Category: Cb-Ch

A type of chromosome rearrangement, also called a Robertsonian translocation, in which there is fusion of an entire long arm of one acrocentric chromosome with a similarly intact long arm of another acrocentric chromosome. The short arms of the chromosomes participating in the translocation are usually lost. Acrocentric chromosomes have their centromere near but not at the…

A process in which millions of cells change light into nerve signals that tell the brain what the person is seeing. As a person reads, drives, and performs other activities that require fine, sharp, straight-ahead vision, light is focused onto the macula in the center of the retina, the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the…

A catheter (tube) that is passed through a vein to end up in the thoracic (chest) portion of the vena cava (the large vein returning blood to the heart) or in the right atrium of the heart. Central venous lines have a number of different uses. A central venous line allows concentrated solutions to be infused with less risk of complications. It permits monitoring of…

The central nervous system is that part of the nervous system that consists of the brain and spinal cord. The central nervous system (CNS) is one of the two major divisions of the nervous system. The other is the peripheral nervous system (PNS) which is outside the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system (PNS) connects the central nervous system…

An infusion tube located in or near the heart, which is at the center of the circulatory system. For example, a Swan-Ganz catheter with its tip in the right atrium and ventricle of the heart is a central line.

At or near the center. In anatomy and medicine (as elsewhere), central is the opposite of “peripheral” which means away from the center. The word “peripheral” comes from the Greek “peripheria” (“peri-“, around or about + “pherein”, to bear, carry). A central line is an infusion tube that is located in or near the heart (centrally in the circulatory system).…

A unit of measure in the metric system which is 1/100’th of a meter. There are 2.54 centimeters (cms) in one inch. The centimeter is commonly used in medicine to state the size of objects or distance between points. It may seem senseless to define a centimeter in a medical dictionary but in North American medicine (and…

A spreading bacterial infection underneath the skin surface characterized by redness, warmth, swelling, and pain. Cellulitis commonly appears in areas where there is a break in the skin.

The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small container of chemicals and water wrapped in a membrane. There are 100 trillion cells in a human, and each contains all of the genetic information necessary to manufacture a human being. This information is encoded within the cell nucleus in 6 billion…

A disorder resulting from an immune reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat and related grains, and present in many foods. Celiac disease causes impaired absorption and digestion of nutrients through the small intestine. Symptoms include frequent diarrhea , weight loss , iron deficiency anemia, osteoporosis . A skin condition dermatitis herpetiformis can be associated with celiac disease. The most accurate test…