Dictionary

Maimonides’ Daily Prayer of a Physician See Daily Prayer of a Physician.

maintenance therapy Treatment designed to help the original primary treatment to succeed. Maintenance therapy may be given to patients who have cancer that is in remission to prevent a relapse.

major In general, something that is more than something else. For example, the teres major muscle is larger than the teres minor muscle.

major histocompatability complex A cluster of genes on chromosome 6 that encode a class of cell surface molecules that are important for antigen production and are critical in organ transplantation. Abbreviated MHC. The MHC includes the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes.

malabsorption Poor intestinal absorption of nutrients. Malabsorption can occur from diseases that injure the bowels, such as Crohn’s disease, Whipple’s disease, celiac disease, and many others.

malacia Softening. For example, osteomalacia is softening of bone, usually due to deficiency of calcium and vitamin D.

malady A disease or an illness, from the French maladie, meaning “illness.”

malaise A vague feeling of discomfort, one that cannot be pinned down but is often sensed as “just not right.”

malar Referring to the cheek. For example, a malar rash is a rash that appears over the cheeks.

malar bone The zygoma. See also zygoma.

malar rash Rash over the cheeks. See also butterfly rash.

malaria An infectious disease that affects many millions of people and is caused by protozoan parasites from the Plasmodium family. These parasites can be transmitted by the sting of the Anopheles mosquito or by a contaminated needle or transfusion. The symptoms of malaria include cycles of chills, fever, sweats, muscle aches, and headache that recur…