General Medical Terms

It has no bearing on medical care, a point obscured by the name living will, which is an advance directive rather than a will.

The airway that leads from the larynx (voice box) to the bronchi (large airways that lead to the lungs).

The last tooth to come in at the back of each side of the upper and lower jaws.

A mixture made from an extract of the calf thymus gland and enzymes (proteins that speed up chemical reactions in the body) from the papaya plant, the pancreas of cows, and the pancreas of pigs.

The small, hollow, pear-shaped organ in a woman's pelvis.

The part that names the body part, and the piece that stays put while prefixes and endings change around it.

WS is an inherited disorder that produces signs of accelerated aging beginning in early adulthood, arising from a gene mutation affecting DNA repair.

An abbreviation for a chemotherapy combination used to treat colorectal cancer that has spread.

A xenograft is tissue or an organ transplanted from a donor of one species into a recipient of a different species.

A picture of the body recorded on paper rather than on film.

A picture of the body recorded on paper rather than on film.

A type of x-ray in which a picture of the body is recorded on paper rather than on film.

Xerostomia is persistent dry mouth from reduced saliva, commonly caused by medications, radiation therapy, or an underlying gland disorder.

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

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

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

A radiolabeled monoclonal antibody that is used to treat certain types of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and is being studied in the treatment of other types of B-cell tumors.

A radiolabeled monoclonal antibody that is used to treat certain types of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and is being studied in the treatment of other types of B-cell tumors.

Yin and yang describe paired opposing forces in traditional Chinese thought, a framework still used to describe balance and imbalance in traditional Chinese medicine.

A substance that may be found in higher-than-normal amounts in the blood of patients with certain types of cancer and inflammatory diseases.