Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «D»:
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Desmoplastic reaction
Desmoplastic reaction: This term refers to the growth of fibrous or connective tissue. Some tumors elicit a desmoplastic reaction, the pervasive growth of dense fibrous tissue around the tumor. Scar tissue (adhesion) within the abdomen after abdominal surgery is another type of desmoplastic reaction...
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Desquamate
Desquamate: To shed the outer
layers of the skin. Although it may sound somewhat fishy,
the word "desquamate" comes from the Latin "desquamare"
meaning "to scrape the scales off a fish." ...
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Desquamation
Desquamation: The shedding of the
outer layers of the skin. For example, once the rash of
measles fades, there is desquamation. The word comes from
the Latin "desquamare" meaning "to scrape the scales off a
fish." ...
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Detox
Detox: Short for detoxification, usually from an addictive drug such as alcohol or heroin. A detox center is designed to promote the recovery of a person from an addiction....
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Detoxify
Detoxify: To reduce or eliminate the toxicity of a substance or poison. To promote the recovery of a person from an addictive drug such as alcohol or heroin....
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Deuteranomaly
Deuteranomaly: Colorblindness of the red-green type, also known as deuteranopia or Daltonism.
The term "Daltonism" is derived from the name of the chemist and physicist, John Dalton (1766-1844). Dalton was born in a village in Cumberland, England where his father, Joseph, was a weaver in poor circ...
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Deuteranopia
Deuteranopia: Colorblindness of the red-green type, also known as deuteranomaly or Daltonism.
The term "Daltonism" is derived from the name of the chemist and physicist, John Dalton (1766-1844). Dalton was born in a village in Cumberland, England where his father, Joseph, was a weaver in poor circ...
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Deuterium
Deuterium: A non-radioactive isotope of hydrogen that contains a neutron in its nucleus in addition to the one proton normally seen in hydrogen. A deuterium atom is twice as heavy as normal hydrogen....
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Development
Development: The process of growth and differentiation. ...
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Development, Human, . . . (NICHD)
Development, Human, National Institute of Child Health and (NICHD): One of the US National Institutes of Health, NICHD is in a sense the NIH for kids in that it is concerned with
child health.
The mission of the NICHD is, in formal terms, to support and conduct "research on fertility, pregnancy...
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Developmental delay
Developmental delay: Behind schedule in reaching milestones of
early childhood development. ...
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Developmental dislocation of the hip (DDH)
Developmental dislocation of the hip (DDH): The abnormal formation of the hip joint in which the ball at the top of the thighbone (the femoral head) is not stable within the socket (the acetabulum). The ligaments of the hip joint may also be loose and stretched.
The degree of instability or loosen...
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Developmental disorder
Developmental disorder: One of several disorders
that interrupt normal development in childhood. They may
affect a single area of development (specific developmental
disorders) or several (pervasive developmental disorders).
With early intervention, most specific developmental
disorders can be ...
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Developmental disorder, specific
Developmental disorder, specific: A
disorder that selectively affects one area of development, sparing essentially all other areas of development.
For example, dysgraphia is one type of specific developmental disorder. In dysgraphia there is inability to write legibly. Problems in dysgraphia may...
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Developmental dyspraxia
Developmental dyspraxia: A pattern of delayed,
uneven, or aberrant development of physical abilities during childhood development. The physical abilities affected may be gross or fine motor skills. Developmental dyspraxia may be seen
alone or in combination with other developmental problems,
part...