Medical terms beginning with C

A rare type of kidney cancer, in which the inside of the cells look clear when viewed under a microscope.

A shape rather than an event: the cell was never cut, and the folded outline is simply what a pathologist reports seeing.

Ordained religious leaders, and in hospitals a formal part of the care team rather than visitors from outside it.

The word draws one line above all others: between what is observed in a real patient and what is produced away from the bedside.

A physical exam of the breast performed by a health care provider to check for lumps or other changes.

Recommendations assembled from the evidence by a panel, written to inform a decision rather than to dictate what happens to any one person.

A clinical researcher studies health and disease using patient data or direct patient contact to help develop and evaluate new treatments.

The failure of a cancer to shrink after treatment.

A case series in which the patients receive treatment in a clinic or other medical facility.

The stage of cancer (extent of cancer in the body) that is based on tests that are done before surgery.

A method used to determine the stage of cancer (extent of cancer in the body).

A type of research study that tests how well new medical approaches work in people.

Assignment is the whole point, since deciding who receives what is what allows a study to demonstrate cause rather than mere association.

A clinician is a trained health professional who directly evaluates, diagnoses, or treats patients, as opposed to working solely in research or administration.

Cells that look mature and behave uselessly accumulate for years, which is why a diagnosis often arrives long before any treatment does.

An indolent (slow-growing) cancer in which immature lymphocytes (white blood cells) are found in the blood and bone marrow and/or in the lymph nodes.

A drug used in the treatment of hypercalcemia (abnormally high levels of calcium in the blood) and cancer that has spread to the bone (bone metastases).

An old blood pressure drug also used for ADHD, tics, hot flashes and opioid withdrawal, all through the same calming action on nerve traffic.

A drug that turns the sympathetic nervous system down at its source in the brain, which is why its uses reach far beyond blood pressure.

Clostridium difficile is a spore forming bacterium that causes diarrhea and colon inflammation, often following antibiotic use that disrupts normal gut bacteria.