General Medical Terms

Alpha hydroxyl acids are naturally occurring organic acids used in skin care to promote surface cell turnover and improve skin texture.

Alpha-lipoic acid is a naturally occurring compound that helps cells convert nutrients into energy and also functions as an antioxidant.

Alteplase is a clot dissolving medication given intravenously within a defined time window after a stroke, heart attack, or major clot in the lungs.

A deliberately neutral word: it records that something has changed without claiming the change is harmful, inherited or permanent.

Alternative medicine refers to practices used in place of standard medical treatment that are not part of conventional care.

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma is a muscle related soft tissue cancer that tends to affect older children and adolescents and behaves more aggressively than the embryonal subtype.

The alveoli present an enormous surface area within the lungs, a feature essential to allowing efficient gas exchange with each breath.

A brain disorder that usually starts in late middle age or old age and gets worse over time.

Amanita phalloides is a highly toxic fungus responsible for most fatal mushroom poisonings, with symptoms that can appear deceptively delayed after ingestion.

A type of monoclonal antibody being studied in the treatment of multiple myeloma (a cancer that forms in bones) and in the prevention and treatment of bone metastases (cancer that has spread to bone…

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

A substance that works against many types of bacteria and includes streptomycin, gentamicin, and neomycin.

AML is a fast progressing blood cancer in which immature white blood cells accumulate in the bone marrow, crowding out normal blood cell production.

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

An ampulla is a localized, sac-like widening found along certain ducts or canals in the body, forming a distinct anatomical landmark.

An enlargement of the ducts from the liver and pancreas at the point where they enter the small intestine.

Surgery to remove part or all of a limb or appendage.

A type of steroid that is used in medicine to repair body tissues and to increase appetite and the growth of muscles.

Having to do with the anus.

A word that always needs a partner, since it names a habit of examination rather than any particular method, sample or test.