Copy of `Dorland's Medical Dictionary`

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Dorland's Medical Dictionary Category: Health and Medicine > Medical Dictionary Date & country: 31/12/2010, USA Words: 39128

disopyramide
(di″so-pir´ә-mīd) an agent used to control cardiac arrhythmias; it suppresses and prevents recurrence of both unifocal premature ventricular contractions and those of multifocal origin, paired premature ventricular contractions, and episodes of ventricular tachycardia that are not persistent.

disorder
(dis-or´dәr) a derangement or abnormality of function; a morbid physical or mental state.

disorder of consciousness
a state of disordered attention and apperception, e.g., confusion or delirium.

disorder of written expression
a learning disorder in which the affected skill is written communication, characterized by errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation, by poor paragraph organization, or by poor story composition or thematic development.

disorganization
(dis-or″gәn-ĭ-za´shәn) the process of destruction of any organic tissue; any profound change in the tissues of an organ or structure that causes the loss of most or all of its proper characteristics.

disorganized schizophrenia
a type characterized by frequent incoherence, marked loosening of associations, or grossly disorganized behavior and flat or grossly inappropriate affect. See schizophrenia.

disorientation
(dis-or″e-әn-ta´shәn) the loss of proper bearings, or a state of mental confusion as to time, place, or identity.

disparate points
points on the retina which are not paired exactly. Cf. corresponding p's.

dispensary
(dis-pen´sә-re) a place for dispensation of free or low-cost medical treatment. any place where drugs or medicines are actually dispensed.

dispensatory
(dis-pen´sә-tor-e) a book that describes medicines and their preparation and uses. Dispensatory of the United States of America a collection of monographs on unofficial drugs and drugs recognized by the Pharmacopeia of the United States, the Pharmacopoeia of Great Britain, ...

dispense
(dis-pens´) to count, label, and disburse multiple doses of medications to a patient.

dispermy
(di´spәr-me) the penetration of two spermatozoa into one oocyte.

disperse
(dis-purs´) to scatter the component parts, as of a tumor or the fine particles in a colloid system. the particles so scattered.

disperse medium
dispersive m.

disperse phase
the discontinuous portion of a heterogeneous system, corresponding to the solute in a true solution.

disperse system
dispersion system a colloid system; see colloid (def. 2).

dispersion
(dis-pur´zhәn) the act of scattering or separating; the condition of being scattered. the incorporation of the particles of one substance into the body of another, comprising solutions, suspensions, and colloid systems. a colloid system, particularly an unstable one.

dispersion colloid
colloid (def. 3), particularly an unstable colloid system.

dispersion medium
dispersive m.

dispersive
(dis-pur´siv) tending to become dispersed. promoting dispersion.

dispersive medium
the continuous phase of a colloid system; the medium in which the particles of the disperse phase are distributed, corresponding to the solvent in a true solution.

displacement
(dis-plās´mәnt) malposition. percolation. a defense mechanism in which emotions, ideas, wishes, or impulses are unconsciously shifted from their original object to a more acceptable, usually less threatening, substitute. in a chemical reaction, the replacement of one ...

displacement osteotomy
surgical division of a bone and shifting of the divided ends to change the alignment of the bone or to alter weight-bearing stresses.

disposition
(dis″pә-zīsh´әn) a tendency, either physical or mental, toward a given disease. the prevailing temperament or character, giving a degree of predictability to the response to a situation or other stimulus.

disproportion
(dis″pro-por´shәn) a lack of the proper relationship between two elements or factors. cephalopelvic disproportion abnormally large size of the fetal skull in relation to the maternal pelvis, leading to difficulties in delivery.

disruption
(dis-rup´shәn) a morphologic defect of an organ or larger region of the body, resulting from the extrinsic breakdown of, or interference with, an originally normal developmental process.

disruptive behavior disorders
a group of mental disorders of children and adolescents consisting of behavior that violates social norms and is disruptive, often distressing others more than it does the person with the disorder. It includes conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder and is classified with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

dissect
(dĭ-sekt´) (di-sekt´) to cut apart, or separate; especially, the exposure of structures of a cadaver for anatomical study.

dissecting aneurysm
one caused by hemorrhage that makes a lengthwise split in the arterial wall, with a tear in the inner wall (intima) and an opening to the lumen of the vessel. The most common site is the thoracic aorta (see aortic dissection) but sometimes these are found in other large arteries.

dissection
(dĭ-sek´shәn) the act of dissecting. a part or whole of an organism prepared by dissecting.

disseminated
(dĭ-sem´ĭ-nāt″әd) scattered; distributed over a considerable area.

disseminated tuberculosis
tuberculosis that has spread to other organs from a primary focus (usually pulmonary tuberculosis) through the bloodstream or lymphatic system; its incidence is increased among immunocompromised patients. miliary tuberculosis.

dissociated anesthesia
dissociation anesthesia loss of perception of certain stimuli while that of others remains intact.

dissociated nystagmus
that in which the movements in the two eyes are dissimilar.

dissociation
(dĭ-so″se-a´shәn) the act of separating or state of being separated. the separation of a molecule into fragments produced by the absorption of light or thermal energy or by solvation. segregation of a group of mental processes from the rest of a person's usually integrated function...

dissociation symptom
inability to feel pain, heat, or cold, without the loss of other types of touch sensations.

dissociative
(dĭ-so´se-ә-tiv) pertaining to or tending to produce dissociation.

dissociative amnesia
the most common of the dissociative disorders; it is usually a response to some stress, such as a threat of injury, an unacceptable impulse, or an intolerable situation. The person suddenly cannot recall important personal information and may wander around in a confused state. Such individuals may forget what they are doi...

dissociative disorders
(dĭ-so´se-ә-tiv) a group of mental disorders characterized by a sudden, temporary change in consciousness or behavior, which may become bizarre. The defense mechanism of dissociation underlies these disorders and any organic basis for the changes must be ruled out. The category includes: dissociative amnesia, disso...

dissociative identity disorder
a type of dissociative disorder in which more than one personality exists in the same individual. Each personality has unique memories, characteristic behaviors, and social relationships that determine the individual's actions when that personality is dominant; the various personalities are usually very different from one...

dissociative trance disorder
a dissociative disorder characterized by an involuntary state of trance that is not a normal function of the person's cultural or religious practice and that causes impairment or distress.

dissolution
(dis″o-loo´shәn) the process in which one substance is dissolved in another. separation of a compound into its components by chemical action. liquefaction. death.

dissolve
(dĭ-zolv´) to cause a substance to pass into solution. to pass into solution.

dissonance
(dis´o-nәns) discord or disagreement.

distad
(dis´tad) in a distal direction.

distal
(dis´tәl) remote; farther from any point of reference.

distal acinar emphysema
interlobular emphysema.

distal angles
the tooth angles formed between the distal surface and the other surfaces of a tooth; the cavity angles between the distal wall of a tooth cavity and other walls.

distal convoluted tubule
a distal, convoluted part of the ascending limb of the renal tubule, extending from the distal straight tubule to the junctional tubule.

distal medial striate artery
origin, anterior cerebral artery; branches, none; distribution, anterior part of head of caudate nucleus and adjacent regions of putamen and internal capsule.

distal muscular dystrophy
distal myopathy.

distal myopathy
an autosomal dominant form of muscular dystrophy, appearing in two types. The first has onset in infancy, does not progress past adolescence, and is not incapacitating. The second has onset in adulthood and is called late distal hereditary myopathy. Called also distal muscular dystrophy.

distal straight tubule
part of the renal tubule primarily on the ascending limb, extending from the thin tubule to the distal convoluted tubule.

distal surface
the surface of a tooth that is farthest from the midline of the dental arch, opposite to its mesial surface.

distalis
(dis-ta´lis) Latin word meaning distal; a term used in anatomy.

distance
(dis´tәns) the measure of space intervening between two objects or two points of reference. interocclusal distance the distance between the occluding surfaces of the maxillary and mandibular teeth with the mandible in physiologic rest position. interocular distance&nb...

distemper
(dis-tem´pәr) a name for several infectious diseases of animals, especially canine distemper, a highly fatal viral disease of dogs, marked by fever, loss of appetite, and a discharge from the nose and eyes.

distend
(dis-tend´) to expand outward owing to pressure from within.

distention
(dis-ten´shәn) the state of being distended, stretched out, or enlarged. the act of distending.

distichia
(dis-tik´e-ә) distichiasis.

distichiasis
(dis″tĭ-ki´ә-sis) the presence of a double row of eyelashes, one or both of which are turned against the eyeball.

distillate
(dis´til-āt) a product of distillation.

distillation
(dis″tĭ-la´shәn) the process of vaporizing and condensing a substance to purify it or to separate a volatile substance from less volatile substances. Called also vaporization. destructive distillation , dry distillation decomposition of a solid by h...

distilled oil
volatile oil.

distilled water
water that has been purified by distillation.

disto-occlusal
(dis″to-ә-kloo´zәl) pertaining to or formed by the distal and occlusal surfaces of a tooth, or the distal and occlusal walls of a tooth cavity preparation.

distobuccal
(dis″to-buk´әl) pertaining to or formed by the distal and buccal surfaces of a tooth, or by the distal and buccal walls of a tooth cavity.

distobucco-occlusal
(dis″to-buk″o-ә-kloo´zәl) pertaining to or formed by the distal, buccal, and occlusal surfaces of a tooth.

distoclusion
(dis″to-kloo´zhәn) malrelation of the dental arches, with the lower jaw in a distal or posterior position in relation to the upper.

distolabial
(dis″to-la´be-әl) pertaining to or formed by the distal and labial surfaces of a tooth or the distal and labial walls of a tooth cavity preparation.

distolabioincisal
(dis″to-la″be-o-in-si´zәl) pertaining to or formed by the distal, labial, and incisal surfaces of a tooth.

distolingual
(dis″to-ling´gwәl) pertaining to or formed by the distal and lingual surfaces of a tooth, or the distal and lingual walls of a tooth cavity preparation.

distolinguo-occlusal
(dis″to-ling″gwo-o-kloo´zәl) pertaining to or formed by the distal, lingual, and occlusal surfaces of a tooth.

distolinguoincisal
(dis″to-ling″gwo-in-si´zәl) pertaining to or formed by the distal, lingual, and incisal surfaces of a tooth.

distortion
(dis-tor´shәn) the state of being twisted out of a natural or normal shape or position. in psychology, the process of altering or disguising unconscious ideas or impulses so that they become acceptable to the conscious mind. in optics or radiology, deviation of an image from the true ou...

distractibility
(dis-trak″tĭ-bil´ĭ-te) inability to focus one's attention on the task at hand so that the attention is too frequently drawn to irrelevant and unimportant environmental stimuli.

distraction
(dis-trak´shәn) diversion of attention. separation of joint surfaces without rupture of their binding ligaments and without displacement. surgical separation of the two parts of a bone after it is transected.

distress
(dis-tres´) physical or mental anguish or suffering. respiratory distress see adult respiratory distress syndrome and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome.

distributing arteries
most of the arteries except the conducting arteries. They are of muscular type and extend from the large vessels to the arterioles.

distribution
(dis″trĭ-bu´shәn) the extent of a ramifying structure such as an artery or nerve and its branches. the geographical range of an organism or disease. frequency distribution in statistics, a mathematical function that describes the distribution of measurements...

disulfide bond
a strong covalent bond, —S—S—, important in linking polypeptide chains in proteins, the linkage arising as a result of the oxidation of the sulfhydryl (SH) groups of two molecules of cysteine.

disulfiram
(di-sul´fĭ-ram) Antabuse; a compound that, when used in the presence of alcohol, produces distressing symptoms such as severe nausea and vomiting. It is a dangerous drug, should always be given under the supervision of a physician and is never given to a patient who is in a state of intoxication or does not have fu...

disuse atrophy
atrophy of a tissue or organ as a result of inactivity or diminished function.

Dittel operation
an early treatment for hypertrophy of the prostate, consisting of enucleation through an external incision.

Dittrich plugs
(dit´rik) masses of fat globules, fatty acid crystals, and bacteria sometimes seen in the bronchi in bronchitis and bronchiectasis.

Diucardin
(di″u-kahr´din) trademark for preparations of hydroflumethiazide, an antihypertensive agent.

diurese
(di″u-rēs´) to cause diuresis; see also diuretic.

diuresis
(di″u-re´sis) increased excretion of urine; see also diuretic.

diuretic
(di″u-ret´ik) increasing diuresis (urine excretion). an agent that does this, such as common substances like tea, coffee, and water, as well as medications. Types include loop diuretics, osmotic diuretics, potassium-sparing diuretics, and thiazide diuretics, with the most frequently prescribed being ...

Diuril
(di´u-ril) trademark for preparations of chlorothiazide, a diuretic.

diurnal
(di-ur´nәl) pertaining to or occurring during the daytime, or period of light.

divagation
(di″vә-ga´shәn) incoherent or wandering speech and thought.

divalent
(di-va´lent) bivalent; having a valence of two.

divalproex
(di-val´pro-eks) an anticonvulsant, used as divalproex sodium, a 1:1 compound of valproate sodium and valproic acid in treatment of migraine, manic episodes of bipolar disorder, and epileptic seizures, particularly absence seizures.

divergence
(di-vur´jәns) a moving apart, or inclination away from a common point. adj., divergent, adj. .

divergent strabismus
exotropia.

diverging lens
concave lens.

divers' paralysis
decompression sickness.

diversion
(dĭ-vur´zhәn) a turning aside. continent urinary diversion urinary diversion that preserves continence; examples include neobladders and pouches such as the Indiana pouch. urinary diversion surgical creation of an alternate route of flow for urin...

diversion colitis
inflammation in a nonfunctioning colonic pouch created by corrective surgery; it resolves following restoration of intestinal continuity.