A-H 3

Crepitus

A grating sound or sensation typically produced by friction between bone-on-cartilage or bone-on-bone contact.

Cross-allergenicity

Sensitivity to one drug with activity to a different drug with a similar chemical structure.

Crypt abscess

Neutrophilic infiltration of the intestinal glands (crypts of Lieberkühn); a characteristic finding in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Cutis laxa

Hypereflacidity of the skin with loss of elasticity.

Cyanosis

A dark blue or purple discoloration of the skin and mucous membranes due to deficient oxygenation of the blood.

Cyclooxygenase

An enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins, consists of two isoforms, COX-1 and COX-2.

Cystitis

Inflammation of the urinary bladder.

Cystocele

Herniation of the urinary bladder into the vagina.Herniation is abnormal protrusion of an organ through a defect or natural opening.

Cytokines

Regulatory proteins, such as interleukins and lymphokines, are released by cells of the immune system and act as intercellular mediators in the generation of an immune response. Soluble glycoproteins released by the immune system which act through specific receptors to regulate immune responses.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease

This is the term used when patients who are already infected with CMV present with the classically associated symptoms that resemble a viral infection and may include fever, malaise, arthralgias, and others.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection

This is the term used when a patient has anti-CMV antibodies in the blood, when CMV antigens are detected in infected cells, or when the virus is isolated from a culture.

Debridement

Removal of necrotic tissue to promote wound healing.

Delayed peak response

The effects of medication take longer than expected to initiate.

Delirium

Transient brain syndrome presenting as disordered attention, cognition, psychomotor behavior, and perception.

Desensitization

The process of giving a medication in a controlled and gradual manner, which allows the person to tolerate it temporarily without an allergic reaction

Dematiaceous

Darkly pigmented colored spores or fungal hyphae.

Dennie-Morgan line

A line or fold below the lower eyelids; associated with atopy.

Dermatophyte

Any microscopic fungus that grows on the skin, scalp, and nails.

Delirium tremens (DTs)

Symptom of alcohol withdrawal characterized by hallucinations, delirium, severe agitation, fever, elevations of blood pressure and heart rate, and possible cardiac arrhythmias.

Desquamation

Peeling or shedding of the epidermis in scales or flakes.

Diabetes insipidus

An uncommon disorder that occurs when the kidneys pass an abnormally large volume of urine (3–20 quarts/day of urine versus the typical 1–2 quarts/day) that is dilute and odorless (“insipid”). Unrelated to diabetes mellitus, although both conditions cause frequent urination and constant thirst. Individuals with diabetes insipidus have normal blood glucose levels; however, their kidneys cannot balance fluid in the body.

Diabetic ketoacidosis

A reversible but life-threatening shortterm complication primarily seen in patients with type 1 diabetes caused by the relative or absolute lack of insulin that results in marked ketosis and acidosis.

Dialysate

The physiologic solution used during dialysis to remove excess fluids and waste products from the blood..

Dialysis

The process of removing fluid and waste products from the blood across a semi-permeable membrane to maintain fluid, electrolyte, and acid–base balance in patients with kidney failure.

Diaphoresis

Profuse sweating generally as a disease symptom or ADR

Diarthrodial joint

A freely moveable joint (eg, knee, shoulder). Contrast with amphiarthrodial joint (a slightly movable joint; eg, vertebral joint) and synarthrodial joint (an unmovable joint; eg, fibrous joint).

Dilated cardiomyopathy

Condition where the heart's ability to pump blood is decreased due to enlarged and weakenedleft ventricle.

Diphasic dyskinesia

The motor fluctuations occur while the plasma levodopa concentrations are rising and when they are falling. In each dosing interval the patient may experience improvement, dyskinesia, and improvement (IDI) or dyskinesia, improvement, dyskinesia (DID).

Direct current cardioversion

The process of administering a synchronized electrical shock to the chest, the purpose of which is to simultaneously depolarize all of the myocardial cells, resulting in restoration of normal sinus rhythm.

Directly observed treatment

Method of increasing medication adherence by observing patients taking medication.

Disease-free survival

Period of time from the end of treatment that the patient survives without signs and symptoms of disease

Disease progression

In cancer, at least a 20% increase in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions from baseline, including new lesions discovered during treatment.

Disseminated erythrosquamous papules

Widespread red, scaly psoriatic lesions.

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)

A thrombotic and hemorrhagic disorder marked by uncontrolled systemic coagulation resulting in thrombosis, which may lead to generalized bleeding due to the depletion of clotting factors and increased fibrinolysis.

DNA mismatch repair (dMMR) genes

Genes that control an intrinsic intracellular mechanism which corrects nucleotide insertion errors made during DNA replication, by excising the mismatched base pairs that escaped correction by the proofreading activities of DNA polymerases and replacing the mismatched bases with the correct ones.

Door-to-needle time

Time from hospital arrival to medication administration.

Dose density

Total drug amount given in a fixed time unit, usually one week/thus is a function of dose and frequency of administration.

D-test

Double disk diffusion microbiological testing which indicates the presence or absence of macrolide-induced resistance to clindamycin.

Ductus arteriosus

Shunt connecting the pulmonary artery to the aortic arch that allows blood from the right ventricle to bypass fetal lungs.

Duodenal enterocyte

Cells lining the duodenum, first part of the three ports ofsmall intestine.

Dysarthria

Speech disorder due to weakness or incoordination of speech muscles.speech is slow, weak, and imprecise.

Dysentery

A number of disorders marked by inflammation of the intestines, especially of the colon, and attended by pain in the abdomen, tenesmus, and frequently stools containing blood and mucus..

Dysesthesia

An unpleasant abnormal sensation.

Dyskinesia

Abnormal involuntary movements.dystonia, chorea, and akathisia).

Dyslipidemia

Elevation of the total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglyceride concentrations, or a decrease in high density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration in the blood

Dysmenorrhea

Crampy pelvic pain occurring with or just prior to menses. “Primary” dysmenorrhea implies pain in the setting of normal pelvic anatomy, while “secondary” dysmenorrhea is secondary to underlying pelvic pathology.

Dyspareunia

Pain during or after sexual intercourse.

Dyspepsia

Upper abdominal symptoms that may include pain or discomfort, bloating, feeling of fullness despite little food intake, unusual fullness after meals, nausea, loss of appetite, heartburn, regurgitation of food or acid, and belching

Dysphagia

Painful or difficult swallowing, accompanied by a sensation of food being stuck in passage.

Dysphonia

Impairment of the voice or difficulty speaking.

Dyspnea

Difficult or labored breathing.

Dystonia

Slow twisting movements often associated with muscle contractions.

Ebstein anomaly

Congenital heart defect in which the opening of the tricuspid valve is displaced towards the apex of the right ventricle.

Eburnation

Condition where bone or cartilage becomes hardened and denser

Ecchymosis

Passage of blood from ruptured blood vessels into subcutaneous tissue causing purple discoloration of the skin.

Eclampsia

Seizures associated with high blood pressure.

Ectopic pregnancy

Fertilized ovum located outside the uterine cavity.

Effector cells

Active cells responding to initiation of the immune response.

Ejection fraction

The fraction of the volume present at the end of diastole that is pushed into the aorta during systole.

Electroconvulsive therapy

Administration of electric current to the brain through electrodes placed on the head to induce seizure activity in the brain; used in the treatment of certain mental disorders.

Electroencephalography

Recording of brain waves via scalp or cortexelectrodes.

Embolism

The sudden blockage of a vessel caused by a blood clot or foreign material which has been brought to the site by the flow of blood.

Embolization

Process where a blood clot dislodges and blocks a distant vessel.

Empiric

A strategy or treatment administered without definitive evidence of the cause, ie, often at the onset of symptoms or radiological findings.

Endometritis

Inflammation of the endometrium.

Endophthalmitis

Inflammation of intraocular fluid (vitreous and aqueous), usually due to infection.

Endoscopy

Visual inspection of the inside of hollow organs with an endoscope, mainly for diagnostic purposes; refers to procedures such as gastroscopy, duodenoscopy, colonoscopy, and sigmoidoscopy.

Endothelial cell

A single layer of cells surrounding the lumen of arteries.

Endovascular

Procedures involving insertion of a catheter containing medications or instruments into a blood vessel for the treatment of vascular disease

End-stage liver disease

Liver failure that is usually accompanied by complications such as ascites or hepatic encephalopathy

Enthesitis

Inflammation of the sites where tendons, ligaments, or fascia attach to bone.

Enuresis

Involuntary discharge of urine.

Eosinophilic asthma

Sub-phenotype of asthma with elevated tissue and sputum eosinophils, thickening of the basement membrane zone, and corticosteroid responsiveness. Criteria that have been used for medications to treat eosinophilic asthma include blood eosinophil count ≥ 150 cells/µL (0.150 × 109/L) or > 300 cells/µL (0.3 × 109/L) (400 cells/µL [0.4 × 109/L] for reslizumab) in the past year, sputum eosinophil count ≥ 3% (0.03), and exhaled nitric oxide concentration ≥ 50 ppb.

Epilepsy

A neurological disorder characterized by recurring motor, sensory, or psychic malfunction with or without loss of consciousness or convulsive seizures.

Epistaxis

Nasal hemorrhage with blood drainage through the nostrils; a nosebleed.

Erosive esophagitis

A severe form of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in which the mucous membrane lining the esophagus is inflamed with areas of erosion resulting from abnormal reflux of gastric acid.

Erythema nodosum

Inflammation of the fat cells under the skin resulting in termer red nodules or lumps..

Erythematous

Flushing of the skin caused by dilation of capillaries. Erythema is often a sign of inflammation and infection.

Erythrodermic psoriasis

Generalized erythema covering nearly the entire body surface area. Fever and malaise are common and, while quite rare, can be severe and even fatal; it is usually associated with a worsening of other forms of psoriasis.

Erythropoiesis stimulating agents

Agents developed by recombinant DNA technology that have the same biological activity as endogenous erythropoietin to stimulate erythropoiesis (red blood cell production) in the bone marrow.

Erythropoietin

A hormone primarily produced by the progenitor cells of the kidney that stimulates red blood cell production in the bone marrow. Lack of this hormone leads to anemia.

Esophageal manometry

Measurement of pressures and muscle contractions in the esophagus

Esophageal stricture

Narrowing of the esophageal lumen resulting chronic inflammation and formation of scar tissue.

Esophageal varices

Dilated blood vessels in the esophagus.

Essential fatty acid deficiency

Deficiency of linoleic acid, linolenic acid, and/or arachidonic acid, characterized by hair loss, thinning of skin, and skin desquamation. Long-chain fatty acids include trienes (containing three double-bonds [eg, 5,8,11-eicosatrienoic acid [or Mead acid], trienoic acids]) and tetraenes (containing four double-bonds [eg, arachidonic acid]). Biochemical evidence of essential fatty acid deficiency includes a triene:tetraene greater than 0.2 and low linoleic or arachidonic acid plasma concentrations.

Exanthem

Eruption of the skin.

Excess body weight

Difference between actual and ideal body weight.

Exfoliative dermatitis

Severe inflammation and peeling of the skin due to drug reaction.

Exploratory laparotomy

Surgical incision into the abdomen for examination.

External beam radiotherapy (EBRT)

External radiation source aimed at a body part.

Extraabdominal

Outside of the abdominal cavity.