Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «O»:
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Omphalos
Omphalos: The omphalos (or omphalus) is also called the
umbilicus or navel. "Omphalos" is the Greek word for the navel. The
decorative boss protruding from the center of a Greek warrior's
shield was also called the omphalos, as was the knob at the center of
a yoke. The omphalos was the "center o...
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OMS
OMS: Abbreviation for the Organisation Mondiale de la Sante, the French name for the World Health Organization (WHO). See: World Health Organization....
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OMS (World Health Organization)
World Health Organization: An agency of the United Nations established in 1948 to further
international cooperation in improving health conditions. Although the World Health Organization
inherited specific tasks relating to epidemic control, quarantine measures, and drug standardization from the H...
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On call
On call: In medicine, the person who is ready to respond, the one on duty. As in "Who is the doctor on call this weekend?" or "This is the on call schedule."...
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Onchocerciasis
Onchocerciasis: River
blindness, a disease caused by a parasitic worm (Onchocerca volvulus) which is transmitted to persons by biting blackflies (buffalo gnats) that breed in fast-flowing rivers. The adult worms can live for up to 15 years in nodules beneath the skin and in the muscles
of infected...
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Oncogene
Oncogene: 1. A gene that played a normal role in the cell as a proto-oncogene and that has been altered by mutation and now may contribute to the growth of a tumor.
Some of the more important oncogenes include:
ras (a signal transduction molecule),
myc (a transcription factor),
src (a protein tyr...
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Oncogene ErbB
Oncogene ErbB: See: EGFR....
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Oncologist
Oncologist: A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
A clinical oncologist is usually trained in one of the three primary disciplines of oncology:
Medical oncology -- the treatment of cancer with medicine, including chemotherapy.
Surgical oncology -- the surgical as...
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Oncology
Oncology: The field of medicine devoted to cancer.
In clinical oncology, there are three primary disciplines:
Medical oncology -- the treatment of cancer with medicine, including chemotherapy.
Surgical oncology -- the surgical aspects of cancer including biopsy, staging and surgical resection of ...
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Ondine's curse
Ondine's curse: Failure from birth of central nervous system control over breathing while asleep. There are usually no breathing problems while awake. The involuntary (autonomic) control of respiration is impaired, but the voluntary control of ventilation which operates during waking hours is gener...
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Oneiric
Oneiric: Relating to dreams; dream-like.
From the Greek "oneiros" (dream). See oneirophrenia....
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Oneirophrenia
Oneirophrenia: An hallucinatory (dream-like) state caused by such conditions as prolonged deprivation of sleep, sensory isolation, or drugs. See oneiric....
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Oneself, fear of
Oneself, fear of: An irrational fear of oneself, an intense self-fear that is groundless. Fear of oneself is termed "autophobia" which comes from two Greek words: "autos" (self) and "phobos" (fear) = literally, self-fear, fear of oneself. "Autos" has given us many English words such as "automatic" a...
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Onset
Onset: In medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for example, the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. There is always an onset to a disease but never to the return to good health. The default setting is good health.
The onset of a disease helps define it and, often, nam...
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Onycho- (prefix)
Onycho-(prefix): Pertaining to the
nails. Examples of medical terms involving "onycho-" include
onychodystrophy (abnormal growth and development of the nails),
onychomycosis (fungal infection of the nails), onychogryposis (abnormally curved nails) and
onychoosteodysplasia (malformation of bones ...
