Medical terms beginning with A

Though benign, some adenomas are still removed or monitored closely, since a subset carries a meaningful risk of transforming into cancer over time.

Adenopathy refers to enlarged lymph nodes, a finding that can result from infection, inflammation, or, less often, a malignant process.

A tumor that is a mixture of an adenoma (a tumor that starts in the gland-like cells of epithelial tissue) and a sarcoma (a tumor that starts in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other…

Cells hold only a tiny standing amount and recycle it endlessly, so adenosine triphosphate works as a currency rather than as a store of energy.

An overgrowth of glandular tissue that is harmless in itself but can imitate cancer closely enough to require a biopsy.

A type of cancer that contains two types of cells: squamous cells (thin, flat cells that line certain organs) and gland-like cells.

Named for the tonsil like tissue it was first pulled from, this virus family now doubles as a delivery vehicle for engineered genes.

A substance being studied in the treatment of melanoma, liver cancer, and other types of cancer.

In cancer therapy, a drug or substance used in addition to the primary therapy.

Another treatment used together with the primary treatment.

Another treatment used together with the primary treatment.

Adjustment disorder involves emotional or behavioral symptoms that develop in response to an identifiable stressor and exceed an expected reaction.

Extra treatment aimed at cells no scan can find, given because the visible tumor is rarely the whole story.

A diagnosis says what a person has; an ADL assessment says what they can still do, which is what determines the support they need.

Route, amount and timing all belong to administration, which is why the same drug can behave differently depending on how it reaches the body.

A finding rather than a diagnosis: something occupying the space beside the womb, which could be any of a dozen things.

A treatment used to help the immune system fight diseases, such as cancer and infections with certain viruses.

Cancer starting in the adrenal glands is rare, while cancer found in them is not, because they attract spread from elsewhere.

The outer rind of the gland sitting on each kidney, built in three layers that turn cholesterol into three different classes of hormone.

The adrenal glands are small hormone producing organs sitting atop each kidney that regulate stress response, blood pressure, and metabolism.

The inner part of the adrenal gland (a small organ on top of each kidney).

Removal of one or both of the small glands capping the kidneys, whose hormones are potent enough that losing both changes life permanently.

Adrenaline is a hormone and neurotransmitter released during stress that rapidly raises heart rate, blood pressure, and alertness.

Having to do with or made by the outer layer of the adrenal gland, which produces steroid hormones.

A rare cancer that forms in the outer layer of tissue of the adrenal gland (a small organ on top of each kidney that makes steroid hormones, adrenaline, and noradrenaline to control heart rate…

A rare cancer of the adrenal gland's outer layer that often announces itself through the hormones it releases unchecked.

A hormone made in the pituitary gland.

A substance used to detect certain types of tumors, including pheochromocytomas and neuroblastomas.

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

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

An inherited disorder marked by rapid aging that begins in early adolescence.

An aggressive (fast-growing) type of T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma caused by the human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1).

An advance directive is completed while a person can still decide, stating what medical treatment to give or withhold if that ability is later lost.

Cancer that has spread to other places in the body and usually cannot be cured or controlled with treatment.

Malignant mesothelioma (cancer that forms in the lining of the chest or abdomen) that is stage II, stage III, or stage IV.

Graduate level training beyond standard nursing preparation qualifies this clinician to diagnose conditions and manage treatment within a defined, state regulated scope of practice.

Whether an unwanted development counts as an effect or merely an event turns on one question: did the treatment cause it?

An unexpected medical problem that happens during treatment with a drug or other therapy.

Two familiar painkillers are not interchangeable, since only one of them settles swelling and only one of them troubles the stomach.

A substance made from shark cartilage that is being studied for its ability to prevent the growth of new blood vessels that tumors need to grow.

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

A substance being studied in the treatment of cancer.

The setting in which fuel yields many times more energy, because with oxygen present a cell finishes the job instead of stopping halfway.

A chemical process in which oxygen is used to make energy from carbohydrates (sugars).

A chemical process in which oxygen is used to make energy from carbohydrates (sugars).

The combined organs and tissues of the respiratory tract and the upper part of the digestive tract (including the lips, mouth, tongue, nose, throat, vocal cords, and part of the esophagus and…

In medicine, to turn a liquid drug into a fine mist that can be inhaled.

Binding tightly and doing something once bound are separate abilities, and a blocker can excel at the first while deliberately lacking the second.

In chemistry and biology, a compound that binds specific substances, such as proteins or nucleic acids.

A harmful substance made by certain types of mold (Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus) that is often found on poorly stored grains and nuts.

A substance being studied in the treatment of several types of cancer.

AFP is the abbreviation for alpha-fetoprotein, a substance produced by a fetus and used as both a prenatal screening marker and a tumor marker.

A substance being studied in the treatment of cancer.

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

A substance being studied in the treatment of breast cancers caused by mutations (changes) in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.

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

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

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

A condition in which there is a slow breakdown of cells in the center of the retina (the light-sensitive layers of nerve tissue at the back of the eye).

In cancer prevention, a clinical trial that studies whether taking certain medicines, vitamins, minerals, or food supplements can prevent cancer.

A substance that makes particles (such as bacteria or cells) stick together to form a clump or a mass.

Something that makes a condition worse.

One word doing two jobs, describing how fast a disease moves in one sentence and how hard a treatment pushes in the next.

A type of lymphoma that grows and spreads quickly and has severe symptoms.

New restlessness in an older adult points more often to a physical illness than to a psychiatric one, which is where the search starts.

A progressive, chronic disease in which the bone marrow is replaced by fibrous tissue and blood is made in organs such as the liver and the spleen, instead of in the bone marrow.

inability to recognize objects by use of the senses Difficulty recognizing familiar shapes, sounds, objects, people, and smells.

A drug or substance that binds to a receptor inside a cell or on its surface and causes the same action as the substance that normally binds to the receptor.

A type of white blood cell.

A term that has been used to describe abnormal cells that come from glands in the walls of the cervix (the lower, narrow end of the uterus).

Living with HIV and having AIDS are not the same thing, and with effective treatment most people never reach the second.

Certain cancer types that are more likely to occur in people who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Named after a mouse tumor virus, this switch sits at the center of how a cell decides to grow, survive or store fuel.

An enzyme that is normally found in healthy kidneys.

Alanine transferase is a liver enzyme, commonly abbreviated ALT, whose elevated blood level often signals injury to liver cells.

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

Pigment is only half the story, since the same genes shape the retina and the optic nerves, so eyesight is always involved.

Often read as a nutrition marker, the level falls just as readily with inflammation, liver disease or loss through the kidneys.

A supplement form of carnitine tested against chemotherapy nerve damage, where the largest trial found the nerve injury worse rather than better.

A whole family of compounds in chemistry, though outside the laboratory the word means exactly one of them.

An injection of ethanol (alcohol) through the skin directly into a tumor to kill cancer cells.

The point at which the nervous system has rearranged itself around alcohol, so stopping produces withdrawal and drinking keeps that at bay.

A chronic disease in which a person craves drinks that contain alcohol and is unable to control his or her drinking.

The reactive group that pickles tissue for the microscope, sterilizes instruments, and forms as the toxic middle step of alcohol breakdown.

A drug used to treat some types of cancer.

Aldosterone is a hormone from the adrenal gland that regulates blood pressure by controlling how the kidneys retain sodium and release potassium.

The shorter name for a rare inherited triad, still turning up in older records long after the fuller version became standard.

A drug that is used to treat certain skin conditions and is being studied in the treatment of cutaneous (skin-related) T-cell cancer and T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

An antibody that strips lymphocytes out of the blood, used to reset an immune system attacking the nervous system.

Alendronate sodium is a bisphosphonate drug that slows bone breakdown, used mainly to treat osteoporosis and certain other bone conditions.

The brand name for pemetrexed, a chemotherapy drug given alongside two vitamins that blunt its harshest effects.

An alkali is a water soluble base capable of neutralizing acids, relevant in medicine to blood chemistry, chemical burns, and body pH balance.

Refers to the amount of alkali.

A process that lowers the amount of acid in a solution.

An alkaloid is a nitrogen containing compound found in many plants, including well known examples such as caffeine, nicotine, and morphine.

A drug that is used to treat multiple myeloma and ovarian epithelial cancer and is being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer.

The oldest family of chemotherapy drugs, acting by sticking chemical groups onto DNA so it can no longer be read.

A nutrient that that body needs in small amounts to function and stay healthy.

Allegra is the brand name for fexofenadine, a second-generation antihistamine that relieves allergy symptoms with less drowsiness than older allergy medications.

Something harmless in itself that a particular immune system has learned to treat as a threat.