English dictionary of medical terms (25)

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[Multilingual]No:480 - detergent
(L. detergere to cleanse) an agent which purifies or cleanses.
[Multilingual]No:481 - detoxification
treatment designed to free an addict from his drug habit.
[Multilingual]No:482 - diabetes
(Gr. diabts a syphon, from dia through + bainein to go) a general term referring to disorders characterized by excessive urine excretion (polyuria), as in diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus. When used alone, the term refers to diabetes mellitus.
[Multilingual]No:483 - diagnosis
(dia- + Gr. gnosis knowledge) the determination of the nature of a case of disease.
[Multilingual]No:484 - dialysis
(dia- + Gr. lysis dissolution) the process of separating crystalloids and colloids in solution by the difference in their rates of diffusion through a semipermeable membrane; crystalloids pass through readily, colloids very slowly or not at all. See also haemodialysis.
[Multilingual]No:485 - diameter
the length of a straight line passing through the centre of a circle and connecting opposite points on its circumference; hence the distance between two specified opposite points on the periphery of a structure such as the cranium or pelvis.
[Multilingual]No:486 - diaphoresis
(Gr. diaphorsis) perspiration, especially profuse perspiration. Called also sudoresis.
[Multilingual]No:487 - diarrhoea
(dia- + Gr. rhein to flow) abnormal frequency and liquidity of faecal discharges.
[Multilingual]No:488 - diastolic
of or pertaining to the diastole.
[Multilingual]No:489 - diathermy
(dia- + Gr. therm heat) heating of the body tissues due to their resistance to the passage of high-frequency electromagnetic radiation, electric currents, or ultrasonic waves. In medical d. (thermopenetration) the tissues are warmed but not damaged; in surgical d. (electrocoagulation) tissue is destroyed.
[Multilingual]No:490 - diathesis
(Gr. 'arrangement, disposition') a constitution or condition of the body which makes the tissues react in special ways to certain extrinsic stimuli and thus tends to make the person more than usually susceptible to certain diseases.
[Multilingual]No:491 - differentiation
the distinguishing of one thing or disease from another.
[Multilingual]No:492 - diffuse
(L. dis- apart + fundere to pour) not definitely limited or localized; widely distributed.
[Multilingual]No:493 - diffusion
the process of becoming diffused, or widely spread; the spontaneous movement of molecules or other particles in solution, owing to their random thermal motion, to reach a uniform concentration throughout the solvent, a process requiring no addition of energy to the system.
[Multilingual]No:494 - digestive
pertaining to digestion.
[Multilingual]No:495 - digitalization
the administration of digitalis in a dosage schedule designed to produce and then maintain optimal therapeutic concentrations of its cardiotonic glycosides.
[Multilingual]No:496 - dilatation
the condition, as of an orifice or tubular structure, of being dilated or stretched beyond the normal dimensions.
[Multilingual]No:497 - diphtheria
(Gr. diphthera leather + -ia) an acute infectious disease caused by toxigenic strains of Corynebacterium diphtheriae, acquired by contact with an infected person or a carrier of the disease, which is usually confined to the upper respiratory tract, and characterized by the formation of a tough membrane (false membrane or pseudomembrane) attached firmly to the underlying tissue that will bleed if forcibly removed. In the most serious infections the membrane begins in the tonsillar (faucial) area on one tonsil and may spread to involve the other tonsil, uvula, soft palate, and pharyngeal wall, from where it may extend to the larynx, trachea, and bronchial tree, and may cause bronchial obstruction and death by hypoxia. Diphtheria also occurs in a cutaneous form and may rarely involve the eyes, middle ear, buccal mucosa, genitalia and umbilical stump, usually secondarily. Systemic effects, chiefly myocarditis and peripheral neuritis, are caused by the exotoxin produced by C. diphtheriae. Called also Bretonneau's angina or disease.
[Multilingual]No:498 - diplopia
(diplo- + -opia) the perception of two images of a single object; called also ambiopia, double vision, and binocular polyopia.
[Multilingual]No:499 - direct
(L. directus) 1. straight; in a straight line. 2. performed immediately and without the intervention of subsidiary means.
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