Medical terms A–Z

Found by accident while a heart drug was being tested, it works only where nitric oxide is already being released.

Silicone is a synthetic, chemically stable material used across many medical devices, not only as a breast implant component.

A plant that has been used in some cultures to treat certain medical problems, including stomach, liver, and gallbladder disorders.

A widely sold liver supplement whose one genuinely established use has little to do with the bottle on the shelf.

A virus that infects some types of monkeys.

Removal of the breast.

Surgery to remove one kidney.

Surgery to remove the entire vulva (the external female genital organs, including the clitoris, vaginal lips, and the opening to the vagina).

In radiation therapy, simulation is the planning session that uses imaging to map a patient's anatomy and precisely target the treatment area.

A type of clinical trial in which only the doctor knows whether a patient is taking the standard treatment or the new treatment being tested.

A controller rather than a rescue treatment, and the one common asthma tablet carrying a formal warning about mood and behavior.

A sinus is any hollow cavity or channel within the body, a term applied to structures in the skull, heart, and blood vessels.

Nearly every case starts as an ordinary cold, and the newer name rhinosinusitis records that the nose is inflamed too.

A monoclonal antibody that is being studied in the treatment of certain lymphoproliferative disorders and psoriasis.

A drug used to treat prostate cancer that has spread.

Sirolimus is an immunosuppressant medication used to prevent organ transplant rejection by blocking a key pathway that drives immune cell growth.

SIRS describes a whole body inflammatory response identified through vital sign and blood count changes, seen with infection or with noninfectious injury.

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

A substance being studied in the treatment of certain multiple myelomas and other advanced cancers.

An adjective doing heavy lifting in reports: it can mean bone, or muscle attached to bone, depending on the noun.