English dictionary of medical terms (19)
Back to welcome
Go to the
previous part of the dictionary
- No:360 - comatose
-
pertaining to or affected with coma.
- No:361- combination
-
the result or product of combining; a series of events or result
occurring in an ordered sequence; the act or process of combining;
the act or process of uniting to form a chemical compound : the
chemical compound so formed.
- No:362 - comedo
-
a plug of keratin and sebum within the dilated orifice of a hair
follicle, frequently containing the bacteria Propionibacterium
acnes, Staphylococcus albus, and Pityrosporon ovale; called also
blackhead. See also acne.
- No:363 - commensal
-
(L. com- together + mensa table) 1. living on or within another
organism, and deriving benefit without injuring or benefiting the
other individual. 2. an organism living on or within another, but
not causing injury to the host.
- No:364 - commotion
-
(L. 'disturbance') a concussion; a violent shaking, or the shock
which results from it.
- No:365 - compatible
-
1. capable of harmonious coexistence; of medications, suitable for
simultaneous administration without nullification or aggravation of
the effects of either. 2. denoting a donor and recipient of a
blood transfusion in which there is no transfusion reaction. 3.
histocompatible; denoting a donor and recipient of an organ
transplant that is not rejected.
- No:366 - compensation
-
(L. compensatio, from cum together + pensare to weigh) the
counterbalancing of any defect of structure or function. In
psychology, a conscious process or, more frequently, an unconscious
defense mechanism by which a person attempts to make up for real or
imagined physical or psychological deficiencies. In cardiology,
the maintenance of an adequate blood flow without distressing
symptoms, accomplished by such cardiac and circulatory adjustments
as tachycardia, cardiac hypertrophy, and increase of blood volume
by sodium and water retention.
- No:367 - competitive
-
relating to, characterized by, arising from or designated to
exhibit rivalry among two individuals or forces.
- No:368 - complement
-
a term originally used to refer to the heat-labile factor in serum
that causes immune cytolysis, the lysis of antibody-coated cells,
and now referring to the entire functionally related system
comprising at least 20 distinct serum proteins that is the effector
not only of immune cytolysis but also of other biologic functions.
Complement activation occurs by two different sequences, the
classic and alternative pathways. The proteins of the classic
pathway are termed 'components of complement' and are designated by
the symbols C1 through C9. C1 is a calcium-dependent complex of
three distinct proteins C1q, C1r and C1s. The proteins of the
alternative pathway (collectively referred to as the properdin
system) and complement regulatory proteins are known by
semisystematic or trivial names. Fragments resulting from
proteolytic cleavage of complement proteins are designated with
lower-case letter suffixes, e.g., C3a. Inactivated fragments may
be designated with the suffix 'i', e.g. C3bi. Activated components
or complexes with biological activity are designated by a bar over
the symbol e.g. C1 or C4b,2a. The classic pathway is activated by
the binding of C1 to classic pathway activators, primarily antigen-antibody complexes containing IgM, IgG1, IgG3; C1q binds to a
single IgM molecule or two adjacent IgG molecules. The alternative
pathway can be activated by IgA immune complexes and also by
nonimmunologic materials including bacterial endotoxins, microbial
polysaccharides, and cell walls. Activation of the classic pathway
triggers an enzymatic cascade involving C1, C4, C2 and C3;
activation of the alternative pathway triggers a cascade involving
C3 and factors B, D and P. Both result in the cleavage of C5 and
the formation of the membrane attack complex. Complement
activation also results in the formation of many biologically
active complement fragments that act as anaphylatoxins, opsonins,
or chemotactic factors.
- No:369 - complementary
-
(L. complere to fill) supplying a defect, or helping to do so;
making complete; accessory.
- No:370 - complex
-
(L. complexus woven together, encompassing) complicated, not
simple.
- No:371 - complication
-
(L. complicatio from cum together + plicare to fold) 1. a disease
or diseases concurrent with another disease. 2. the concurrence of
two or more diseases in the same patient.
- No:372 - component
-
a constituent element or part; specifically in neurology, a series
of neurons forming a functional system for conducting the afferent
and efferent impulses in the somatic and splanchnic mechanisms of
the body.
- No:373 - concentration
-
(L. concentratio) 1. increase in strength by evaporation. 2. the
ratio of the mass or volume of a solute to the mass or volume of
the solution or solvent.
- No:374 - conception
-
(L. conceptio) the onset of pregnancy, marked by implantation of
the blastocyst; the formation of a viable zygote.
- No:375 - concomitant
-
(L. concomitans from cum together + comes companion) accompanying;
accessory; joined with another.
- No:376 - concrete
- (L. concretus) solid, tangible.
- No:377 - condition
-
a mode or state of being; the state of being fit : the physical
status of the body as a whole, or of one of its parts - usually
used to indicate abnormality.
- No:378 - conduction
-
(L. conductio) the transfer of sound waves, heat, nervous impulses,
or electricity.
- No:379 - condyloma
-
(Gr. kondyloma, knuckle or knob) c. acuminatum; a papilloma with a
central core of connective tissue in a treelike structure covered
with epithelium, usually occurring on the mucous membrane or skin
of the external genitals or in the perianal region.
Go to
the next part of the dictionary