Dictionary

orthopedics The branch of surgery that is broadly concerned with the skeletal system. Sometimes spelled orthopaedics.

orthopaedist See orthopedist.

orthopaedics See orthopedics.

orthomolecular medicine 1 A type of medicine that, according to biochemist Linus Pauling, is concerned with “the preservation of good health and the treatment of disease by varying the concentration in the human body of substances that are normally present in the body.” The treatment of diabetes with the injection of insulin and the prevention…

orthodontics The dental specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of dental deformities as well as irregularity in the relationship of the lower to the upper jaw.

orthodontic treatment The use of devices, such as dental braces, to move teeth or adjust underlying bone. Teeth can be moved with removable appliances or with fixed braces.

ortho- Prefix meaning straight or erect, as in orthodontics (the straightening of the teeth) and orthostatic (in an upright posture).

ORT Oral rehydration therapy.

ORS Oral rehydration solution.

orphan drug A drug that is designed to treat or prevent an orphan disease. See also orphan disease.

orphan disease A disease that has not been “adopted” by the pharmaceutical industry because it provides little financial incentive for the private sector to make and market new medications to treat or prevent it. An orphan disease may be a rare disease (according to US criteria, a disease that affects fewer than 200,000 people) or…

oropharynx The part of the throat that is at the back of the mouth, in contrast to the nasopharynx (the part of the throat that is behind the nose).