capillary
Capillaries are the smallest blood vessels, forming thin walled networks where oxygen, nutrients, and waste products exchange between blood and surrounding tissue.
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Capillaries are the smallest blood vessels, forming thin walled networks where oxygen, nutrients, and waste products exchange between blood and surrounding tissue.
Read definitionCNS designates the brain and spinal cord together, the central hub that processes information and coordinates the body's motor and sensory activity.
Read definitionThe older everyday name for a baby dying without warning during sleep, with no cause found afterward.
Read definitionA three-letter shorthand for cyclophosphamide, a drug that arrives inactive and has to be switched on by the liver.
Read definitionCutaneous findings and conditions involve the skin itself, as distinguished from structures located in deeper tissue layers or internal organs.
Read definitionOne of the few specialties where the same doctor examines the lesion, takes the biopsy and removes the cancer, often in one visit.
Read definitionBreathing runs automatically because this muscle answers a signal from the phrenic nerves, which arise high in the neck.
Read definitionEchinacea is an herbal supplement derived from purple coneflower, popularly used in an effort to prevent or shorten the common cold.
Read definitionFamilial polyposis is an inherited disorder causing hundreds of colorectal polyps that carry a near certain lifetime risk of colorectal cancer.
Read definitionFibrosis is the buildup of dense scar-like tissue in an organ, which can stiffen it and interfere with its normal function over time.
Read definitionGanglion describes both a cluster of nerve cell bodies outside the brain and spinal cord and an unrelated fluid filled cyst near a joint.
Read definitionGastritis is inflammation of the stomach lining that can cause upper abdominal discomfort, nausea, or, in some cases, no symptoms at all.
Read definitionA glucocorticoid is a steroid hormone that regulates metabolism and suppresses inflammation, produced naturally by the body or manufactured as medication.
Read definitionGoiter is a visibly or palpably enlarged thyroid gland that can occur whether thyroid hormone levels are normal, low, or high.
Read definitionAn autoimmune condition of the thyroid gland (a gland located beneath the larynx).
Read definitionAn autoimmune condition of the thyroid gland (a gland located beneath the larynx).
Read definitionHemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is a rare, life-threatening syndrome of overwhelming immune activation that damages organs and destroys blood cells.
Read definitionOne word covering many diseases: the letter attached to a viral hepatitis says far more about its course than the word itself does.
Read definitionHemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, abbreviated HLH, is a rare condition of excessive immune activation that damages organs and destroys blood cells.
Read definitionHyperthyroidism speeds up the body's metabolism through excess thyroid hormone, most often caused by Graves disease, an autoimmune condition affecting the thyroid gland.
Read definitionFor learning, not diagnosis. This glossary provides general educational information and is not a substitute for advice from a qualified healthcare professional. If you may be experiencing a medical emergency, contact local emergency services.