Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «C»:
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Cage, rib
Cage, rib: The structure formed by the thoracic vertebrae and ribs, the sternum (breastbone), and the costal cartilages (that attach the ribs to the sternum).
A cage is an enclosure made of "open work" that usually houses animals. The rib cage was thought to resemble an animal cage (although the lar...
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Cage, thoracic
Cage, thoracic: The structure formed by the thoracic vertebrae and ribs, the sternum (breastbone), and the costal cartilages (that attach the ribs to the sternum).
A cage is an enclosure made of "open work" that usually houses animals. The thoracic cage was thought to resemble an animal cage (althou...
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Cain, mark of
Cain, mark of: The mark that God set upon Cain, the eldest son of Adam. According to the Book of Genesis in the Bible, God rejected Cain's grain offering while accepting the animal offering of his brother Abel. Out of jealousy, Cain murdered his brother and was compelled by God to wander the earth a...
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Cal
Cal: See: Calorie....
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Cal (Calorie)
Calorie: A unit of food energy. In nutrition terms, the word calorie
is used instead of the more precise scientific term kilocalorie which represents
the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a liter of water one
degree centigrade at sea level. The common usage of the word calorie...
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Calabresi, Paul
Calabresi, Paul: Italian-born American oncologist who was a leader in developing and testing drugs to treat Hodgkin's lymphoma, breast cancer and prostate cancer, among other diseases. Calabresi was one of the first to advocate combination chemotherapy. He also had an innovative approach to identify...
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Calamine
Calamine: An astringent made from zinc carbonate
or zinc oxide, usually used in lotion form to treat skin
problems that cause itching or discomfort....
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Calcaneal spur
Calcaneal spur: A bony spur projecting from the back or
underside of the heel bone (the calcaneus) that often makes walking painful. A calcaneal spur is also called a heel spur.
Spurs at the back of the heel are associated with inflammation of
the Achilles tendon (Achilles tendinitis) and cause t...
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Calcaneocuboid joint
Calcaneocuboid joint: The
calcaneocuboid joint is located in the foot between the calcaneus bone (the
heel bone) and the cuboid bone (a bone shaped like a cube just in front of the
calcaneus).
The calcaneocuboid joint is a gliding type of joint.
The ligaments that serve to support and strengthen ...
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Calcaneus
Calcaneus: The calcaneus is the heel bone. It is also called the os calcis. The calcaneus is a more or less rectangular bone at the back of the foot.
The word "calcaneus" comes from the Latin calx meaning limestone. The heel bone looked like a lump of chalk (to someone). The word "calcium" also co...
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Calcific bursitis
Calcific bursitis: A bursa is a thin fluid-filled sac
that reduces friction forces between tissues of the body. Chronic (repeated of
long-standing) inflammation of the bursa (bursitis) can lead to calcification of the
bursa. This is referred to as "calcific bursitis." The calcium depositio...
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Calcification
Calcification: The process of building bone by
suffusing tissues with calcium salts. Also called
ossification....
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Calcification, nonarteriosclerotic cerebral
Calcification, nonarteriosclerotic cerebral: This condition described in 1930 by T. Fahr (and therefore called Fahr syndrome) is a genetic (inherited) neurological disorder characterized by abnormal deposits of calcium in certain of areas of the brain (including the basal ganglia and the cerebral c...
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Calcified granuloma
Calcified granuloma: A calcified granuloma is a
granuloma containing calcium deposits.
Since it usually takes some time for calcium to be deposited in a
granuloma, it is generally assumed that a calcified granuloma is an
old granuloma.
A granuloma is one of a number of forms of localized nodul...
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Calcimimetic
Calcimimetic: A drug in a class of orally active, small molecules that decrease the secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH) by activating calcium receptors. The secretion of PTH is normally regulated by the calcium-sensing receptor. Calcimimetic agents increase the sensitivity of this receptor to cal...
