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

carbonate
(kahr´bә-nāt) a salt of carbonic acid.

carbonic acid
(kahr-bon´ik) aqueous solution of carbon dioxide, H2CO3.

carbonic anhydrase inhibitor
an agent that inhibits the enzyme carbonic anhydrase; used in treatment of glaucoma and sometimes for epilepsy, familial periodic paralysis, acute mountain sickness, and kidney stones made of uric acid.

carbonyl
(kahr´bә-nәl) the divalent organic radical, CdbondO, characteristic of aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acid, and esters.

carboplatin
(kahr´bo-plat″in) a platinum coordination compound that interferes with functioning of cellular DNA; used as an antineoplastic agent to treat cancers of the ovary, lung, head and neck, testes, bladder, brain, and other organs.

carboprost
(kahr´bo-prost) a synthetic analogue of dinoprost, used as an oxytocic for termination of pregnancy and missed abortion, administered intramuscularly.

carboxy-lyase
(kahr-bok″se-li´ās) any of a group of lyases that catalyze the removal of a carboxyl group; it includes the carboxylases and decarboxylases.

carboxyhemoglobin
(kahr-bok″se-he´mo-glo″bin) hemoglobin in which the sites usually bound to oxygen are bound to carbon monoxide, which has an affinity for hemoglobin over 200 times that of oxygen. See carbon monoxide poisoning.

carboxyl
(kahr-bok´sәl) the monovalent radical, sbondCOOH, found in those organic acids termed carboxylic acids.

carboxylase
(kahr-bok´sә-lās) an enzyme that catalyzes the removal of carbon dioxide from the carboxyl group of alpha amino keto acids.

carboxylation
(kahr-bok″sә-la´shәn) the addition of a carboxyl group, as to pyruvate to form oxaloacetate.

carboxylesterase
(kahr-bok″sәl-es´tәr-ās) an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of the esters of carboxylic acids.

carboxylic acid
(kahr-bok-sil´ik) an organic compound containing the carboxy group (sbondCOOH), which is weakly ionized in solution forming a carboxylate ion (sbondCOO−).

carboxyltransferase
(kahr-bok″sәl-trans´fәr-ās) an enzyme that catalyzes carboxylation.

carboxymethylcellulose
(kahr-bok″se-meth″әl-sel´u-lōs) a substituted cellulose polymer of variable size, used as the sodium or calcium salt as a pharmaceutical suspending agent, tablet excipient, and viscosity-increasing agent; the sodium salt is also used as a laxative.

carboxymyoglobin
(kahr-bok″se-mi″o-glo´bin) a compound formed from myoglobin on exposure to carbon monoxide.

carboxypeptidase
(kahr-bok″se-pep´tĭ-dās) an exopeptidase that acts only on the peptide linkage of a terminal amino acid that has a free carboxyl group.

carbuncle
(kahr´bәng-kәl) a necrotizing infection of skin and subcutaneous tissue composed of a cluster of boils, usually resulting from infection by Staphylococcus aureus; there are generally multiple drainage sinuses. Like boils, carbuncles are caused by pus-forming bacteria. The infecting organisms are often presen...

carbunculosis
(kahr-bung″ku-lo´sis) a condition marked by the formation of numerous carbuncles.

carcinoembryonic
(kahr″sĭ-no-em″bre-on´ik) occurring both in carcinoma and in embryonic tissue, such as carcinoembryonic antigen.

carcinoembryonic antigen
(CEA) an oncofetal glycoprotein antigen originally thought to be specific for adenocarcinoma of the colon, but now known to be found in many other cancers and some nonmalignant conditions. Its primary use is in monitoring the response of patients to cancer treatment.

carcinogen
(kahr-sin´ә-jen) a substance that causes cancer. The Environmental Protection Agency of the U.S. Government has three descriptors for classifying human carcinogenic potential: “known/likely,” “cannot be determined,” and “not likely.”

carcinogenesis
(kahr″sĭ-no-jen´ә-sis) production of cancer.

carcinogenic
(kahr″sin-o-jen´ik) pertaining to a carcinogen. causing cancer.

carcinogenicity
(kahr″sĭ-no-jә-nis´ĭ-te) the ability or tendency to produce cancer; see also carcinogen.

carcinoid
(kahr´sĭ-noid) a yellow circumscribed tumor of the gastrointestinal tract or bronchus formed from chromaffin cells. See also carcinoid syndrome. argentaffinoma.

carcinoid adenoma of bronchus
carcinoid tumor of bronchus a highly vascular tumor of the bronchus similar to carcinoid (argentaffinoma) of the gastrointestinal tract; it may be invasive and malignant. Called also bronchial carcinoid tumor.

carcinoid syndrome
a symptom complex associated with carcinoids (argentaffinomas), marked by attacks lasting from minutes to days of severe skin flushing, watery diarrhea, bronchial constriction, drops in blood pressure, edema, and ascites. The symptoms are caused by serotonin, prostaglandins, and other biologically active substances secreted by ...

carcinoid tumor
carcinoid (def. 1).

carcinolysis
(kahr″sĭ-nol´ә-sis) destruction of cancer cells. adj., carcinolyt´ic., adj.

carcinoma
(kahr″sĭ-no´mә) pl. carcinomas, carcino´mata a malignant new growth made up of epithelial cells tending to infiltrate surrounding tissues and to give rise to metastases. A form of cancer, carcinoma makes up the majority of the cases of malignancy of the breast, uterus, intestinal tract, skin, and tongue.

carcinoma en cuirasse
carcinoma of the skin manifest as areas of thickening and induration over large areas of the thorax, frequently as a result of metastasis from a primary breast lesion.

carcinoma ex mixed tumor
carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma a type of malignant pleomorphic adenoma usually occurring in the salivary glands of older adults; an epithelial malignancy arises in a preexisting mixed tumor.

carcinoma gigantocellulare
(kahr″sĭ-no´mә ji-gan″to-sel-u-lar´e) giant cell carcinoma.

carcinoma in situ
(kahr″sĭ-no´mә in se´too) (si´too) (sich´oo) a type whose tumor cells are confined to the epithelium of origin, without invasion of the basement membrane; the likelihood of subsequent invasive growth is presumed to be high.

carcinoma mucocellulare
(kahr″sĭ-no´mә mu″ko-sel-u-lar´e) Krukenberg tumor.

carcinoma of endometrium
endometrial carcinoma.

carcinoma ossificans
(kahr″sĭ-no´mә ә-sif´ĭ-kanz) osteoid carcinoma.

carcinoma simplex
(kahr″sĭ-no´mә sim´pleks) an undifferentiated carcinoma.

carcinoma villosum
(kahr″sĭ-no´mә vil-o´sәm) villous carcinoma.

carcinomatosis
(kahr″sĭ-no-mә-to´sis) the condition of widespread dissemination of cancer throughout the body.

carcinomatous
(kahr″sĭ-nom´ә-tәs) pertaining to or of the nature of cancer; malignant.

carcinomatous pericarditis
a type associated with malignancy of the pericardium.

carcinophobia
(kahr″sĭ-no-fo´be-ә) cancerphobia.

carcinosarcoma
(kahr″sĭ-no-sahr-ko´mә) a malignant tumor composed of carcinomatous and sarcomatous tissues. embryonal carcinosarcoma Wilms tumor.

card test
a type of laboratory test that uses nonmicroscopic techniques; tissue or fluid to be examined is placed on a plastic-coated card with a reagent and visible reactions such as color changes or agglutination are noted.

cardia
(kahr´de-ә) the cardiac opening. the cardiac part of the stomach; that part of the stomach surrounding the esophagogastric junction, distinguished by the presence of cardiac glands.

cardiac
(kahr´de-ak) pertaining to the heart. pertaining to the ostium cardiacum.

cardiac aneurysm
thinning and dilatation of part of the wall of the left ventricle, usually as a result of myocardial infarction; called also ventricular aneurysm.

cardiac arrest
sudden stoppage of effective heart action. Either the periodic impulses stop that should coordinate the heart muscle contractions, or ventricular fibrillation or flutter occurs. Ventricular fibrillation is the most common problem, usually along with severe coronary artery disease.

cardiac asthma
a term applied to breathing difficulties due to pulmonary edema in heart disease, such as left ventricular failure.

cardiac catheter
a long, fine catheter especially designed for passage into the chambers of the heart, usually through a peripheral blood vessel under fluoroscopic control. See also cardiac catheterization.

cardiac cirrhosis
a type that complicates heart disease, with recurrent intractable congestive heart failure. Called also cardiocirrhosis.

cardiac cycle
a complete cardiac movement, or heart beat, including systole, diastole, and the intervening pause.

cardiac decompression
d. of heart.

cardiac edema
a manifestation of congestive heart failure, due to increased venous and capillary pressures and often associated with renal sodium retention.

cardiac ganglia
ganglia of the superficial cardiac plexus under the arch of the aorta.

cardiac glands
mucous glands of the cardiac part (cardia) of the stomach.

cardiac hypertrophy
enlargement of myocardial cells and hyperplasia of nonmuscular cardiac components due to pressure and volume overload and sometimes to neurohumoral factors.

cardiac index
cardiac output corrected for body size.

cardiac infarction
myocardial infarction.

cardiac lung
chronic congestion of the lung due to mitral stenosis or left ventricular failure.

cardiac murmur
heart murmur.

cardiac muscle
the muscle of the heart, composed of striated but involuntary muscle fibers. It is the chief component of the myocardium and lines the walls of the adjoining large vessels.

cardiac pacemaker
a small mass of specialized muscle tissue in the heart that sets a rhythm of contraction and relaxation for the other parts of the heart, resulting in the heartbeat. Usually the pacemaker site is the sinoatrial node, near the junction with the superior vena cava. The normal rhythm, 60 to 100 contractions per minute, increases d...

cardiac pacing
regulation of cardiac rhythm (or the rate of contraction of the heart muscle) with electrical stimuli from a pulse generator or an artificial pacemaker.

cardiac plexus
the plexus around the base of the heart, chiefly in the epicardium, formed by cardiac branches from the vagus nerves and the sympathetic trunks and ganglia, and made up of sympathetic, parasympathetic, and visceral afferent fibers that innervate the heart.

cardiac polyp
a round thrombus or tumor attached by a pedicle to the inside of the heart.

cardiac respiratory reflex
an increase in heart rate caused by an increase in respiratory rate that reduces venous return.

cardiac resynchronization therapy
cardiac pacing in which a lead is used to deliver current directly to the left ventricle, in addition to those used to deliver current to the right atrium and ventricle, so that the ventricles can be induced to pump in synchrony. Called also bilateral pacing.

cardiac sphincter
a sphincter between the esophagus and the stomach, opening at the approach of food that can then be swept into the stomach by rhythmic peristaltic waves.

cardiac syncope
sudden fainting, either with or without warning, due to cerebral anemia caused by ventricular asystole, extreme bradycardia, or ventricular fibrillation.

cardiac syndrome X
a relatively benign syndrome of angina pectoris or anginalike chest pain associated with normal arteriographic appearance of the coronary arteries. Called also s. X.

cardiac valves
valves that control flow of blood through and from the heart, including the aortic, mitral, pulmonary, and tricuspid valves. Called also heart valves. Valves of the heart.

cardialgia
(kahr″de-al´jә) pain in the heart.

cardinal ligament
part of a thickening of the visceral pelvic fascia beside the cervix and vagina, passing laterally to merge with the upper fascia of the pelvic diaphragm.

cardinal points
principal points; points on the optic axis which include the nodal points, the principal foci, and the optic center; may include conjugate focal points of object and image. four points within the pelvic inlet: the two sacroiliac articulations and the two iliopectineal eminences.

cardinal signs
the five classic signs of inflammation: pain (dolor), heat (calor), redness (rubor), swelling (tumor), and loss of function (functio laesa).

cardinal symptoms
symptoms of greatest significance to the health care provider, establishing the identity of the illness. the symptoms shown in the temperature, pulse, and respiration.

cardinal veins
embryonic vessels that include the precardinal, postcardinal, and common cardinal veins.

Cardio-Green
(kahr´de-o-grēn″) trademark for a preparation of indocyanine green, a dye used as a diagnostic aid for determination of blood volume, cardiac output, and hepatic function.

cardioaccelerator
(kahr″de-o-ak-sel´әr-a-tәr) quickening the heart action; an agent that so acts.

cardioactive
(kahr″de-o-ak´tiv) having an effect on the heart.

cardioangiology
(kahr″de-o-an″je-ol´ә-je) the medical specialty dealing with the heart and blood vessels.

cardioarterial interval
the time between the apical beat and arterial pulsation.

Cardiobacterium
(kahr″de-o-bak-tēr´e-әm) a genus of gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria that are part of the normal flora of the nose and throat; C. ho´minis is a cause of endocarditis.

cardiocele
(kahr´de-o-sēl″) hernial protrusion of the heart through a fissure of the diaphragm or through a wound.

cardiocentesis
(kahr″de-o-sen-te´sis) surgical puncture or incision of the heart.

cardiochalasia
(kahr″de-o-kә-la´zhә) relaxation or incompetence of the sphincter action of the cardiac opening of the stomach.

cardiocirculatory
(kahr″de-o-sur´ku-lә-tor´e) pertaining to blood flow through the heart and cardiovascular system.

cardiocirrhosis
(kahr″de-o-sĭ-ro´sis) cardiac cirrhosis.

cardiodiaphragmatic angle
that formed by the junction of the shadows of the heart and diaphragm in posteroanterior radiographs of the heart.

cardiodynamics
(kahr″de-o-di-nam´iks) study of the forces involved in the heart's action.

cardioesophageal
(kahr″de-o-ә-sof″ә-je´әl) pertaining to the cardia of the stomach and the esophagus, as the cardioesophageal junction or sphincter.

cardiogenesis
(kahr″de-o-jen´ә-sis) development of the heart in the embryo.

cardiogenic
(kahr″de-o-jen´ik) originating in the heart.

cardiogenic shock
shock caused by conditions that interfere with the function of the heart as a pump, such as severe myocardial infarction, severe heart failure, severe cardiomyopathy, or mechanical obstruction or compression of the heart.; clinical characteristics are similar to those of hypovolemic shock.

cardiogram
(kahr´de-o-gram″) a tracing of a cardiac event produced by cardiography; see also electrocardiogram.

cardiograph
(kahr´de-o-graf″) an instrument for recording some element of the heart beat.

cardiography
(kahr″de-og´rә-fe) the graphic recording of a physical or functional aspect of the heart, such as in echocardiography, electrocardiography, kinetocardiography, phonocardiography, and vibrocardiography. ultrasonic cardiography echocardiography. vector cardiograph...