Medical terms beginning with E

A substance that is being studied in the treatment of cancer.

A substance that is being studied in the treatment of cancer.

Breast cancer that has not spread beyond the breast or the axillary lymph nodes.

A term used to describe cancer that is early in its growth, and may not have spread to other parts of the body.

A North American juniper, not a true cedar, whose fragrant wood yields the oil sold as cedarwood.

One of the most widespread viruses in existence, harmless in most people and yet tied to a surprising list of diseases.

The flat purple patch left when blood escapes under the skin, larger than a pinpoint spot and free of any lump.

The sweat gland that covers nearly the whole body and does the actual work of cooling it.

Ten electrodes produce twelve views of the same heartbeat, each looking at the heart from a different direction.

Echinacea is an herbal supplement derived from purple coneflower, popularly used in an effort to prevent or shorten the common cold.

The number most often quoted from the study is ejection fraction, the share of blood the left ventricle pushes out with each beat.

A study that compares large groups of people instead of individuals for differences in things such as cancer rates.

A study that compares large groups of people instead of individuals for differences in things such as cancer rates.

Speed is the usual reason it is chosen, since a response can arrive faster than medication typically achieves in severe illness.

A substance that comes from a type of sea squirt and is being studied in the treatment of cancer.

Having to do with the part of the cervix that protrudes into the vagina and is lined with epithelial cells.

A rare, fast-growing tumor of the nervous system or soft tissue that occurs in children and young adults.

A positive pregnancy test alongside an empty uterus on ultrasound is the combination that raises the question before symptoms make it obvious.

A monoclonal antibody used to prevent red blood cells from being destroyed in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a red blood cell disorder.

A group of conditions in which the skin becomes inflamed, forms blisters, and becomes crusty, thick, and scaly.

Built as a close chemical relative of methotrexate, it was designed to enter cells more readily and was tested in cancer without reaching approval.

Where the swelling sits, whether it pits under a finger, and whether it is one-sided are the details that separate the causes.

One of the few tests that watches the brain working moment by moment instead of photographing its structure.

A drug that may increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy.

A cell that performs a specific function in response to a stimulus; usually used to describe cells in the immune system.

Everyday speech treats it as a synonym for effectiveness; clinical research keeps them apart, and the gap between them is where treatments disappoint.

An effusion is an abnormal buildup of fluid in a body space or between tissue layers, named for the specific location involved, such as pleural or joint.

The unifying feature is molecular rather than anatomic, which is why a bone tumor and a chest wall tumor sit in the same group.

The signal telling skin and lining cells to divide, and a pathway where treatment targets the receiver rather than the signal.

Written in lower case as eGFR the same four letters mean an estimate of kidney function, an entirely unrelated measurement.

Ejaculation is a reflex process coordinated by the nervous system and involves several structures beyond the organ where semen ultimately exits the body.

Quick, painless and available almost anywhere, it is usually the first test reached for when the heart is the question.

A procedure used to do a mammogram (x-ray of the breasts) in women with breast implants.

A procedure used to do a mammogram (x-ray of the breasts) in women with breast implants.

A procedure in which pulses of weak electrical current are sent through acupuncture needles into acupuncture points in the skin.

A recording of the heart’s electrical activity from electrodes on the skin.

A treatment for severe depression and certain mental disorders.

An electrode is a conductor that carries electrical current between a device and the body, used both to deliver energy and to record biological signals.

A change in the heat and electricity passed through the skin by nerves and sweat.

The drying of tissue by a high-frequency electric current applied with a needle-shaped electrode.

A procedure in which tissue is heated to destroy abnormal cells.

The recording is often obtained under specific conditions, such as during sleep or with flashing lights, to help capture patterns not seen at rest.

A procedure to destroy tissue (such as a tumor) using an electric current.

A battery-operated device that makes a humming sound.

Where each ion sits matters more than how much exists, since the gradient across a cell membrane does the work.

The invisible region of electric and magnetic force around anything carrying current, from a power line to a phone.

Energy traveling as waves of electric and magnetic field, from radio at one end of the range to gamma rays at the other.

A stream of electrons (small negatively charged particles found in atoms) that can be used for radiation therapy.

An electron microscope uses a focused beam of electrons instead of light to produce highly magnified images of extremely small structures.

Electrophoresis separates charged molecules such as proteins or DNA using an electric current, a technique behind tests like serum protein and hemoglobin analysis.

Treatment that generates electrical pulses through an electrode placed in a tumor to enhance the ability of anticancer drugs to enter tumor cells.

The name survives from an era the procedure no longer resembles, since it is now given under anesthesia with no visible convulsion at all.

Four elements account for most of body weight, while others matter in amounts so small that a shortfall still causes recognizable disease.

A gel injection that shuts down testosterone production for months at a time, after first pushing the level higher.

In clinical trials, requirements that must be met for an individual to be included in a study.

ELISA is a laboratory test that uses enzyme-linked antibodies to detect and measure a specific substance within a fluid such as blood serum.

Eltrombopag is a medication that stimulates platelet production in the bone marrow to treat certain chronic low platelet conditions.

A substance being studied in the treatment of cancer.

An embalmer is a trained professional who chemically preserves and prepares a deceased body, most often for viewing and burial.

An embolism is a sudden blockage of a blood vessel by material that traveled there from elsewhere in the bloodstream.

The blocking of an artery by a clot or foreign material.

Weeks counted from fertilization and weeks counted from a last period differ by two, which is why embryo timelines often seem to disagree.

A mass of rapidly growing cells that begins in embryonic (fetal) tissue.

Named for the tissue it imitates rather than the tissue it came from, which is why it appears in places holding no muscle.

A mass of rapidly growing cells that begins in embryonic (fetal) tissue.

Having to do with an embryo, which is an early stage in the development of a plant or animal.

A substance that is being studied as an anticancer and antiangiogenesis drug.

A monoclonal antibody that is being studied in the treatment of some types of cancer.

A drug used together with other drugs to prevent and control nausea and vomiting caused by cancer treatment.

Emesis is the forceful expulsion of stomach contents through the esophagus and mouth; it is another term for vomiting.

Anything that brings on vomiting, whether given deliberately, produced by a disease, or arriving as a side effect.

Describes a substance that causes vomiting.

EMF refers to the electric and magnetic fields surrounding power lines and electronic devices, whose long term health effects remain an active research question.

An anticancer drug that belongs to the family of drugs called antimetabolites.

A substance found in certain plants, including rhubarb.

The trouble is not only getting air in; damaged lungs have lost the springiness that used to push it back out.

The fact that decides everything is whether a wave carries enough energy to knock electrons out of atoms, making it ionizing.

Enalapril is an ACE inhibitor that relaxes blood vessels, used broadly to treat high blood pressure and heart failure.

Encapsulated describes an abnormal growth or collection that is contained within a thin surrounding layer of tissue rather than spreading into nearby structures.

Confusion, drowsiness or a change in personality can all be the visible face of a chemical problem somewhere else in the body.

An enchondroma is a benign cartilage growth within bone, most often found in the small bones of the hand and often discovered incidentally.

Endocarditis is inflammation of the heart's inner lining and valves, most often from bacterial infection reaching the bloodstream and heart tissue.

A procedure in which the mucous membrane of the cervical canal is scraped using a spoon-shaped instrument called a curette.

Signals released straight into the bloodstream reach every tissue, so a gland the size of a pea can change what the whole body does.

Cancer that occurs in endocrine tissue, the tissue in the body that secretes hormones.

A pancreatic cell that produces hormones (e.g., insulin and glucagon) that are secreted into the bloodstream.

Ductless glands drop their messengers straight into the blood, so a signal made in one place acts on organs far away.

A tumor that is found in endocrine tissue but does not make extra hormones.

Hormones travel everywhere, so this specialty is defined by the messenger rather than by a single organ or region of the body.

Produced inside an organism or cell.

Having to do with the endometrium (the layer of tissue that lines the uterus).

A procedure in which a sample of tissue is taken from the endometrium (inner lining of the uterus) for examination under a microscope.

Endometrial cancer arises in the lining of the uterus and typically announces itself through abnormal vaginal bleeding, especially bleeding after menopause.

Abnormal cell growth in the endometrium (the lining of the uterus).

An abnormal overgrowth of the endometrium (the layer of cells that lines the uterus).

A benign condition in which tissue that looks like endometrial tissue grows in abnormal places in the abdomen.

The endometrium is the inner lining of the uterus that thickens and sheds each menstrual cycle and supports a pregnancy if one occurs.

A procedure in which a probe that sends out high-energy sound waves is inserted into the rectum.

Endorphins are natural opioid peptides the body releases to reduce pain signaling and contribute to a sense of well-being.

A camera on the end of a steerable tube, and increasingly the instrument that performs the operation rather than merely finding it.