Category: Dl-Du

An old term for the swelling of soft tissues due to the accumulation of excess water. In years gone by, a person might have been said to have dropsy. Today one would be more descriptive and specify the cause. Thus, the person might have edema due to congestive heart failure. Edema is often more prominent in the…

Drop hand syndrome is also known as wrist drop or finger drop, a condition caused by paralysis of or damage to the radial nerve of the arm. The radial nerve supplies the muscles that extend the wrist and fingers. The end result is that the hand hangs flaccidly in a position of flexion during attempts to bring the arm to a horizontal…

Short for intravenous drip, a device for administering a fluid drop-by-drop into a vein via an intravenous (IV) route.

Thoughts, visions, and other sensations that occupy the mind in sleep. Dreams occur during that part of sleep when there are rapid eye movements (REMs). We have 3 to 5 periods of REM sleep per night. They usually come at intervals of 1-2 hours and are quite variable in length. An episode of REM sleep may be brief…

An exam done to detect abnormalities that can be felt (palpated) from within the rectum. The doctor inserts a lubricated, gloved finger into the rectum and feels for anything that is not normal. The digital rectal exam is an important screening test for the detection of tumors of the rectum and prostate abnormalities, including benign enlargement of the prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia)…

A device for removing fluid from a cavity or wound. A drain is typically a tube or wick. As a verb, to allow fluid to be released from a confined area.

Immunization to protect against diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), and tetanus. DPT immunizations are given in a series of 5 shots at 2, 4, 6, 18 months of age and 4-6 years of age. Thanks to vaccination programs, these diseases have become less common. However, there are still unvaccinated individuals capable of carrying and passing diphtheria and pertussis to others who are not vaccinated. Tetanus…

Diphtheria-Pertussis-Tetanus vaccine. Today the more frequent abbreviation is DTP (for Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis vaccine).

Brand name: Vibramycin. A synthetic broad-spectrum antibiotic derived from tetracycline. Doxycycline is used for many different types of infections, including respiratory tract infections due to Hemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, or Mycoplasma pneumoniae. It is also used for the treatment of nongonococcal urethritis (due to Ureaplasma), Rocky Mountain spotted fever, typhus, chancroid, cholera, brucellosis, syphilis, and acne. Doxycycline is also of relevance to bioterrorism since the CDC (US…

An decrease in the number of receptors on the surface of target cells, making the cells less sensitive to a hormone or another agent. For example, insulin receptors may be downregulated in type 2 diabetes.