Category: C

Hospital area specially equipped and staffed to treat patients with serious, life-threatening cardiac problems. A part of the hospital dedicated to treating people with serious acute heart disease; commonly abbreviated as CCU. The CCU combines specialized equipment for constant electronic monitoring of heart function with highly trained personnel who can detect the signs and symptoms…

Type of open-heart surgery in which a section of a blood vessel (e.g., the saphenous vein) is grafted from the aorta onto a coronary artery in an effort to improve the blood supply to the heart by bypassing a diseased or blocked section of the coronary artery. If effective, better cardiac function and reduced angina…

Outermost, horny layer (stratum corneum) of the skin; upper layer of the epidermis.  

Replacement of a diseased or damaged cornea with one taken from a donor eye, usually from a person who recently died. Grafting a donated cornea to restore function of the eye. The implantation of a cornea from a healthy donor eye. This is the most common organ transplantation procedure in the U.S. There are two…

Inflammation of the spermatic cord, caused by infection, hydrocele, tumor, or injury to the groin and characterized by pain and sometimes swelling and tenderness in the testes.    

Emotional disorder in which emotional conflicts are converted into physical symptoms (e.g., blindness, paralysis, pain). Treatment is by psychotherapy. Also called conversion disorder; conversion reaction.  

Anesthetic procedure where intravenous medication is used to help relax the patient during a procedure, without inducing total unconsciousness. Usually utilized with procedures that are anxiety-producing for the patient, such as suturing a laceration in a child or endoscopy. A medically controlled state of depressed consciousness during which the client retains the ability to maintain…

Type of anesthesia produced by an anesthetic agent along the course of a nerve to inhibit the conduction of pain impulses to the area supplied by that nerve; also called nerve block anesthesia.  

Lens of glass or hard plastic that has one or both surfaces curved so that the outer rim is thicker and the hollowed (caved) center is thinner; used to improve the vision of persons with nearsightedness (myopia).  

Strip of cloth wrapped around a part to stop hemorrhage, immobilize the part, or keep fluid from collecting in a limb.