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

CHAMPUS
Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services.

Chance fracture
horizontal splitting of the neural arch and body of a vertebra, usually in the lumbar region, caused by a flexion-distraction force; called also seat belt fracture.

chancre
(shang´kәr) the primary lesion of syphilis, occurring at the site of entry of the infection. the term has been extended to apply to a papular lesion occurring at the site of entry of infection in other conditions, including cutaneous tuberculosis, tularemia, or sporotrichosis. adj., chan´crous., adj...

chancroid
(shang´kroid) a soft nonsyphilitic venereal sore caused by Haemophilus ducreyi. As in syphilis, the first symptom of this disease may be the appearance of a sore, but in this case the sore is soft, as opposed to the hard chancre of syphilis. Three to five days after exposure, one or more small soft sores appear on or ne...

chancroid ulcer
chancroid.

change
(chānj) conversion of something to a different form. fatty change abnormal accumulation of fat within parenchymal cells; the term encompasses the older concepts of fatty degeneration and fatty infiltration. reciprocal changes the changes seen in leads ...

channel
(chan´әl) a passage, cut, or groove through which something can pass or flow across a solid structure.

channel protein
a cell membrane protein containing a transmembrane pore through which ions and small molecules can diffuse; it is most commonly composed of several subunits surrounding the pore. See channel, def. 2.

chaotic atrial tachycardia
an ectopic atrial tachycardia due to multifocal activity, characterized by at least three different shapes of P waves on the electrocardiogram; often associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

character
(kar´ak-tәr) a quality or attribute indicative of the nature of an object or organism. in genetics, the expression in the phenotype of a gene or group of genes. See also entries under gene, trait, and inheritance. in psychiatry, a term used, especially in the psychoanalytic literature, in muc...

character disorders
personality disorders.

characteristic
(kar″ak-tәr-is´tik) character. typical of an individual or other entity. demand characteristics cues regarding the purpose of the study or the behavior expected that an experimental subject perceives and responds to.

charcoal
(chahr´kōl) carbon prepared by charring wood or other organic material. activated charcoal the residue of destructive distillation of various organic materials, treated to increase its adsorptive power; used as a general purpose antidote.

Charcot disease
(shahr-ko´) neuropathic arthropathy.

Charcot fever
Charcot intermittent fever intermittent hepatic fever.

Charcot sign
the raising of the eyebrow in peripheral facial paralysis, and the lowering of the same part in facial contraction.

Charcot syndrome
(shahr-ko´) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. intermittent claudication.

Charcot-Marie atrophy
Charcot-Marie syndrome (shahr-ko´ mah-re´) Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
(shahr-ko´ mah-re´ tldbomacth´) hereditary muscular atrophy beginning in the muscles supplied by the peroneal nerves, progressing slowly to involve the muscles of the hands and arms. Called also progressive neuromuscular atrophy.

Charcot-Weiss-Baker syndrome
(shahr-ko´ wīs´ ba´kәr) carotid sinus syndrome.

CHARGE association
CHARGE syndrome a syndrome of associated defects, including coloboma of the eye, heart anomaly, choanal atresia, retardation, and genital and ear anomalies. Facial palsy, cleft palate, and dysphagia are often present, and familial transmission has been postulated.

Charles operation
treatment of elephantiasis and other types of massive lymphedema of the lower limb by excision of subcutaneous tissue followed by skin grafting.

Charles' law
(shahrlz) at a constant pressure the volume of a given mass of perfect gas varies directly with the absolute temperature.

charley horse
(chahr´le hors) popular term for soreness and stiffness in a muscle, especially the quadriceps femoris muscles, due to overstrain or contusion.

Charlin syndrome
(chahr´lēn) pain, iritis, corneitis, rhinorrhea, and tenderness along the nose as a result of neuralgia of the nasociliary nerve. Called also nasociliary neuralgia.

Charnley prosthesis
an implant for hip arthroplasty consisting of an acetabular cup and a relatively small femoral head component that form a low-friction joint.

chart
(chahrt) a record of data in graphic or tabular form.

Chase-Sulzberger phenomenon
Sulzberger-Chase phenomenon.

CHD
coronary heart disease.

Chédiak-Higashi syndrome
(cha´de-ak he-gah´she) a lethal, progressive, autosomal recessive, systemic disorder associated with oculocutaneous albinism, massive leukocyte inclusions (giant lysosomes), histiocytic infiltration of multiple body organs, development of pancytopenia, enlargement of the liver and spleen, recurrent or persistent bacterial inf...

cheek
(chēk) the fleshy portion of either side of the face. Called also bucca and mala. any fleshy protuberance resembling the cheek of the face. cleft cheek facial cleft caused by developmental failure of union between the maxillary and frontonasal prominences.

cheek bone
zygomatic bone.

cheese handler's disease
cheese washer's diseasecheese handler's lung hypersensitivity pneumonitis in workers who wash the mold from cheeses during the aging process, caused by inhalation of spores of Penicillium from moldy cheese casings.

cheesy necrosis
caseation (def. 2).

cheesy pneumonia
caseous pneumonia.

cheilectropion
(ki″lek-tro´pe-on) eversion of the lip.

cheilitis
(ki-li´tis) inflammation of the lips. actinic cheilitis involvement of the lips after exposure to actinic rays, with pain and swelling and development of a scaly crust on the vermilion border; it may be acute or chronic. Called also solar cheilitis. angular cheilit...

cheilognathopalatoschisis
(ki″lo-na″tho-pal″ә-tos´kĭ-sis) a facial cleft that includes cleft lip, cleft jaw, and cleft palate.

cheiloplasty
(ki´lo-plas″te) plastic surgery of the lip.

cheilorrhaphy
(ki-lor´ә-fe) suture of the lip; as in surgical repair of a congenital cleft lip.

cheilosis
(ki-lo´sis) fissuring and dry scaling of the vermilion surface of the lips and angles of the mouth, a characteristic of riboflavin deficiency.

cheilotomy
(ki-lot´ә-me) incision of the lip.

cheiralgia
(ki-ral´jә) pain in the hand.

cheirarthritis
(ki″rahr-thri´tis) inflammation of the joints of the hand and fingers.

cheirokinesthesia
(ki″ro-kin″es-the´zhә) subjective perception of movements of the hand, especially in writing.

cheiropodalgia
(ki″ro-po-dal´jә) pain in the hands and feet.

cheiropompholyx
(ki″ro-pom´fo-liks) pompholyx.

cheirospasm
(ki´ro-spaz″әm) spasm of the muscles of the hand.

chelate
(ke´lāt) to combine with a metal in complexes in which the metal is part of a ring. by extension, a chemical compound in which a metallic ion is sequestered and firmly bound into a ring within the chelating molecule. Chelates are used in chemotherapy of metal poisoning.

chelating agent
a compound that combines with metal ions to form stable ring structures. a substance used to reduce the concentration of free metal ion in solution by complexing it. a medication used to remove toxic metals from the body.

chelation
(ke-la´shәn) combination with a metal in complexes in which the metal is part of a ring. See also chelate.

chelation therapy
the use of a chelating agent to remove toxic metals from the body, used in the treatment of heavy metal poisoning. In complementary medicine, also used for the treatment of atherosclerosis and other disorders.

cheloid
(ke´loid) keloid.

chemabrasion
(kēm″ә-bra´zhәn) superficial destruction of the epidermis and the upper layer of the dermis by application of a cauterant to the skin; done to remove marks and lesions such as scars or tattoos. Called also chemical peel.

chemexfoliation
(kēm″eks-fo″le-a´shәn) chemabrasion.

chemical
(kem´ĭ-kәl) pertaining to chemistry. a substance composed of chemical elements, or obtained by chemical processes.

chemical ablation
destruction of tissue by injection of small amounts of alcohol or phenol; used in the treatment of tachyarrhythmias and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and for the destruction of tumor cells in the treatment of cancer.

chemical burn
irritant dermatitis caused by a caustic substance, such as an acid, disinfectant, or alkali.

chemical contraceptive
a spermicidal agent inserted into the vagina before intercourse to prevent pregnancy.

chemical dependence
drug dependence.

chemical dermatitis
contact dermatitis caused by a chemical on the skin.

chemical element
element (def. 2).

chemical formula
a combination of symbols used to express the chemical components of a substance.

chemical peritonitis
peritonitis due to chemical irritation such as from peritoneal dialysis or from bile leaking out of the intestine.

chemiluminescence
(kem″ĭ-loo″mĭ-nes´әns) luminescence produced by direct transformation of chemical energy into light energy.

chemiluminescence test
a sensitive test of neutrophil microbicidal function that involves detection of the chemiluminescent energy emitted by unstable and highly reactive oxygen metabolites, e.g., singlet oxygen, produced during the respiratory burst following phagocytosis. It is able to detect heterozygous carriers of chronic granulomatous dis...

chemist
(kem´ist) an expert in chemistry. (British)pharmacist.

chemistry
(kem´is-tre) the science that treats of the elements and atomic relations of matter, and of the various compounds of the elements. colloid chemistry chemistry dealing with the nature and composition of colloids. inorganic chemistry the branch of chemistry d...

chemo-organotroph
(ke″mo-or´gә-no-trōf″) a chemo-organotrophic organism.

chemo-organotrophic
(ke″mo-or″gә-no-tro´fik) deriving energy from the oxidation of organic compounds; said of bacteria.

chemoattractant
(ke″mo-ә-trak´tәnt) a substance that induces positive chemotaxis.

chemoautotroph
(ke″mo-aw´to-trōf) a chemoautotrophic organism.

chemoautotrophic
(ke″mo-aw″to-tro´fik) capable of synthesizing cell constituents from carbon dioxide by means of energy derived from inorganic reactions.

chemocautery
(ke″mo-kaw´tәr-e) cauterization by application of a caustic substance.

chemodectoma
(ke″mo-dek-to´mә) any benign, chromaffin-negative tumor of the chemoreceptor system, such as a tumor of the carotid, para-aortic, or tympanic bodies.

chemoendocrine
(ke″mo-en´do-krin) chemohormonal.

chemoheterotroph
(ke″mo-het´әr-o-trōf″) a chemoheterotrophic organism.

chemoheterotrophic
(ke″mo-het″әr-o-tro´fik) heterotrophic; requiring preformed organic compounds as a source of carbon and oxidizing organic compounds as a source of energy.

chemohormonal
(ke″mo-hor-mo´nәl) pertaining to drugs that have hormonal activity; called also chemoendocrine.

chemokinesis
(ke″mo-kĭ-ne´sis) increased nondirectional activity of cells due to presence of a chemical substance, as opposed to the oriented movement of chemotaxis.

chemolithotroph
(ke″mo-lith´o-trōf) a chemolithotrophic organism.

chemolithotrophic
(ke″mo-lith″o-tro´fik) deriving energy from the oxidation of reduced inorganic compounds such as ferrous iron, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, or hydrogen; said of bacteria.

chemolysis
(ke-mol´ĭ-sis) chemical decomposition. adj., chemolyt´ic., adj.

chemonucleolysis
(ke″mo-noo″kle-ol´ә-sis) dissolution of a portion of the nucleus pulposus of an intervertebral disk by injection of a chemolytic agent such as chymopapain; done for treatment of a herniated disk.

chemopallidectomy
(ke″mo-pal″ĭ-dek´tә-me) destruction of tissue of the globus pallidus by a chemical agent.

chemoprophylaxis
(ke″mo-pro″fә-lak´sis) prevention of disease by chemical means.

chemoprotectant
(ke″mo-pro-tek´tәnt) providing protection against the toxic effects of chemotherapy agents. an agent that so acts.

chemoradiotherapy
(ke″mo-ra″de-o-ther´ә-pe) combined modality therapy using chemotherapy and radiotherapy, designed to reduce the need for surgery by maximizing the interaction between the radiation and the therapeutic agent or agents.

chemoreceptor
(ke″mo-re-sep´tәr) any of the special cells or organs adapted for excitation by chemical substances and located outside the central nervous system. The carotid and aortic bodies are chemoreceptors in the large arteries of the thorax and the neck; they are responsive to changes in the oxygen, carbon dio...

chemoreceptor system
the system of body structures, principally the carotid, para-aortic, and tympanic bodies, that respond to variations in oxygen and carbon dioxide tension of the blood and may play a role in regulation of respiration.

chemorepellent
(ke″mo-re-pel´әnt) a substance that induces negative chemotaxis.

chemosensitive
(ke″mo-sen´sĭ-tiv) sensitive to changes in chemical composition.

chemosensory
(ke″mo-sen´sәr-e) relating to the perception of chemical substances, as in odor detection.

chemosis
(ke-mo´sis) edema of the conjunctiva of the eye.

chemosurgery
(ke″mo-sur´jәr-e) the removal of diseased tissue after first chemically treating it.

chemosynthesis
(ke″mo-sin´thә-sis) the building up of chemical compounds under the influence of chemical stimulation, specifically the formation of carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water as a result of energy derived from chemical reactions. adj., chemosynthet´ic., adj.

chemotactic factor
a substance that induces chemotaxis. Called also chemoattractant and chemotaxin.

chemotaxin
(ke″mo-tak´sin) a substance (such as a complement component) that induces chemotaxis.

chemotaxis
(ke″mo-tak´sis) movement of a cell or organism in response to differences in concentration of a dissolved substance, either in the direction of increasing concentration (positive) or in the direction of decreasing concentration (negative). adj., chemotac´tic., adj. leukocyte chemotaxi...

chemotherapy
(ke″mo-ther´ә-pe) the treatment of illness by chemical means (medication); the term was first applied to the treatment of infectious diseases, but it now is used primarily to refer to treatment of mental illness and cancer. adj., chemotherapeu´tic., adj.