General Medical Terms

miRNA molecules are short strands of RNA that bind messenger RNA to block protein production, providing cells a way to fine-tune gene activity.

A substance that comes from the mistletoe plant and that is being studied as a treatment for cancer.

A deliberately modest word: it promises less of a problem, never none of it, which is why precision about the amount matters.

Having to do with the presence of dividing (proliferating) cells.

The process a cell goes through each time it divides.

In a population of cells, the ratio of the number of cells undergoing mitosis (cell division) to the number of cells not undergoing mitosis.

A brain tumor that forms from more than one type of brain cell, usually astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.

Concentration is what turns a volume into a dose, which is why milliliters and milligrams can never be swapped for each other.

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

Easy to confuse with mm for millimeter and with mmol for a plain amount, the capital M is the part that signals a concentration.

A placeholder word: it signals that one method among several is meant, and the surrounding sentence has to supply which.

Modulate means to adjust the strength or activity of a biological process or treatment up or down, rather than switching it fully on or off.

A molar pregnancy occurs when abnormal fertilization causes placental tissue to overgrow into fluid filled cysts instead of a viable embryo.

A benign (not cancer) growth on the skin that is formed by a cluster of melanocytes (cells that make a substance called melanin, which gives color to skin and eyes).

Molecules form when atoms bond together, and biological versions such as proteins and DNA can involve thousands of atoms arranged in specific structures.

Monitor refers both to the ongoing observation of a person's condition over time and to a device that records or displays patient data.

A monoclonal antibody is a laboratory-made protein engineered to bind one specific target, with uses spanning cancer, autoimmune disease, and infection.

An abbreviation for a chemotherapy combination used alone or with radiation therapy to treat Hodgkin lymphoma.

A judgment about right and wrong conduct, which in health care sits alongside law and professional rules rather than inside them.

A tropical shrub.