Dictionary

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention See CDC.

Centigrade A thermometer scale in which the freezing point of water at sea level is 0°C and the boiling point of water at sea level is 100°C. The Centigrade scale is used in most of the world to indicate the temperature on a thermometer, but the Fahrenheit scale is still popular in the US. This…

centimorgan A unit of measure of genetic recombination frequency. Abbreviated cM. One cM is equal to a 1 percent chance that a marker at one genetic locus will be separated from a marker at another locus due to crossing over in a single generation. In humans, 1 cM is equivalent, on average, to 1 million…

central auditory processing disorder A neurological disorder in which a person has difficulty properly interpreting sounds received by the ears, particularly the phonemes of speech. Abbreviated CAPD. CAPD can result in difficulties with attention, speech production, and reading.

central core disease of muscle One of the conditions that produces “floppy baby” syndrome. Central core disease of muscle causes hypotonia (low muscle tone) in a newborn baby, slowly progressive muscle weakness, and muscle cramps after exercise. Muscle biopsy shows a key diagnostic finding of absent mitochondria in the center of many muscle fibers. It…

central line An infusion tube located in or near the heart, which is at the center of the circulatory system. For example, a Swan-Ganz catheter with its tip in the right atrium and ventricle of the heart is a central line.

cauliflower ear An acquired deformity of the external ear to which wrestlers and boxers are particularly vulnerable, due to trauma. When a blood clot (hematoma) forms under the skin of the ear, the clot disrupts the connection of the skin to the ear cartilage. The cartilage has no other blood supply except from the overlying…

causalgia Intense burning pain and sensitivity to the slightest vibration or touch, usually in the hand or foot, at a site some distance removed from a wound that has healed.

causes of cancer See cancer, causes.

cauterization The use of heat to destroy abnormal cells. Also known as diathermy and electrodiathermy.

cavernous hemangioma See hemangioma, cavernous.

cavernous sinus A large channel of venous blood that creates a cavity (sinus) bordered by the sphenoid bone and the temporal bone of the skull. The cavernous sinus is an important structure because of its location and its contents, which include the third cranial (oculomotor) nerve, the fourth cranial (trochlear) nerve, parts 1 (the ophthalmic…