Category: D

A cytotoxic antibiotic drug principally used for treating cancers such as acute leukamias and lymphomas in children. It is given intravenously and treatment normally takes place in hospital. The drug was previously known as actinomycin D.  

The healthy chest is gently rounded all over, its contour being more so in women by the breast tissue. In cross-section it is oval-shaped with a longer dimension from side to side than from back to front.  

The female breasts may be expected to undergo hormone-controlled enlargement at puberty, and later in pregnancy, and the glandular part of the breast undergoes involution (shrinkage) after the menopause. The breast can also be affected by many different diseases, with common symptoms being pain, nipple discharge or retraction, and the formation of a lump within…

These consist either of expanding masses (lumps or tumours), or of areas of shrinkage (atrophy) due to degeneration, or to loss of blood supply, usually from blockage of an artery.  

Arteries are the blood vessels that convey blood away from the heart to the tissues. The commonest cause of arterial disease is a degenerative condition known as atherosclerosis. Less commonly, inflammation of the arteries occurs; this inflammation is known as arteritis and occurs in a variety of conditions.  

Medical equipment, such as a wheelchair, breathing equipment, home dialysis equipment, or other equipment, that is prescribed by the physician. The term is used most often when DME is used in the home. Assistive devices used by patients at home, such as walkers, electric beds, and bedside commodes.  

A legal doctrine used to permit an employee to sue her employer despite workers’ compensation which ordinarily employs the exclusive remedy doctrine. The dual injury doctrine is used in circumstances where the employer concealed the injury or illness from the employee, such as where the company physician detects asbestos poisoning but fails to tell the…

A legal doctrine used to permit an employee to sue her employer despite workers’ compensation which ordinarily employs the exclusive remedy doctrine (see remedy). It is used in circumstances where the employer has provided medical treatment for an employee’s work-related injury, and has caused additional injury through negligent treatment. The employer may not be sued…

A benefit payment practice used by some health insurers, and for some Medicare benefits, in which the beneficiary is billed for the contractual copayment percentage of the retail price of a given service, while the insurance company or Medicare pays only on a discounted price for the service. This practice passes a higher percentage of…

A written order, by a licensed physician, dentist, or other authorized individual, for a prescription drug to be dispensed by a pharmacy or given in a hospital to a specific patient. When such an order is given in a hospital for a drug to be given to an inpatient, it is called a “medication order”…