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A set of three adjacent bases in the DNA or their complementary bases in messenger RNA that specifies the end of a polypeptide chain. The three chain-termination codons (in messenger RNA) are UAA, UAG, and UGA. They are also called termination codons, stop codons, or nonsense codons. U = uracil; A = adenine; G = guanine.

1. Cystic fibrosis, one of the most frequent and serious genetic diseases, CF affects the exocrine glands and is characterized by the production of abnormal secretions, leading to mucous build-up. This accumulation of mucus can impair the pancreas and, secondarily, the intestine. Mucous build-up in lungs tends progressively to impair respiration. Without treatment, CF results in death for 95% of affected children before age 5.…

The cervix is the lower, narrow part of the uterus (womb). The uterus, a hollow, pear-shaped organ, is located in a woman’s lower abdomen, between the bladder and the rectum. The cervix forms a canal that opens into the vagina, which leads to the outside of the body. The word “cervix” comes straight from Latin for “neck”.

Inflammation of the uterine cervix.

Difficult labor and delivery caused by mechanical obstruction at the cervix. Dystocia comes from the Greek “dys” meaning “difficult, painful, disordered, abnormal” + “tokos” meaning “birth.”

Having to do with any kind of neck, including the neck on which the head is perched and the neck of the uterus.

In many cases, a person may have a transient ischemic attack (TIA), a neurological event with the symptoms of a stroke, but the symptoms go away within a short period of time, usually a few minutes to a few hours. This is often caused by the narrowing or ulceration of the carotid arteries (the major arteries in the neck that supply blood to the…

The sudden death of some brain cells due to lack of oxygen when the blood flow to the brain is impaired by blockage or rupture of an artery to the brain. A CVA is also referred to as a stroke. Symptoms of a stroke depend on the area of the brain affected. The most common symptom is weakness or paralysis of one side…

Pertaining to the blood vessels and, especially, the arteries that supply the brain. As in cerebrovascular accident or cerebrovascular disease.

A watery fluid that is continuously produced and absorbed and that flows in the ventricles within the brain and around the surface of the brain and spinal cord. Abbreviated CSF. CSF is produced by the choroid plexus, a series of infolded blood vessels that project into the cerebral ventricles, and it is absorbed into the venous system. If…