General Medical Terms

Causing or forming adhesions or fibrous connective tissue within a tumor.

To render a harmful substance less harmful, which is a genuine chemical process in the liver and also a marketing word.

A developmental stage is a recognizable period of physical, cognitive, emotional, and social change that a child moves through while growing toward adulthood.

A word that sounds like a measurement and is not, because deciding what counts as normal is a judgment the term never states.

A childhood condition in which abnormal tissue grows on the outer part of one or both kidneys.

The process of filtering the blood when the kidneys are not able to cleanse it.

A DIEP flap is a breast reconstruction technique that uses lower abdominal skin and fat while preserving the underlying muscle.

A process by which a health professional with special training in nutrition helps people make healthy food choices and form healthy eating habits.

A detailed diet plan that states what, how, and when a person will eat and drink.

Taken by mouth to add to regular food, these products supply concentrated nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, or amino acids.

Differentiation is the process by which unspecialized cells develop into distinct, mature cell types suited to specific functions in the body.

Diffuse describes a finding, symptom, or process that is spread broadly through a tissue or region rather than confined to one specific area.

A type of central nervous system tumor that forms from glial (supportive) tissue of the brain and spinal cord.

Digestion mechanically and chemically converts food into absorbable nutrients through the coordinated action of the mouth, stomach, intestines, and accessory digestive organs.

A method in which an image or other type of data is changed into a series of dots or numbers so that it can be viewed and studied on a computer.

The use of a computer, rather than x-ray film, to create a picture of the breast.

The same word covers a vessel relaxing on its own, a pupil widening in the dark, and a balloon forcing a narrowed passage open.

To make something thinner, weaker, less concentrated, or less pure by adding something to it.

An exam of the inside of the back of the eye using an ophthalmoscope (a flashlight-sized instrument with a light source and a set of rotating lenses).

Discharge refers either to fluid released from the body or to a patient's formal release from a hospital or other care setting.