Dictionary

cancer, bone See bone cancer.

cancer, bladder See bladder cancer.

cancer An abnormal growth of cells that tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to metastasize (spread) to other areas of the body. Cancer is not one disease; rather, it is a host of more than 100 different and distinctive diseases. A tumor can involve any tissue of the body. Most…

Canavan disease A progressive, inherited disorder of the central nervous system that is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme aspartoacylase. Signs appearing in children between 3 and 6 months of age include developmental delay, significant motor slowness, enlargement of the head (macrocephaly), loss of muscle tone (hypotonia), poor head control, and severe feeding problems….

Campylobacter jejuni A bacterium that typically infects the bowels. Now the leading cause of bacterial food poisoning, Campylobacter jejuni is most often spread by contact with raw or undercooked poultry. A single drop of juice from a contaminated chicken is enough to make someone sick. Symptoms tend to start 2 to 5 days after exposure…

calorie A unit of food energy. The word calorie is ordinarily used instead of the more precise, scientific term kilocalorie. A kilocalorie represents the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a liter of water 1° centigrade at sea level. Technically, a kilocalorie represents 1,000 true calories of energy.

calor Heat, one of the four classic signs of inflammation together with dolor, rubor, and tumor (pain, redness, and swelling, respectively).

callus 1 A localized, firm thickening of the superficial layer of skin as a result of repetitive friction. A callus on the skin of the foot may have become thick and hard from rubbing against an ill-fitting shoe. Calluses of the feet may lead to other problems, such as serious infections. Shoes that fit well…

caliper 1 A metal or plastic instrument used to measure the diameter of an object. The skin-fold thickness in several parts of the body can be measured with calipers, as can fat deposits. This measurement is done in medicine, especially in the diagnosis and treatment of obesity, and in physical anthropology. Calipers are also used…

calf The belly or fleshy hind part of the back of the leg below the knee. The calf is made up mainly of the gastrocnemius muscle. Pain in the calf is commonly caused by muscle strain, but can be caused by blood clots in veins of the legs.

calculus, renal See kidney stones.

calculus A stone, as in the urinary tract, or calcium salt deposits on the teeth. In Latin, the word calculus means “a pebble.” Pebbles were once used for counting, from which came the mathematical field of calculus.