Category: C

The induction of analgesia by the use of cold that is produced by means of a special probe. The use of cold for the relief of pain dates back to the early days of mankind: two millennia ago, Hippocrates was recommending snow and ice packs as a preoperative analgesic. The modern probe allows a precise…

A clear, yellow liquid, of aromatic smell and burning taste, prepared by distillation from pine-wood or beech-wood. It mixes readily with alcohol, ether, chloroform, glycerin, and oils. A mixture of phenols obtained from the destructive distillation of coal or wood. This toxic substance has been used as a disinfectant and as a preserver of wood.…

An enzyme which is proving to be of value in the investigation and diagnosis of muscular dystrophy, in which it is found in the blood in greatly increased amounts. An enzyme that catalyzes the reversible transfer of high-energy phosphate between creatine and phosphocreatine and between adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Different isoforms predominate…

A peculiar resonance heard sometimes on percussion of the chest over a cavity in the lung, resembling the jarring sound heard on striking a cracked pot or bell. It is also heard on percussion over the skull in patients with diseases of the brain such as haemorrhages and tumours, and in certain cases of fracture…

A group of viruses so-called because they were first isolated from two patients with a disease resembling paralytic poliomyelitis, in the village of Coxsackie in New York State. Thirty distinct types have now been identified. They constitute one of the three groups of viruses included in the family of enteroviruses, and are divided into two…

Temporary loss of consciousness that may be induced by a severe spasm of coughing. This is the result of the high pressure that may be induced in the chest — over 200 millimetres of mercury — by such a spasm, which prevents the return of blood to the heart. The veins in the neck begin…

Traditionally, doctors have been trained to treat a patient on the basis of his or her personal clinical needs. Increasingly, however, the practice of medicine has been influenced by patients social circumstances and more recently by community- and government driven national priorities. One critical aspect of these widening influences has been the cost of medical…

A genus of aerobic and anaerobic gram-positive bacteria, widely distributed and best known as parasites and pathogens in humans. C. diphtheria, a prime example, causes diphtheria.  

Corticotropin is the British Pharmacopoeia name for the adrenocorticotrophic hormone of the pituitary gland, also known as ACTH. It is so-called because it stimulates the functions of the cortex of the suprarenal glands. This results, among other things, in an increased output of cortisone.  

Coronaviruses — so-called because in electron micrographs the spikes projecting from the virus resemble a crown — are a group of viruses which have been isolated from people with common colds and have also been shown to produce common colds under experimental conditions. Their precise significance in the causation of the common cold is still…