Category: Cb-Ch

Congestive heart failure.

Pain in the chest that can be a result of many things, including angina, heart attack (coronary occlusion), and other important diseases. Chest pain is a warning to seek medical attention, so one should try not to ignore chest pain and ‘work through it.’

The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains the lungs, the heart, and part of the aorta. The walls of the chest are supported by the dorsal vertebrae, the ribs, and the sternum. Also known as thorax.

1. In the original sense, a chemical that binds to and specifically kills microbes or tumor cells. The term chemotherapy was coined in this regard by Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915).2. In oncology, drug therapy for cancer. Also called “chemo” for short. Most cancer chemotherapeutic drugs are given IV (into a vein) or IM (into muscle). Some anticancer agents are taken orally (by…

Slang for chemotherapy — drug therapy for cancer. Most anticancer drugs are given IV (into a vein) or IM (into muscle). Some anticancer agents are taken orally (by mouth). Chemotherapy is usually systemic treatment, meaning that the drugs flow through the bloodstream to nearly every part of the body. Patients who need many rounds of IV chemotherapy…

The side of the face, which forms the side wall of the mouth. The cheekbone is part of the temporal bone of the skull, and it provides the prominence of the cheek. The term cheek also refers to something that has the form of the human cheek, particularly with two laterally paired parts, such as a buttock.

Congenital heart disease, a malformation of the heart or the large blood vessels near the heart. The term “congenital” speaks only to time, not to causation; it means “born with” or “present at birth.” Congenital heart disease is the most frequent form of major birth defects in newborns affecting close to 1% of newborn babies (8 per 1,000).…

A practice of heroin use involving heating heroin and then inhaling it. Some heroin users have gone to this practice because they believe erroneously that it will protect them against contracting HIV and other diseases associated with injecting heroin. “Chasing the dragon” carries a risk of untreatable brain damage with death occurring in about 20% of cases. Abnormalities occur…

Slang for a cramp in a muscle in the leg, usually caused by a strain or injury. A charley horse can last anywhere from a few seconds to over a quarter of an hour. It is not uncommon for one to recur before it finally resolves.

The rule that in DNA there is always equality in quantity between the bases A and T and between the bases G and C. (A is adenine, T is thymine, G is guanine, and C is cytosine.) Named for the great Austrian-American biochemist Erwin Chargaff (1905-2002) at Columbia University who discovered this rule. Also known…