English dictionary of medical terms (24)

Back to welcome

[dictionary] Go to the previous part of the dictionary

No:460 - dendritic: 1. branched like a tree. 2. pertaining to or possessing dendrites.
No:461 - dental plaque: a soft, thin film of food debris, mucin, and dead epithelial cells deposited on the teeth, providing the medium for the growth of various bacteria. The main inorganic components are calcium and phosphorus with small amounts of magnesium, potassium, and sodium; the organic matrix consists of polysaccharides, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and other components. Plaque plays an important etiologic role in the development of dental caries and periodontal and gingival diseases and provides the base for the development of materia alba; calcified plaque forms dental calculus.
No:462 - dentition: (L. dentitio) the teeth in the dental arch; ordinarily used to designate the natural teeth in position in their alveoli.
No:463 - dependent: exhibiting dependence or dependency.
No:464 - depersonalization: alteration in the perception of the self so that the usual sense of one's own reality is lost, manifested in a sense of unreality or self-estrangement, in changes of body image, or in a feeling that one does not control his own actions and speech; seen in depersonalization disorder, schizophrenic disorders, and schizotypal personality disorder. Some do not draw a distinction between depersonalization and derealization, using depersonalization to include both.
No:465 - depigmentation: (de- + pigmentation) removal or loss of pigment, especially melanin.
No:466 - depletion: (L. deplere to empty) 1. the act or process of emptying; removal of a fluid, as the blood. 2. exhausted state which results from excessive loss of blood.
No:467 - depolarization: the process or act of neutralizing polarity. In neurophysiology, the reversal of the resting potential in excitable cell membranes when stimulated, i.e., the tendency of the cell membrane potential to become positive with respect to the potential outside the cell.
No:468 - depression: (L. depremere to press down) 1. a lowering or decrease of functional activity. 2. a mental state of depressed mood characterized by feelings of sadness, despair, and discouragement. Depression ranges from normal feelings of 'the blues' through dysthymia to major depression. It in many ways resembles the grief and mourning that follow bereavement; there are often feelings of low self-esteem; guilt, and self-reproach, withdrawal from interpersonal contact, and somatic symptoms such as eating and sleep disturbances.
No:469 - deprivation: (L. de from + privare to remove) loss or absence of parts, organs, powers, or things that are needed.
No:470 - derivative: a chemical substance derived from another substance either directly or by modification or partial substitution.
No:471 - dermatitis: (dermato- + -itis) inflammation of the skin.
No:472 - dermatologic, dermatological: pertaining to dermatology; of or affecting the skin.
No:473 - dermatomycosis: (dermato- + Gr. mykes fungus) a superficial infection of the skin or its appendages by fungi. The term includes dermatophytosis and the various clinical forms of tinea, as well as deep fungous infections. Called also epidermomycosis.
No:474 - dermatophytosis: (dermatophyte + -osis) any superficial fungal infection caused by a dermatophyte and involving the stratum corneum of the skin, hair, and nails. The term broadly comprises onychophytosis and the various form of tinea (ringworm), sometimes being used specifically to designate tinea pedis (athlete's foot). Called also epidermomycosis.
No:475 - dermatosis: (dermat- + -osis) any skin disease, especially one not characterized by inflammation.
No:476 - dermographia: a condition in which pressure or friction on the skin gives rise to a transient raised usually reddish mark so that a word traced on the skin becomes visible.
No:477 - desensitization: the prevention or reduction of immediate hypersensitivity reactions by administration of graded doses of allergen; called also hyposensitization and immunotherapy.
No:478 - desquamation: (L. de from + squama scale) the shedding of epithelial elements, chiefly of the skin, in scales or small sheets; exfoliation.
No:479 - detection: act of detecting, discovery; the laying open of what was concealed or hidden or of what tends to elude observation.

Go to the next part of the dictionary