Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Machine, CPM
A machine used to help rehabilitate a limb (an arm or leg). The continuous passive motion (CPM) machine is attached to, for example, a knee that has had surgery. The CPM machine then constantly moves the knee through a range of motion for a period of time while the patient relaxes.
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Macewen sign
A sign to detect hydrocephalus and brain abscess. Percussion (tapping) on the skull at a particular spot (near the junction of the frontal, temporal and parietal bones) yields an unusually resonant sound in the presence of hydrocephalus or a brain abscess. Named for Sir William Macewen (1848-1924), a surgeon in Glascow, Scotland who also described Macewen’s operation for inguinal hernia.
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Macerate
To soften tissues after death by soaking and by enzymatic digestion, as occurs with a stillborn. The word “macerate” comes from the Latin “macero” meaning to soften by soaking (in a liquid).
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MAB
Or mab. Abbreviation for monoclonal antibody. At the end of a generic drug name, -mab indicates that the drug is a monoclonal antibody. As in adalimumab, bevacizumab, infliximab, rituximab, and trastuzumab.
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MD
Abbreviation for the Latin title Medicinae Doctor, Doctor of Medicine. Sometimes written today as MD (without the period after each letter). All medical schools in the United States and Canada award an M.D. degree, usually after 4 years undergraduate study at a college or university followed by 4 years of medical school. (Some medical schools award…
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Lytic
Suffix having to do with lysis (destruction), as in hemolytic anemia, the excessive destruction of red blood cells leading to anemia.
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Lysis
Destruction. Hemolysis is the destruction of red blood cells with the release of hemoglobin; bacteriolysis is the destruction of bacteria; etc. Lysis can also refer to the subsidence of one or more symptoms of an acute disease as, for example, the lysis of fever in pneumonia.
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Lymphoma
A tumor of the lymphoid tissue. The major types of lymphoma are Hodgkin’s disease and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). NHL can in turn be divided into low-grade, intermediate-grade, high-grade, and miscellaneous lymphomas. The course of NHL varies greatly, from indolent to rapidly fatal. Treatment options include chemo and radiation therapy.
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Lymphoid
Referring to lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, or to tissue in which lymphocytes develop. Lymphoid tissue is full of lymphocytes, such as a lymph node.
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Lymphocytic
Referring to lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. For example, lymphocytic inflammation in the skin is skin that is infiltrated with ‘lymphocytes.
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