Medical terms beginning with P

A radioactive form of the element phosphorus used in the treatment of cancer.

P-glycoprotein is a transport protein present in many normal tissues that pumps drugs and toxins out of cells, sometimes contributing to drug resistance in cancer.

A term in statistics.

Funds awarded to certain U.S.

A tumor suppressor gene that normally inhibits the growth of tumors.

Trained as a generalist rather than inside one specialty, which is why a PA can move between fields without starting over.

A nutrient in the vitamin B complex that the body needs in small amounts to function and stay healthy.

A pacemaker is an implanted device that monitors heart rhythm and delivers electrical stimulation whenever the heart beats too slowly or irregularly.

A plant whose roots are used as a sedative and to treat certain medical conditions.

A way to measure the amount a person has smoked over a long period of time.

Paclitaxel is a chemotherapy drug derived from yew tree bark that stabilizes microtubules to block cancer cell division.

A Cremophor ELP-free, albumin-stabilized nanoparticle formulation of the natural taxane paclitaxel with antineoplastic activity.

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

The agent paclitaxel linked to a biodegradable, water-soluble polyglutamate polymer with antineoplastic properties.

A form of the anticancer drug paclitaxel combined with a protein called poliglumex that may have fewer side effects and work better than paclitaxel.

A vascular-acting photosensitizer consisting of a water-soluble, palladium-substituted bacteriochlorophyll derivative with potential antineoplastic activity.

Pan-DR epitope (PADRE) 965.10 is a helper peptide.

A peptide-based vaccine containing a pan HLA DR-binding epitope (PADRE) fused to a cytomegalovirus (CMV) peptide epitope, with potential anti-viral and immunomodulating activities.

A chronic condition in which both the breakdown and regrowth of bone are increased.

The point at which a person becomes aware of pain.

An experimental compound designed to starve tumors of a DNA building block, and a clear example of a good idea that did not translate.

The partition that allows breathing and chewing to happen at once, half rigid bone and half moving muscle.

The soft flap of tissue that hangs down at the back of the mouth (at the edge of the soft palate).

(Other name for: diethylstilbestrol)

A recombinant form of the endogenous human keratinocyte growth factor.

A synthetic mustard compound with potential antineoplastic activity.

Sold under this brand name, megestrol acetate is a synthetic progestin used to stimulate appetite and to treat certain hormone sensitive cancers.

A novel palladium-substituted bacteriochlorophyll derivative and photosensitizer with potential antitumor activity.

Palliation is care focused on relieving symptoms and improving comfort in serious illness, distinct from treatment aimed at curing the underlying disease.

The commonest misconception is that it signals giving up, when it can begin on the day of diagnosis.

Treatment given to relieve the symptoms and reduce the suffering caused by cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

A condition marked by pain, swelling, numbness, tingling, or redness of the hands or feet.

The active ingredient in a drug used to treat nausea and vomiting caused by cancer treatment.

The hydrochloride salt of palonosetron, a carbazole derivative and a selective serotonin receptor antagonist with antiemetic activity.

A term used to describe cancer that can be felt by touch, usually present in lymph nodes, skin, or other organs of the body such as the liver or colon.

Examination by pressing on the surface of the body to feel the organs or tissues underneath.

A rapid or irregular heartbeat that a person can feel.

The heart is normally silent to its owner, so noticing it at all is what turns an ordinary beat into a symptom.

A drug that is used to treat hypercalcemia (too much calcium in the blood) and cancer that has spread to the bones.

The disodium salt of the synthetic bisphosphonate pamidronate.

A panacea is a supposed remedy claimed to cure every disease or solve every health problem.

A Pancoast tumor is a lung cancer at the lung's apex that can invade nearby nerves, causing distinctive shoulder and arm symptoms.

A glandular organ located in the abdomen.

Removing part or all of a gland that quietly does two unrelated jobs, so what is taken decides which of them stops.

One organ runs two unrelated operations, so a pancreatic problem can show up as poor digestion, unstable blood sugar, or both at once.

Position explains much of its reputation: a tumor deep behind the stomach can grow quietly until it presses on the bile duct or nearby nerves.

Part of a system of ducts in the pancreas.

A rare cancer that forms in the islets of Langerhans cells (a type of cell found in the pancreas).

The digestive proteins the pancreas pours into the gut, each cutting apart a different component of a meal.

A test used to help diagnose problems in the pancreas, such as gastrinomas and pancreatitis.

An abnormal mass that grows in the beta cells of the pancreas that make insulin.

Fluid made by the pancreas.

A small protein made by the pancreas that helps control the release of other substances made by the pancreas.

Inflammation of the pancreas.

(Other name for: therapeutic immune globulin)

(Other name for: therapeutic hemin)

Panic is a sudden surge of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms such as a racing heart, sweating, and shortness of breath.

A laboratory-made antibody that plugs a growth switch on tumor cells, but only helps when one particular gene is unaltered.

A cinnamic hydroxamic acid analogue with potential antineoplastic activity.

(Other name for: alitretinoin)

Pantothenic acid, or vitamin B5, is a water soluble nutrient the body needs to build coenzyme A and process food into energy.

(Other name for: falimarev)

(Other name for: inalimarev)

(Other name for: warfarin)

(Other name for: 2-methoxyestradiol)

Checking one organ for one kind of change, it is not a test for infections, for ovarian cancer, or for general gynecological health.

A procedure in which cells are scraped from the cervix for examination under a microscope.

One of the most effective cancer screening tests ever introduced, it finds changes long before they could become cancer, when they are simplest to remove.

An opium poppy compound that relaxes blood vessels and hollow organs without relieving pain or causing addiction.

The thin top layer of the dermis (the inner layer of the skin).

An aggressive cancer that usually affects the uterus/endometrium, peritoneum, or ovary.

Among thyroid cancers, papillary carcinoma is the most frequently diagnosed type, arising from hormone producing follicular cells and typically growing slowly.

A tumor shaped like a small mushroom, with its stem attached to the epithelial layer (inner lining) of an organ.

Papilledema is swelling of the optic disc caused by raised pressure inside the skull, visible on examination of the eye.

A substance being studied in the treatment of diarrhea caused by infection with Clostridium difficile (a type of bacteria that can grow without oxygen) in cancer patients.

A nutrient in the vitamin B complex that the body needs in small amounts to function and stay healthy.

Two jobs in one puncture: draining the fluid eases the pressure of a swollen abdomen, while a sample of it explains why the fluid gathered.

(Other name for: chlorzoxazone)

Scattered nests of cells left over from the developing nervous system, some releasing hormones and some sensing the blood.

A tumor that can sit silently for years or flood the body with adrenaline, depending on where it happens to grow.

Parageusia is a persistent, unpleasant, or metallic taste sensation that occurs without a food source, a specific pattern of taste disturbance.

Paralysis is the loss of voluntary muscle movement in part of the body, resulting from a disruption in the nerve signals that control it.

A condition in which the muscles of the intestines do not allow food to pass through, resulting in a blocked intestine.

The most senior clinician on most ambulances, trained to begin at the roadside the treatment that once waited for a hospital.

A type of virus that has hemagglutinin-neuraminidase proteins in the outer coat and RNA as the genetic material.

One of many small hollow spaces in the bones around the nose.

Paraneoplastic syndrome describes symptoms caused indirectly by substances a tumor releases, rather than by the tumor's physical growth or spread.

Paranoia describes a pervasive pattern of unwarranted suspicion and distrust of others, ranging from a personality trait to a symptom of psychiatric illness.

(Other name for: carboplatin)

(Other name for: carboplatin)

Many have life cycles passing through more than one species, so breaking the cycle can matter as much as treating the person.

Biology recognizes several ways two species can live together, and what makes a relationship parasitic is that only one side benefits.

Because episodes occur during sleep or its transitions, the person experiencing a parasomnia often has no memory of it afterward.

The parasympathetic nervous system slows the heart and promotes digestion, largely opposing the body's fight or flight response.

A substance made by the parathyroid gland that helps the body store and use calcium.

A substance made by the parathyroid gland that helps the body store and use calcium.

A rare cancer that forms in tissues of one or more of the parathyroid glands (four pea-sized glands in the neck that make parathyroid hormone, which helps the body store and use calcium).

Four glands the size of a grain of rice that hold the calcium level in the blood steady from hour to hour.

A substance made by the parathyroid gland that helps the body store and use calcium.

An operation aimed at a gland most people cannot name, usually done because one of the four has grown a benign lump.