Medications

Calor, dolor, rubor, and tumor - Medical

Calor, dolor, rubor, and tumor: Heat, pain, redness, and swelling. The four classical signs of inflammation, originally recorded by the Roman encyclopedist Celsus in the 1st century A.D. Last Editorial Review: 10/23/2003 Inflammation: A basic way i...

Calor - Medical

Calor: Heat, one of the four classic signs of inflammation (together with dolor, rubor and tumor). From the Latin calor, heat. See also: Dolor; Rubor; Tumor. Last Editorial Review: 10/23/2003 Inflammation: A basic way in which the body reacts t...

Callus - Medical

Callus: 1. A localized firm thickening of the upper layer of skin as a result of repetitive friction. A callus on the skin of the foot has become thick and hard from rubbing (as a result of repetitive friction). Calluses of the feet may lead to othe...

Callosity - Medical

Callosity: Synonymous with callus. Both callus and callosity are derived from the Latin callum meaning thick skin.Last Editorial Review: 10/3/2004 Callus: 1. A localized firm thickening of the upper layer of skin as a result of repetitive friction. ...

CALLA - Medical

CALLA: Common acute lymphocytic leukemia antigen. See: Metallomembrane endopeptidase. Last Editorial Review: 10/3/2004 Metallomembrane endopeptidase: (MME) A molecule that is also known as CALLA (common acute lymphocytic leukemia antigen), a ce...

Calipers, skin - Medical

Calipers, skin: See: Skin calipers.Last Editorial Review: 3/26/1998 2:24:00 PM Skin calipers: A simple method for determining the lean body mass. This method involves measuring the skinfold thickness of the layer of fat just under the skin in severa...

Calipers - Medical

Calipers: A metal or plastic tool similar to a compass used to measure the diameter of an object. The skin fold thickness in several parts of the body can be measured with skin calipers to determine the lean body mass. This may be done in medicine, ...

Calicivirus - Medical

Calicivirus: A group of viruses belonging to the family Caliciviridae that includes: Norovirus, a common cause of food poisoning and acute gastroenteritis in humans; Sapovirus, formerly called "Sapporo-like virus" (SLV) and sometimes referred to ...

Caliciviridae - Medical

Caliciviridae: See: Calicivirus; Norovirus.Last Editorial Review: 2/29/2004 Calicivirus: A group of viruses belonging to the family Caliciviridae that includes: Norovirus, a common cause of food poisoning and acute gastroenteritis in humans; Sap...

Calf bone - Medical

Calf bone: Familiar name for the fibula, the lateral (outside) and smaller of the two long bones in the lower leg. The other bone in the lower leg is the tibia. The tibia bears weight; the fibula does not. The fibula articulates (comes together to ...

Calf - Medical

Calf: The belly or fleshy hind part of the leg below the knee. The calf is made up mainly of the gastrocnemius muscle (which comes from the Greek "gastroknemia" meaning calf of the leg, from "gaster" (gastr-), belly, + "kneme," leg). The word "calf...

Calefacient - Medical

Calefacient: 1. (noun) Anything that warms. 2. (noun) A substance that produces a feeling of warmth when it is applied to the body. 3. (adjective) Producing warmth; heating. From the Latin calefacere (to make warm), from calere (to be warm) + fac...

Calculus, renal - Medical

Calculus, renal: A stone in the kidney (or lower down in the urinary tract). Also called a kidney stone. The stones themselves are called renal caluli. The word "calculus" (plural: calculi) is the Latin word for pebble. Renal stones are a common c...

Calculus - Medical

Calculus: 1. A stone within the body, such as a stone in the urinary tract. 2. The calcium salt deposits on the teeth. 3. A field of mathematics. These different meanings of "calculus" all go bach to the origin of the word. In Latin, a calculu...

Calculi, renal - Medical

Calculi, renal: Kidney stones, by another name. A common cause of blood in the urine and pain in the abdomen, flank, or groin. Occurs in 1 in 20 people at some time in their life. Development of the stones is related to decreased urine volum...

Calculi - Medical

Calculi: The plural of calculus. (Calculi is the proper Latin plural. The alternate English plural is calculuses.)Last Editorial Review: 12/27/2003 Calculus: 1. A stone within the body, such as a stone in the urinary tract. 2. The calcium salt de...

Calcium excess - Medical

Calcium excess: Overly high intake of calcium that can result in elevated levels of calcium in the blood (hypercalcemia). This can cause muscle weakness and constipation, affect the conduction of electrical impulses in the heart (heart block), lead...

Calcium deficiency - Medical

Calcium deficiency: A low level of calcium in the blood (hypocalcemia) which can make the nervous system highly irritable causing tetany (spasms of the hands and feet, muscle cramps, abdominal cramps, and overly active reflexes). Chronic calcium de...

Calcium channel blocker - Medical

Calcium channel blocker: A drug that blocks the entry of calcium into the muscle cells of the heart and the arteries. It is the entry of calcium into these cells that causes the heart to contract and arteries to narrow. By blocking the entry of calc...

Calcium - Medical

Calcium: A mineral found mainly in the hard part of bones, where it is stored. Calcium is added to bones by cells called osteoblasts and is removed from bones by cells called osteoclasts. Calcium is essential for healthy bones. It is also importa...

Calcitriol - Medical

Calcitriol: The active form of vitamin D. Calcitriol is formed in the kidneys or made in the laboratory. It is used as a drug to increase calcium levels in the body in order to treat skeletal and tissue-related calcium deficiencies caused by kidney ...

Calcitonin - Medical

Calcitonin: A hormone produced by the thyroid gland that lowers the levels of calcium and phosphate in the blood and promotes the formation of bone. Bone is in a constant state of remodeling whereby old bone is removed by cells called osteoclast an...

Calcipotriene - Medical

Calcipotriene: A synthetic form of vitamin D3 that can be applied to the skin to treat psoriasis.Last Editorial Review: 11/22/2003 Psoriasis: A reddish, scaly rash often located over the surfaces of the elbows, knees, scalp, and around or in the ear...

Calcinosis - Medical

Calcinosis: An abnormal deposit of calcium salts in body tissues, as is seen in some forms of disease. Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM...

Calcimimetic - Medical

Calcimimetic: A drug in a class of orally active, small molecules that decrease the secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH) by activating calcium receptors. The secretion of PTH is normally regulated by the calcium-sensing receptor. Calcimimetic agent...

Calcified granuloma - Medical

Calcified granuloma: A calcified granuloma is a granuloma containing calcium deposits. Since it usually takes some time for calcium to be deposited in a granuloma, it is generally assumed that a calcified granuloma is an old granuloma. A g...

Calcification, nonarteriosclerotic cerebral - Medical

Calcification, nonarteriosclerotic cerebral: This condition described in 1930 by T. Fahr (and therefore called Fahr syndrome) is a genetic (inherited) neurological disorder characterized by abnormal deposits of calcium in certain of areas of the bra...

Calcification - Medical

Calcification: The process of building bone by suffusing tissues with calcium salts. Also called ossification.Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM...

Calcific bursitis - Medical

Calcific bursitis: A bursa is a thin fluid-filled sac that reduces friction forces between tissues of the body. Chronic (repeated of long-standing) inflammation of the bursa ( bursitis) can lead to calcification of the bursa. This is referred to a...

Calcaneus - Medical

Calcaneus: The calcaneus is the heel bone. It is also called the os calcis. The calcaneus is a more or less rectangular bone at the back of the foot. The word "calcaneus" comes from the Latin calx meaning limestone. The heel bone looked like a lum...