Category: D

A computer program used to manage a database. In its simplest form, it is a computerized filing system. In more elaborate forms, it relates information from different files together to produce new files, reports, and detailed analyses. Different DBMSs also tend to have their own languages with which they can be programmed for specific purposes,…

A landmark hospital law case which established that the hospital is responsible for care provided to patients, and that the medical staff must be accountable to the hospital for the care provided by medical staff members. The case involved a young man named Darling who was brought to a hospital with a leg fracture suffered…

The director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. This office, created by Congress in 1988, is charged with coordinating the federal government’s anti-drug initiatives. William Bennett was the first individual to hold this office.  

Highly potent substances capable of producing intense and long-term psychic effects, including the sensation of complete separation from reality (e.g., angel dust, or PCP).  

A prolonged decrease in the number and/or sensitivity of drug receptors, usually occurring as a compensatory response to overstimulation of the receptor.  

The enzyme that converts dihydroxyphenylalanine (dopa) into dopamine.  

Amount of drug administered when a patient activates certain drug delivery systems such as those used during patient-controlled analgesia.  

The date on which a baby’s birth is expected, traditionally calculated by doctors as 280 days (40 weeks) from the beginning of the woman’s last menstruation, even though fertilization probably did not take place until two weeks later, at the time of ovulation; also called expected date of confinement (EDC) by doctors. To calculate a…

The highest degree offered for graduate studies, beyond the master’s degree. A doctorate, often a Ph.D. (doctorate of philosophy), is generally awarded to a student who has successfully completed a specified program, normally taking at least three or four years of study beyond the bachelor’s degree.  

A multidisciplinary meeting, often involving a social worker, pediatrician, and psychologist or psychiatrist, at which decisions are made about short-term custody of a child in cases of possible child abuse and neglect. At a later dispositional hearing, a court or administrative official decides longer-term questions about the child’s custody.