sometimes called, habitual
abortion) is a form of infertility. It may be due to chromosome abnormalities....
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Recurrent aural vertigo
Recurrent aural vertigo: A condition, also known as Meniere's disease, with recurrent vertigo accompanied by ringing in the ears (tinnitus) and deafness. Symptoms include vertigo, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, loss of hearing (in the affected ear), and abnormal eye movements.
Meniere's syndrome or d...
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Recurrent laryngeal nerve
Recurrent laryngeal nerve: One of the best known branches of the vagus nerve, a very long nerve that originates in the brainstem. After the recurrent laryngeal nerve leaves the vagus nerve, it goes down into the chest and then loops back up ("recurs") to supply nerves to the larynx (the voice box)....
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Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis
Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis: Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis involves the growth of numerous warty growths in the larynx on the vocal cords in children and young adults.
A baby can contract recurrent respiratory papillomatosis by being contaminated with the human papilloma virus (HPV)...
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Recurrent trisomy
Recurrent trisomy: Recurrence of trisomy, as when there are two or more children with trisomy in the same family. Recurrent trisomy may involve the same chromosome (homotrisomy) or different chromosomes (heterotrisomy).
Women who have had a child with trisomy 21 have a significantly increased risk ...
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Red blood cell
Red blood cell: The blood cell that carries oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is the hemoglobin which permits them to transport oxygen (and carbon dioxide). Hemoglobin, aside from being a transport molecule, is a pigment. It gives the cell its red color (and name).
The mature red blood cel...
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Red blood cells
Red blood cells: The blood cells that carry oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is the hemoglobin which permits them to transport oxygen (and carbon dioxide). Hemoglobin, aside from being a transport molecule, is a pigment. It gives the cells their red color (and their name).
The abbreviat...
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Red cell count
Red cell count: The number of red blood cells (RBCs) in a volume of blood. The normal range varies slightly between laboratories but is generally between 4.2 - 5.9 million cells/cmm. This can also be referred to as the erythrocyte count and can be expressed in
international units as 4.2 - 5.9 x 10...
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Red cell distribution width
Red cell distribution width: A measurement of the variability of red blood cell size. Higher numbers indicate greater variation in size. The normal range for the red cell distribution width (RDW) is 11 - 15. The RDW is a standard part of the complete blood count....
