Category: D

  • Decolorize

    To remove dye from a stained microscopic specimen, usually with an acid alcohol wash.  

  • Functional decline

    The loss of independent function that often accompanies an acute illness or the cumulative effects of a chronic illness, a restriction in activities, or a change in diet, especially in older persons.  

  • Declinator

    An instrument used during trephining for holding apart the dura mater.  

  • Declaration of helsinki

    A guideline promulgated by the World Medical Association that governs the ethical treatment of patients enrolled in medical research.  

  • Declaration of Hawaii

    Ethical and practice guidelines developed by the World Psychiatric Association for the worldwide practice of psychiatry. It defines psychiatry as medical treatment of psychiatric disorders, requires maintenance and use of current clinical knowledge, and describes the parameters of the therapist- patient relationship and the need to safeguard an incapacitated or judgment-impaired individual’s rights. Assessments are…

  • Declaration of Geneva

    A statement adopted in 1948 by the Second General Assembly of the World Medical Association. Some medical schools use it at graduation exercises.  

  • Decision analysis

    A logical, consistent approach to making a medical decision when its consequences cannot be foretold with certainty. Uncertainties in medical practice are due to many factors (e.g., biological variation and limitations in the clinical data available for an individual patient).  

  • Decision aid

    An educational tool designed to assist patients or health care professionals in making choices about aspects of care.  

  • Deciduitis

    A uterine tumor containing decidual tissue, thought to arise from portions of decidua retained within the uterus following an abortion.  

  • Deciduation

    The loss of the decidua during menstruation.