Category: C

  • Cartilaginification

    Abnormal formation of cartilage from other tissues. Cartilage formation or chondrification; the development of cartilage from undifferentiated tissue.  

  • Cardiac massage

    Repeated, rhythmic compression of the heart through the chest wall or, during surgery, directly to the heart in an effort to maintain circulation during cardiac arrest as part of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The procedure used to restart the action of the heart if it is suddenly arrested. In many cases the arrested heart can be made…

  • Cardiac conduction system

    Specialized tissue that carries the nerve impulse for contraction from its origin, in the sinoatrial node, through the atria, to the atrioventricular node. From here it passes through the bundle of His into the ventricles via Purkinje fibers of the left and right bundle branches. Small, terminal Purkinje fibers deliver the stimulus at a cellular…

  • Carcinoembryonic antigen

    Antigen present only in very small amounts in normal tissues. Used as a screening test for cancer and as a tool to monitor the success of therapy (e.g., surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy). An antigen measured in serum and sometimes other body fluids to detect the presence or recurrence of cancer in such sites as the colon,…

  • Car sickness

    Nausea from acceleration, deceleration, and other motions experienced while riding in a car.  

  • Cannulation

    Insertion of a cannula into a body cavity or duct (e.g., trachea); also called cannulization.  

  • Cancellous

    Containing a lattice-work type of structure; often used to describe the microscopic architecture of bones such as the vertebrae, femur, and calcaneus (heel). Applied to the bony tissue laid down by osteoblasts during development of bone and in the consolidation stage of fracture repair. A term applied to loose bony tissues as found in the…

  • Canalization

    Formation of channels or passages through tissue.  

  • Caliber

    Diameter of a tube or vessel (e.g., a blood vessel). The diameter of any orifice, canal, or tube.  

  • Calefacient

    Producing warmth or the sensation of warmth (e.g., a hot-water bottle or a commercial ointment for muscle soreness). To warm or to make hot, as in applying a hot compress. Conveying a sense of warmth when applied to a part of the body; something that conveys such a sense.