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

chromosome
(kro´mә-sōm) in eukaryotes, a structure in the cell nucleus that contains a linear thread of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) the transmitter of genetic information. During cell division the chromosomal material is compactly coiled, making it visible with appropriate staining and permitting its movement in the cel...

chromosome analysis
karyotyping.

chromosome map
one that shows the position of genetic loci on a chromosome, such as a gene map or cytogenetic map.

chromosome number
the number of chromosomes present in the somatic cells of an organism; the normal individual receives, at conception, one set of chromosomes (the haploid number, symbol n) from each of the gametes forming the zygote, thus acquiring the diploid number (2n). In humans, n equals 23.

chromosome painting
a form of fluorescence in situ hybridization in which a variety of different probes, tagged with any of several differently colored fluorochromes, are used simultaneously to uniquely mark individual chromosomes.

chromotherapy
(kro″mo-ther´ә-pe) color therapy.

chronaxie
(kro´nak-se) chronaxy (kro´nak-se) the minimum time at which an electric current must flow at a voltage twice the rheobase to cause a muscle to contract. In a strength-duration curve for muscle stimulation, it is the pulse width at a voltage twice that at the rheobase.

chronic
(kron´ik) persisting for a long time; applied to a morbid state, designating one showing little change or extremely slow progression over a long period.

chronic actinic dermatitis
(CAD) a long-term form of photosensitivity dermatitis with an eczematous reaction to sunlight; the etiology is unknown, but in some patients it may be a continuation of photoallergic contact dermatitis after the allergen has been removed.

chronic active hepatitis
a type seen as a sequel to hepatitis B or certain other types of hepatitis, in congenital or acquired hypogammaglobulinemia, or after administration of certain drugs. It is characterized by infiltration of portal areas by plasma cells and macrophages, necrosis from destruction of liver cells, and fibrosis. The course varies fro...

chronic calcifying pancreatitis
a form accompanying chronic hepatitis and precipitated by chronic alcohol abuse.

chronic cholecystitis
cholecystitis with relatively mild symptoms persisting over a long period.

chronic constrictive pericarditis
constrictive pericarditis a chronic form in which a fibrous, thickened, adherent pericardium restricts the action of the heart; this is usually the result of a series of events beginning with an acute episode in which fibrin and sometimes calcium are deposited on the pericardial surface, followed by scarring and thickening of th...

chronic cystic mastitis
fibrocystic disease of the breast.

chronic eosinophilic pneumonia
a chronic interstitial lung disease characterized by cough, dyspnea, malaise, fever, night sweats, weight loss, eosinophilia, and a chest film revealing nonsegmental, nonmigratory infiltrates in the lung periphery.

chronic fatigue syndrome
persistent debilitating fatigue of recent onset, with reduction of physical activity to less than half of usual, accompanied by some combination of muscle weakness, sore throat, mild fever, tender lymph nodes, headaches, and depression, with the symptoms not attributable to any other known causes. Its nature is controvers...

chronic fibrous pneumonia
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

chronic gastritis
gastritis that occurs repeatedly or continues over a period of time. Most patients are asymptomatic, but the condition may lead to hemorrhage and ulcer formation. Among its possible causes are Helicobacter pylori,vitamin deficiencies, abnormalities of the gastric juice, ulcers, hiatal hernia, excessive use of alcohol, or a comb...

chronic glaucoma
open-angle glaucoma.

chronic granulocytic leukemia
chronic leukemia of the myelogenous type, occurring mainly in adults, usually associated with a unique chromosomal abnormality. The major clinical manifestations of malaise, enlarged liver and spleen, anemia, and leukocytosis are related to unrestrained overgrowth of granulocytes in the bone marrow. Called also chronic myelocyt...

chronic granulomatous disease
chronic suppurative lymphadenitis, eczematoid dermatitis, enlargement of the liver and spleen, and chronic pulmonary disease associated with a genetically determined defect in the intracellular bactericidal function of leukocytes.

chronic inflammation
prolonged and persistent inflammation with new connective tissue formation; it may be a continuation of an acute form or a prolonged low-grade form.

chronic inflammatory arthritis
inflammation of joints in chronic disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis.

chronic kidney disease
(CKD) gradual loss of kidney function, with progressively more severe renal insufficiency; symptoms may include polyuria, anorexia or nausea, dehydration, and neurological symptoms. Stage 1 involves a minimally decreased glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Stage 2 has a GFR of 60 to 89. Stage 3 has a moderately decreased ...

chronic leg ulcer
ulceration of the skin of the lower leg caused by peripheral vascular disease of either arteries and arterioles or veins and venules of the affected limb. Arterial and venous ulcers are quite different and require different modes of treatment. See also venous ulcer.

chronic leukemia
any of various types in which the involved cell line is well-differentiated, usually B-lymphocytes, but immunologically incompetent.

chronic lichenoid pityriasis
a chronic, brown to red-brown, scaly, macular eruption, seen mainly on the trunk, with epidermal changes and a perivascular lymphocytic infiltrate. It may arise independently or happen as a progression of acute lichenoid pityriasis.

chronic lymphocytic leukemia
chronic leukemia of the lymphoblastic type, a common form mainly seen in the elderly; symptoms include lymphadenopathy, fatigue, renal involvement, and pulmonary leukemic infiltrates. Circulating malignant cells are usually differentiated B-lymphocytes; a minority of cases have mixed T and B lymphocytes or entirely T-lymphocyte...

chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis
a group comprising a number of varying forms of Candida infection, marked by chronic candidiasis of the skin and nails and the mucous membranes of the mouth and vagina that is resistant to treatment; it may be localized or diffuse, is sometimes familial, and may be associated with disorders of the immune and endocrine sys...

chronic myelocytic leukemia
chronic myelogenous leukemiachronic myeloid leukemia chronic granulocytic leukemia.

chronic myelomonocytic leukemia
a slowly progressing form of chronic leukemia that usually affects the elderly and sometimes progresses to acute myelomonocytic leukemia. Symptoms include splenomegaly, monocytosis with granulocytosis, and thrombocytopenia.

chronic obstructive airway disease
chronic obstructive lung disease(COLD) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

chronic obstructive pancreatitis
pancreatitis caused by dilatation of one of the major ducts proximal to an obstruction, usually from a tumor or scarring; scarring may be from earlier acute pancreatitis. Removal of the obstruction may improve pancreatic function.

chronic pancreatitis
pancreatitis with chronic abdominal pain, progressive fibrosis, and eventually irreversible loss of exocrine function (resulting in steatorrhea) and of endocrine function (resulting in diabetes mellitus). There may be recurrent attacks of acute pancreatitis.

chronic persistent hepatitis
a chronic, nonprogressive inflammatory process that usually affects the portal areas without producing fibrosis, necrosis, or cirrhosis. This is an uncommon sequel of one of the forms of viral hepatitis and may be asymptomatic or cause mild symptoms; it may persist for years.

chronic pharyngitis
pharyngitis with repeated acute episodes; the most common types are atrophic pharyngitis and hypertrophic pharyngitis.

chronic pigmented purpura
any of a group of benign dermatoses of unknown etiology, not associated with underlying systemic disease, consisting of minimal inflammation with cayenne pepper spots (red dots on the skin caused by tiny hemorrhages from nearby capillaries). There are several different types, of which the most common are annular telangiectatic ...

chronic pulmonary emphysema
pulmonary emphysema.

chronic relative polycythemia
stress polycythemia.

chronic urticaria
urticaria that either is continuous or develops over a period of six weeks or more; most cases are idiopathic.

chronobiologist
(kron″o-bi-ol´ә-jist) a specialist in chronobiology.

chronobiology
(kron″o-bi-ol´ә-je) the scientific study of the effect of time on living systems and of biological rhythms. adj., chronobiolog´ic, chronobiolog´ical., adj.

chronognosis
(kron″og-no´sis) perception of the lapse of time.

chronograph
(kron´o-graf) an instrument for recording small intervals of time.

chronologic age
the actual measure of time elapsed since a person's birth.

chronophobia
(kron″o-fo´be-ә) extreme, irrational fear of time; a common type is seen in prisoners with long sentences.

chronotropic
(kron″o-tro´pik) affecting the time or rate.

chronotropism
(kro-not´ro-piz-әm) interference with regularity of a periodical movement, such as the heart's action.

Chronulac
(kron´u-lak) trademark for a preparation of lactulose.

chrysiasis
(krĭ-si´ә-sis) deposition of gold particles in the tissues as a result of prolonged or excessive parenteral chrysotherapy, which commonly causes adverse reactions consisting primarily of dermatitis, stomatitis, or transient mild proteinuria; more serious toxicity involves the hematopoietic system, liver, kidn...

chrysoderma
(kris″o-dur´mә) a manifestation of chrysiasis presenting as a permanent gray- to lilac-colored pigmentation on the face, eyelids, and other sun-exposed areas of the body.

Chrysops
(kris´ops) a genus of small bloodsucking horse flies of warm regions, of the family Tabanidae. C. disca´lis is the deer fly, a host of tularemia in the western United States, and C. sila´cea is an intermediate host of Loa loa in Africa.

chrysotherapy
(kris″o-ther´ә-pe) treatment with gold salts, especially for rheumatoid arthritis; it is thought to work by affecting oxygen radicals or stabilizing lysosomes. The goals are to reverse, inhibit, or prevent damage to cartilage, bone, and other connective tissues. Use of this method has been declining as other...

Churg-Strauss syndrome
(cherg strous) a form of systemic necrotizing vasculitis in which there is prominent lung involvement with severe asthma, eosinophilia, and granulomatous reactions. If present, skin lesions consist of tender subcutaneous nodules and bruiselike spots. Called also allergic granulomatous angiitis.

Chvostek sign
(kvos´tәk) Chvostek-Weiss sign (kvos´tәk vīs´) a spasm of the facial muscles elicited by tapping the facial nerve in the region of the parotid gland; seen in tetany.

chylangioma
(ki-lan″je-o´mә) a tumor of intestinal lymph vessels filled with chyle.

chyle
(kīl) the milky fluid taken up by the lacteals from the intestine during digestion, consisting of lymph and triglyceride fat (chylomicrons) in a stable emulsion, and conveyed by the thoracic duct to empty into the venous system.

chylemia
(ki-le´me-ә) the presence of chyle in the blood.

chyliform
(ki´lĭ-form) resembling chyle.

chylomediastinum
(ki″lo-me″de-әs-ti´nәm) the presence of effused chyle in the mediastinum.

chylomicron
(ki″lo-mi´kron) a particle of the class of lipoproteins responsible for the transport of exogenous cholesterol and triglycerides from the small intestine to tissues after meals. Chylomicrons are spherical particles with a core of triglycerides surrounded by a layer of phospholipids, cholesterol, and apolipoprotein...

chylomicronemia
(ki″lo-mi″kro-ne´me-ә) an excess of chylomicrons in the blood.

chylomicronemia syndrome
familial hyperchylomicronemia.

chylopericardium
(ki″lo-per″ĭ-kahr´de-әm) the presence of effused chyle in the pericardium.

chyloperitoneum
(ki″lo-per″ĭ-to-ne´әm) the presence of effused chyle in the peritoneal cavity.

chylopneumothorax
(ki″lo-noo″mo-thor´aks) a pleural effusion containing effused chyle and air.

chylothorax
(ki″lo-thor´aks) a pleural effusion consisting of chyle or a chylelike fluid; it may be either congenital (such as in babies) or acquired from trauma or disease states. There are two types: chylous effusion, due to leakage of chyle from the thoracic duct, and chyliform or pseudochylous effusion, consisting of chyl...

chylous
(ki´lәs) pertaining, mingled with, or of the nature of chyle.

chyluria
(kīl-u´re-ә) the presence of chyle in the urine, giving it a milky appearance; this follows obstruction of lymph flow, which causes rupture of lymph vessels into the renal pelves, ureters, bladder, or urethra.

chyme
(kīm) the semifluid, homogeneous, creamy or gruel-like material produced by action of the gastric juice on ingested food in the stomach and discharged through the pylorus into the duodenum.

chymification
(ki″mĭ-fĭ-ka´shәn) digestion of food by the action of gastric juice, converting it to chyme.

chymopapain
(ki″mo-pә-pān´) a proteolytic enzyme from the tropical tree Carica papaya, used in chemonucleolysis of a herniated disk in the lumbar region.

chymotrypsinogen
(ki″mo-trip-sin´o-jәn) the inactive precursor of chymotrypsin, the form in which it is secreted by the pancreas.

Ci
curie.

cib.
ci´bus (food).

cicatrectomy
(sik″ә-trek´tә-me) surgical excision of a scar (cicatrix).

cicatricial
(sik″ә-trish´әl) pertaining to a cicatrix (scar).

cicatricial alopecia
irreversible loss of hair associated with scarring, usually on the scalp.

cicatricial horn
a hard, dry outgrowth from a scar, often scaly and occasionally osseous.

cicatricial kidney
a kidney that is shriveled and scarred due to pyelonephritis.

cicatricial scoliosis
scoliosis due to contraction from scarring after caries or necrosis.

cicatricial tissue
the dense fibrous tissue forming a scar (REF.MW TGID='1'>cicatrix), derived directly from granulation tissue; called also scar tissue.

cicatrix
(sĭ-ka´triks) (sik´ә-triks) pl. cica´trices Latin word meaning scar.

cicatrization
(sik″ә-trĭ-za´shәn) scarring; the formation of a cicatrix (scar).

ciclopirox
(si″klo-pēr´oks) a broad-spectrum antifungal agent with activity similar to that of the imidazoles, used topically as the olamine salt against skin infections.

cidofovir
(sĭ-dof´o-vir) an antiviral nucleoside analogue used in treatment of cytomegalovirus retinitis in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; administered by intravenous infusion.

CIDP
chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

ciguatera
(se″gwә-ta´rә) a form of fish poisoning, marked by gastrointestinal and neurologic symptoms due to ingestion of tropical or subtropical marine fish such as the barracuda, grouper, or snapper that have ciguatoxin in their tissues.

ciguatoxin
(se´gwә-tok″sin) a heat-stable toxin originating in a dinoflagellate as a pretoxin and and concentrating in active form in the tissues of certain marine fish, causing ciguatera in humans that eat the fish.

cilastatin
(si″lah-stat´in) an enzyme inhibitor used with imipenem to decrease the metabolism of imipenem in the kidneys and increase its concentration in the urine; administered as the sodium salt.

cilia
(sil´e-ә) sing. cil´ium the eyelids or their outer edge. the eyelashes. minute hairlike processes that extend from a cell surface, composed of nine pairs of microtubules around a core of two microtubules. They beat rhythmically to move the cell or to move fluid or mucus over the surface.

ciliaris muscle
ciliary muscle: origin,scleral spur; insertion, outer layers of choroid and ciliary processes; innervation, oculomotor, parasympathetic; action, affects shape of lens in visual accommodation.

ciliariscope
(sil″e-ar´ĭ-skōp) an instrument for examining the ciliary region of the eye.

ciliarotomy
(sil″e-ә-rot´ә-me) surgical division of the ciliary zone.

ciliary
(sil´e-ar″e) pertaining to or resembling cilia; used particularly in reference to certain eye structures, such as the ciliary body or ciliary muscle.

ciliary body
the thickened part of the vascular tunic of the eye, connecting choroid and iris, made up of the ciliary muscle and the ciliary processes. These processes radiate from the ciliary muscle and give attachment to ligaments supporting the lens of the eye.

ciliary disk
pars plana.

ciliary ganglion
a parasympathetic ganglion in the posterior part of the orbit.

ciliary glands
sweat glands that have become arrested in their development, found at the edges of the eyelids.

ciliary processes
meridionally arranged ridges or folds projecting from the crown of the ciliary body.