General Medical Terms

A study to compare the results of people taking a new treatment with the results of people taking the standard treatment (for example, which group has better survival rates or fewer side effects).

After a treatment has been approved and is being marketed, it is studied in a phase IV trial to evaluate side effects that were not apparent in the phase III trial.

Phenergan is the brand name for promethazine, an antihistamine also used to control nausea, vomiting, and to promote sedation.

Phenol is a caustic chemical compound used in industry and, in dilute form, in certain antiseptic and topical medical preparations.

A synthetic flavonoid derivative.

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

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

Phenylketonuria is an inherited disorder that impairs breakdown of the amino acid phenylalanine, which then accumulates and can impair development if untreated.

Symptoms of this tumor often occur in sudden episodes rather than continuously, reflecting bursts of hormone release rather than a steady excess.

A phlebolith is a small local, usually rounded, calcification within a vein.

Phlegm is thick mucus produced by the airways, often increasing during infection or irritation and distinct from saliva or nasal discharge.

Phosphate is a phosphorus-containing ion essential to bone, cell membranes, and the energy molecule ATP, with levels regulated mainly by the kidneys and parathyroid hormone.

An oral preparation of the flavonoid silybin with potential antioxidant and chemopreventive activities.

A type of enzyme that transmits signals in cells and that helps control cell growth.

A phospholipid is a fat containing phosphorus that forms the structural framework of nearly every cell membrane in the body.

Having to do with or containing the element phosphorus.

Phosphorus is an essential mineral present in bones, teeth, and cell energy molecules, with blood levels regulated closely alongside calcium.

A radioactive isotope of phosphorus with beta particle-emitting radiocytotoxic activity.

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

A process in which a phosphate group is added to a molecule, such as a sugar or a protein.