cheek The side of the face, which forms the side wall of the mouth. The cheekbone is part of the temporal bone of the skull, and it provides the prominence of the cheek. The term cheek also refers to something that has the form of the human cheek, particularly with two laterally paired parts, such…
chase the dragon A practice of heroin use that involves heating heroin and then inhaling it. This practice carries a risk of irreversible brain damage and death.
chart, Snellen The familiar eye chart used to measure how well a person sees at various distances. A Snellen chart is imprinted with block letters that decrease in size line by line, corresponding to the distance at which that line of letters is normally visible.
charley horse Slang for a cramp in a muscle in the leg, usually caused by a strain or injury. A charley horse can last anywhere from a few seconds to over a quarter of an hour. It is not uncommon for one to recur before it finally resolves.
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease A genetic disease of nerves that is characterized by progressively debilitating weakness, particularly of the limbs. The foremost feature is marked wasting of the extremities, particularly in the calves, resulting in “stork legs.” The disease usually weakens the legs before it weakens the arms. Pes cavus (deformity of the foot) is often the…
change of life See menopause.
chancre The classic nonpainful ulcer of syphilis that teems with spirochetes. A chancre forms in the first (primary) stage of syphilis, is highly contagious, and can last from 1 to 5 weeks. Syphilis can be transmitted from any contact with a chancre. If a chancre is outside the vagina or on the scrotum of the…
CHAMPUS Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services. CHAMPUS is a US federally funded health program that provides beneficiaries with medical care, supplemental to that available in US military and Public Health Service facilities. All CHAMPUS beneficiaries switch to using Medicare at age 65. CHAMPUS is like Medicare in that the government contracts…
chalazion See cyst, Meibomian.
Chagas disease An infectious disease found in Central and South America caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. The parasite can be transmitted through bites from bugs that carry it (known as kissing bugs) or via blood transfusion. Soon after infection, there may be symptoms such as swelling of the eye on one side of the…
CFS Chronic fatigue syndrome.
cesarean section See caesarean section.