Medical terms beginning with D

D&C is a procedure that widens the cervix and removes tissue from the uterine lining for treatment or diagnosis.

A synthetic luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) antagonist that suppresses LH and sex steroid levels.

The root of this plant has been used in some cultures to treat certain medical problems.

An experimental cancer compound whose abbreviation collides with a far better known immigration program, so context carries the whole meaning.

One of the older cytotoxic drugs, still holding its place in Hodgkin lymphoma long after newer agents displaced it in melanoma.

A monoclonal antibody that is being studied in the treatment of adult T-cell leukemia and in the treatment of cytopenia (low blood cell count).

A drug that is used to treat myelodysplastic syndromes and is being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer.

An isoflavone found in soy products.

A drug used to prevent blood clots from forming or to treat blood clots that have formed in patients with cancer or other conditions.

Dapsone is an antibacterial medication best established for treating leprosy and certain inflammatory skin conditions, also available in topical form for acne.

Turns the usual picture inside out by throwing away the direct light, so unstained living organisms glow against black.

An impartial group that oversees a clinical trial and reviews the results to see if they are acceptable.

The active ingredient in a drug used to treat acute leukemias and some other types of cancer.

A drug used to treat acute leukemias and some other types of cancer.

One of the original red chemotherapies, still central to leukemia treatment and capped for life because the heart does not recover from it.

A drug used to treat acute leukemias and some other types of cancer.

An abbreviation for a chemotherapy combination used with radiation therapy to treat low-risk childhood Hodgkin lymphoma.

An abbreviation for a chemotherapy combination used with radiation therapy to treat low-risk childhood Hodgkin lymphoma.

DCIS is a noninvasive breast condition in which abnormal cells remain confined within a milk duct without spreading into surrounding tissue.

An abbreviation for a chemotherapy combination used with other types of therapy to treat colorectal cancer.

Borrowed from Latin, the phrase de novo marks something arising fresh and new rather than developing from a prior state.

Tingling, numbness, heaviness, and other feelings that occur after an acupuncture needle has been properly placed in the body.

A type of poisonous mushroom that has harmful effects on the kidneys and liver.

The sound distresses the people at the bedside far more than it distresses the person making it.

A protein on the surface of certain cells that binds another protein called TRAIL, which may kill some cancer cells.

A protein on the surface of certain cells that binds another protein called TRAIL, which may kill some cancer cells.

Surgical removal of as much of a tumor as possible.

Deceased means dead; as a noun, it refers to a person who has died.

A drug that is used to treat myelodysplastic syndromes and is being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer.

A substance that blocks the process cells use to repair DNA.

In thoracic surgery, decortication strips a thickened fibrous membrane from the lung's surface so the lung can re-expand fully.

A clot lodged in a leg vein matters less for the leg than for what happens if a piece of it breaks loose.

Movement of feces (undigested food, bacteria, mucus, and cells from the lining of the intestines) through the bowel and out the anus.

The body has no way to excrete surplus iron, so anyone transfused repeatedly needs a drug to carry it out for them.

Deficiency describes an insufficient amount of a substance the body needs, such as a vitamin, mineral, or hormone, to function normally.

The treatment plan for a disease or disorder that has been chosen as the best one for a patient after all other choices have been considered.

A disease in which the function or structure of the affected tissues or organs changes for the worse over time.

Dehydration affects infants, older adults, and people with chronic illness disproportionately, since each group is less able to compensate for fluid losses.

A substance being studied in the prevention of cancer.

An inflammatory response that develops 24 to 72 hours after exposure to an antigen that the immune system recognizes as foreign.

Delirium is a sudden, fluctuating disturbance of attention and awareness that develops over hours to days, distinct from the gradual decline of dementia.

An acquired, progressive decline in memory, reasoning and other thinking abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life.

A drug displaced by its own breakdown product, which relieves no pain, lingers longer than the parent drug, and irritates the nervous system.

A dendritic cell captures and displays antigens to other immune cells, acting as a key link between the body's initial and adaptive immune responses.

A vaccine made of antigens and dendritic antigen-presenting cells (APCs).

Not stubbornness and not stupidity but a protective reflex, and one that often loosens on its own as the news becomes bearable.

In religion, describes a group whose members are organized under a common name and set of rules and have common beliefs and practices.

It replaces the root rather than the visible tooth, and everything above the gum line simply attaches to what is anchored in bone.

Much of the job is spotting disease early, from decay and gum inflammation to the first signs of oral cancer.

Denys-Drash syndrome is a rare genetic disorder combining early kidney failure, abnormal sexual development, and a high risk of Wilms tumor.

A drug that protects healthy tissues from the toxic effects of anticancer drugs.

The full chemical name of DNA, and it is descriptive: a sugar missing an oxygen, a nucleus, and an acid.

A form of the anticancer drug cytarabine that is contained inside very tiny, fat-like particles.

Not simply sadness turned up: the loss of interest and the physical changes are as central as the low mood itself.

A substance that is made naturally by some bacteria, fungi, and other organisms, and can also be made in the laboratory.

A derivative is a substance produced by chemically modifying another compound, typically retaining some structural or functional relationship to its source.

Controlled sanding of the skin, relying on the fact that skin regrows from below when only the top is taken away.

Where a rash sits is often the strongest clue to its cause, since contact reactions trace the outline of whatever touched the skin.

A type of tumor that begins as a hard nodule and grows slowly.

One of the few specialties where the same doctor examines the lesion, takes the biopsy and removes the cancer, often in one visit.

The dermis is the thicker, deeper layer of skin beneath the epidermis, containing blood vessels, nerves, glands, and hair follicles.

A type of benign (not cancer) germ cell tumor (type of tumor that begins in the cells that give rise to sperm or eggs) that often contains several different types of tissue such as hair, muscle, and…

A drug whose harms surfaced a generation later, in the children exposed before birth rather than in the women who were treated.

Because a desmoid tumor tends to grow into nearby structures locally, complete surgical removal can be difficult even though it rarely spreads elsewhere.

Causing or forming adhesions or fibrous connective tissue within a tumor.

A melanoma that breaks its own rules: colorless, scar-like, easily dismissed as harmless, and inclined to creep outward along nerves.

A rare, aggressive cancer that usually affects young males and usually is located in the abdomen.

To render a harmful substance less harmful, which is a genuine chemical process in the liver and also a marketing word.

A developmental stage is a recognizable period of physical, cognitive, emotional, and social change that a child moves through while growing toward adulthood.

A word that sounds like a measurement and is not, because deciding what counts as normal is a judgment the term never states.

What separates a device from a drug is mechanism: it acts physically or mechanically rather than through chemical action inside the body.

The abbreviation is also written DXA, and the two forms name the same low-dose x-ray method for measuring bone mineral density.

Ordered when fracture risk is in question, the test takes minutes, needs no injection, and uses a very small radiation dose.

Molecules come in left and right handed forms, and here only the working half is supplied, which is why the milligram numbers look smaller.

The active ingredient in a drug used to treat severe side effects caused by certain anticancer drugs.

An anticancer drug that is a type of angiogenesis inhibitor.

A substance being studied in the treatment of cancer.

DHEA is a steroid hormone made mainly by the adrenal glands that serves as a building block for testosterone and estrogen.

A childhood condition in which abnormal tissue grows on the outer part of one or both kidneys.

DHT is a potent hormone derived from testosterone that drives male sexual development and contributes to prostate enlargement and pattern hair loss.

An anticancer drug that is a combination of a monoclonal antibody (RFB4) and an immunotoxin (dgA).

One word covering two unrelated illnesses, though on its own it is almost always taken to mean the sugar one.

Sugar left circulating rather than delivered into cells, a shortfall that quietly damages small and large blood vessels over years.

Seldom a single moment, a diagnosis is usually narrowed from a list of candidates and can stay provisional for a long time.

A diagnostic mammogram is a focused breast x-ray obtained to evaluate a specific finding, distinct from a routine screening mammogram in an asymptomatic person.

A specific test or series of steps done to help diagnose a disease or condition.

A type of method or test used to help diagnose a disease or condition.

A research study that evaluates methods of detecting disease.

The process of filtering the blood when the kidneys are not able to cleanse it.

A number only means something when the next one is taken the same way, on the same machine, in the same plane.

Breathing runs automatically because this muscle answers a signal from the phrenic nerves, which arise high in the neck.

Duration does much of the diagnostic work, separating a short lived infection from a long standing problem inside the gut.

One word covering two unrelated things: the electrical cutting tool of an operating room and the deep warming used in physiotherapy.

Known widely by the brand name Valium, diazepam acts long and leaves active breakdown products, so its effect outlasts the dose considerably.

The active ingredient in a drug that is used to treat the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and is being studied in the prevention and treatment of some types of skin cancer.

A drug that is used to treat the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and is being studied in the prevention and treatment of some types of skin cancer.

A drug used in the treatment of infections caused by viruses.

A DIEP flap is a breast reconstruction technique that uses lower abdominal skin and fat while preserving the underlying muscle.

Diet refers both to everything a person routinely eats and drinks and to a specific eating pattern prescribed for a medical condition.

A process by which a health professional with special training in nutrition helps people make healthy food choices and form healthy eating habits.