The following are health and medical definitions of terms that appear in the Bone Cancer article. Abnormal: Not normal. Deviating from the usual structure, position, condition, or behavior. In referring to a growth, abnormal may mean that it is cancerous or premalignant (likely to become cancer ).
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Adjuvant: The Latin "adjuvans" means to help, particularly to reach a goal.
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Adjuvant therapy: Treatment that is given in addition to the primary (initial) treatment.
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Amputation: Removal of part or all of a body part enclosed by skin. For example, removal of part of a finger or an entire finger would be termed an amputation. Removal of an appendix, on the other hand, would not be termed amputation. A person who has undergone an amputation is called an amputee.
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Angry: Pertaining to anger, an emotional state that may range in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage. Anger has physical effects; it raises the heart rate and blood pressure and the levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline, and so on.
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Arm: 1. In popular usage, the appendage that extends from the shoulder to the hand. However, the medical definition refers to the upper extremity extending from the shoulder only to the elbow, excluding the forearm, which extends from the elbow to the wrist. The arm contains one bone: the humerus. 2. In a randomized clinical trial, any of the treatment groups. Most randomized trials have two "arms," but some have three "arms," or even more.
Arms: An appendage in anatomy and in clinical trials. See: Arm.
Benign: Not cancer. Not malignant . A benign tumor does not invade surrounding tissue or spread to other parts of the body. A benign tumor may grow but it stays put (in the same place).
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Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for purposes of diagnosis. (Many definitions of "biopsy" stipulate that the sample of tissue is removed for examination under a microscope. This may or may not be the case. The diagnosis may be achieved by other means such as by analysis of chromosomes or genes.)
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Blood: The familiar red fluid in the body that contains white and red blood cells, platelets, proteins, and other elements. The blood is transported throughout the body by the circulatory system. Blood functions in two directions: arterial and venous. Arterial blood is the means by which oxygen and nutrients are transported to tissues while venous blood is the means by which carbon dioxide and metabolic by-products are transported to the lungs and kidneys, respectively, for removal from the body.
Bone: Bone is the substance that forms the skeleton of the body. It is composed chiefly of calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate . It also serves as a storage area for calcium, playing a large role in calcium balance in the blood.
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Bone cancer: A malignancy in bone. Primary bone cancer , one that begins in bone, is uncommon but it is not unusual for a malignancy to spread to bone from other parts of the body such as from breast , lung, and prostate.
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Bone marrow: The soft blood-forming tissue that fills the cavities of bones and contains fat and immature and mature blood cells, including white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Diseases or drugs that affect the bone marrow can affect the total counts of these cells.
Brain: That part of the central nervous system that is located within the cranium ( skull ). The brain functions as the primary receiver, organizer and distributor of information for the body. It has two (right and left) halves called "hemispheres."
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Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to metastasize (spread).
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Cartilage: Firm, rubbery tissue that cushions bones at joints. A more flexible kind of cartilage connects muscles with bones and makes up other parts of the body, such as the larynx and the outside parts of the ears.
CAT scan : Pictures of structures within the body created by a computer that takes the data from multiple X-ray images and turns them in pictures on a screen. The CAT (computerized axial tomography) scan can reveal some soft-tissue and other structures that cannot even be seen in conventional X-rays. Using the same dosage of radiation as that of an ordinary X-ray machine, an entire slice of the body can be made visible with about 100 times more clarity with the CAT scan.
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Cell: The basic structural and functional unit in people and all living things. Each cell is a small container of chemicals and water wrapped in a membrane .
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Chemotherapy : 1. In the original sense, a chemical that binds to and specifically kills microbes or tumor cells. The term chemotherapy was coined in this regard by Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915).
2. In oncology, drug therapy for cancer. Also called "chemo" for short.
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Childhood: (1) The time for a boy or girl from birth until he or she is an adult. (2) The more circumscribed period of time from infancy to the onset of puberty .
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Chondrosarcoma: A malignant tumor that forms in cartilage cells (chondroplasts) and that produces cartilage matrix. Chondrosarcoma can be primary or secondary. Primary chondrosarcoma forms in bone and is found in children. Secondary chondrosarcoma arises from preexisting benign defects of cartilage (such as an osteochondroma or enchondroma), usually after age 40. Treatment is mainly by surgery.
Chordoma: A form of bone cancer that usually starts in the lower spinal column.
Clinical: 1. Having to do with the examination and treatment of patients. 2. Applicable to patients. A laboratory test may be of clinical value (of use to patients).
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Clinical trials: Trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications or medical devices by monitoring their effects on large groups of people.
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Cream: A word with many meanings that, in medicine and pharmacy, refers to a water-soluble preparation applied to the skin. An ointment differs from a cream in that it has an oil base.
Cure: 1. To heal, to make well, to restore to good health. Cures are easy to claim and, all too often, difficult to confirm.
2. A time without recurrence of a disease so that the risk of recurrence is small, as in the 5-year cure rate for malignant melanoma .
3. Particularly in the past, a course of treatment. For example, take a cure at a spa.
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Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease ; the identification of an illness. 2 A conclusion or decision reached by diagnosis. The diagnosis is rabies . 3 The identification of any problem. The diagnosis was a plugged IV.
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Disease: Illness or sickness often characterized by typical patient problems (symptoms) and physical findings (signs). Disruption sequence: The events that occur when a fetus that is developing normally is subjected to a destructive agent such as the rubella (German measles) virus.
Family: 1. A group of individuals related by blood or marriage or by a feeling of closeness. 2. A biological classification of related plants or animals that is a division below the order and above the genus. 3. A group of genes related in structure and in function that descended from an ancestral gene. 4. A group of gene products similarly related in structure and function and of shared genetic descent. 5. Parents and their children. The most fundamental social group in humans.
Fat: 1 Along with proteins and carbohydrates, one of the three nutrients used as energy sources by the body. The energy produced by fats is 9 calories per gram. Proteins and carbohydrates each provide 4 calories per gram. 2 Total fat; the sum of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Intake of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can help reduce blood cholesterol when substituted for saturated fats in the diet. 3 A slang term for obese or adipose. 4 In chemistry, a compound formed from chemicals called fatty acids. These fats are greasy, solid materials found in animal tissues and in some plants. Fats are the major component of the flabby material of a body, commonly known as blubber.
Fertility: The ability to conceive and have children, the ability to become pregnant through normal sexual activity. Infertility is defined as the failure to conceive after a year of regular intercourse without contraception.
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Fibrosarcoma: A malignant tumor that begins in fibrous connective tissue at the ends of the arm or leg bones and may spread to surrounding soft tissue. Fibrosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma found in children under one year of age. It presents as a rapidly growing mass at birth or early infancy. Fibrosarcoma can also occur in older children and adults. The symptoms may include a lump, soreness, pain, or a limp (if the tumor is in the leg).
Foot: The end of the leg on which a person normally stands and walks. The foot is an extremely complex anatomic structure made up of 26 bones and 33 joints that must work together with 19 muscles and 107 ligaments to execute highly precise movements. At the same time the foot must be strong to support more than 100,000 pounds of pressure for every mile walked. Even small changes in the foot can unexpectedly undermine its structural integrity and cause pain with every step.
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Health: As officially defined by the World Health Organization, a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Hospital: It may seem unnecessary to define a "hospital" since everyone knows the nature of a hospital. A hospital began as a charitable institution for the needy, aged, infirm, or young.
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Infection: The growth of a parasitic organism within the body. (A parasitic organism is one that lives on or in another organism and draws its nourishment therefrom.) A person with an infection has another organism (a "germ") growing within him, drawing its nourishment from the person.
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Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures and preparing chemicals, etc. Although "laboratory" looks very like the Latin "laboratorium" (a place to labor, a work place), the word "laboratory" came from the Latin "elaborare" (to work out, as a problem, and with great pains), as evidenced by the Old English spelling "elaboratory" designating "a place where learned effort was applied to the solution of scientific problems."
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Leg: In popular usage, the leg extends from the top of the thigh down to the foot. However, in medical terminology, the leg refers to the portion of the lower extremity from the knee to the ankle.
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Leukemia : Cancer of the blood cells. The growth and development of the blood cells are abnormal. Strictly speaking, leukemia should refer only to cancer of the white blood cells (the leukocytes) but in practice it can apply to malignancy of any cellular element in the blood or bone marrow, as in red cell leukemia (erythroleukemia).
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Limb: The arm or leg.
Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon dioxide from and bring oxygen to the blood. There is a right and left lung.
Lymphoma: Tumor of the lymphoid tissue. Diagnosis is by biopsy. Treatment may be chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, or medication, depending on the age of the patient and type of tumor.
Magnetic resonance imaging : A special radiology technique designed to image internal structures of the body using magnetism, radio waves, and a computer to produce the images of body structures. In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the scanner is a tube surrounded by a giant circular magnet. The patient is placed on a moveable bed that is inserted into the magnet. The magnet creates a strong magnetic field that aligns the protons of hydrogen atoms, which are then exposed to a beam of radio waves. This spins the various protons of the body, and they produce a faint signal that is detected by the receiver portion of the MRI scanner. A computer processes the receiver information, and an image is produced. The image and resolution is quite detailed and can detect tiny changes of structures within the body, particularly in the soft tissue, brain and spinal cord, abdomen and joints.
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Malignant: 1. Tending to be severe and become progressively worse, as in malignant hypertension. 2. In regard to a tumor, having the properties of a malignancy that can invade and destroy nearby tissue and that may spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body.
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Malignant giant cell tumor: A type of bone tumor characterized by massive destruction of bone near the end (epiphysis) of a long bone. The site most commonly struck by this tumor is the knee -- the far end of the femur and the near end of the tibia . The tumor is often coated by new bony growth. It causes pain and restricts movement. Treatment is by surgery , usually followed by chemotherapy .
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Marrow: The bone marrow.
Medical history: 1. In clinical medicine, the patient's past and present which may contain clues bearing on their health past, present, and future. The medical history, being an account of all medical events and problems a person has experienced, including psychiatric illness, is especially helpful when a differential diagnosis is needed.
2. The history of medicine.
Metastasis: 1. The process by which cancer spreads from the place at which it first arose as a primary tumor to distant locations in the body.
2. The cancer resulting from the spread of the primary tumor. For example, someone with melanoma may have a metastasis in their brain. And a person with colon cancer may, fortunately, show no metastases.
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Microscope: An optical instrument that augments the power of the eye to see small objects. The name microscope was coined by Johannes Faber (1574-1629) who in 1628 borrowed from the Greek to combined micro-, small with skopein, to view. Although the first microscopes were simple microscopes, most (if not all) optical microscopes today are compound microscopes.
Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and containing the teeth, gums, and tongue. Foodstuffs are broken down mechanically in the mouth by chewing and saliva is added as a lubricant. Saliva contains amylase, an enzyme that digests starch. 2. Any opening or aperture in the body. The mouth in both senses of the word is also called the os, the Latin word for an opening, or mouth. The o in os is pronounced as in hope. The genitive form of os is oris from which comes the word oral.
MRI: Abbreviation and nickname for magnetic resonance imaging. For more information, see: Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Paul C. Lauterbur; Peter Mansfield.
Multiple myeloma: A malignancy of plasma cells (a form of lymphocyte) that typically involves multiple sites within the bone morrow and secretes all or part of a monoclonal antibody . Also called plasma cell myeloma.
Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. There are three types of muscle in the body. Muscle which is responsible for moving extremities and external areas of the body is called "skeletal muscle." Heart muscle is called "cardiac muscle." Muscle that is in the walls of arteries and bowel is called "smooth muscle."
Myeloma: A tumor of antibody-producing cells, called plasma cells, that are normally found in the bone marrow.
Nausea: Nausea is the urge to vomit. It can be brought by many causes including, systemic illnesses, such as influenza, medications, pain, and inner ear disease.
Nurse: 1) A person trained, licensed, or skilled in nursing. 2) To feed an infant at the breast.
Nutrition : 1) The science or practice of taking in and utilizing foods. 2) A nourishing substance, such as nutritional solutions delivered to hospitalized patients via an IV or IG tube.
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Oncologist: A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer .
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Operation: Although there are many meanings to the word "operation", in medicine it refers to a surgical procedure.
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Organ: A relatively independent part of the body that carries out one or more special functions. The organs of the human body include the eye, ear, heart, lungs, and liver.
Osteosarcoma: A cancer of the bone that occurs predominantly in adolescents and young adults. It accounts for 5 percent of cancer in children.
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Outpatient: A patient who is not an inpatient (not hospitalized) but instead is cared for elsewhere -- as in a doctor's office, clinic, or day surgery center. The term outpatient dates back at least to 1715. Outpatient care today is also called ambulatory care.
Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pain has both physical and emotional components. The physical part of pain results from nerve stimulation. Pain may be contained to a discrete area, as in an injury, or it can be more diffuse, as in disorders like fibromyalgia . Pain is mediated by specific nerve fibers that carry the pain impulses to the brain where their conscious appreciation may be modified by many factors.
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Pathologist: A doctor who identifies diseases by studying cells and tissues under a microscope.
Pediatric: Pertaining to children.
Physical therapy: A branch of rehabilitative health that uses specially designed exercises and equipment to help patients regain or improve their physical abilities. Physical therapists work with many types of patients, from infants born with musculoskeletal birth defects, to adults suffering from sciatica or the after- effects of injury, to elderly post-stroke patients.
Primary: First or foremost in time or development. The primary teeth (the baby teeth) are those that come first. Primary may also refer to symptoms or a disease to which others are secondary.
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Prognosis: 1. The expected course of a disease .
2. The patient's chance of recovery.
The prognosis predicts the outcome of a disease and therefore the future for the patient . His prognosis is grim, for example, while hers is good.
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Prostheses: More than one prosthesis. See: Prosthesis.
Prosthesis: An artificial substitute or replacement of a part of the body such as a tooth , eye, a facial bone, the palate , a hip, a knee or another joint , the leg, an arm, etc. A prosthesis is designed for functional or cosmetic reasons or both.
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Protein: A large molecule composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific order determined by the base sequence of nucleotides in the DNA coding for the protein.
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Radiation: 1. Rays of energy. Gamma rays and X-rays are two of the types of energy waves often used in medicine. 2. The use of energy waves to diagnose or treat disease. See also: Irradiation.
Radiation oncologist: A specialist in the use of radiation therapy as a treatment for cancer.
Radiation therapy : The use of high-energy rays to damage cancer cells, stopping them from growing and dividing. Like surgery, radiation therapy is a local treatment that affects cancer cells only in the treated area.
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Radioactive: Emitting energy waves due to decaying atomic nuclei. Radioactive substances are used in medicine as tracers for diagnosis, and in treatment to kill cancerous cells.
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Radiotherapy: The treatment of disease with ionizing radiation. Also called radiation therapy .
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Recur: To occur again. To return. Any symptom (such as fatigue), any sign (such as a heart murmur), or any disease can recur.
Rehabilitation: The process of restoration of skills by a person who has had an illness or injury so as to regain maximum self-sufficiency and function in a normal or as near normal manner as possible. For example, rehabilitation after a stroke may help the patient walk again and speak clearly again.
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Remission: Disappearance of the signs and symptoms of cancer or other disease. When this happens, the disease is said to be "in remission." A remission can be temporary or permanent.
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Resistance: Opposition to something, or the ability to withstand it. For example, some forms of staphylococcus are resistant to treatment with antibiotics.
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Sarcoma: One of a group of tumors usually arising from connective tissue. Most sarcomas are malignant. Many types are named after the type of cell, tissue, or structure involved, as in angiosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, fibrosarcoma, liposarcoma,and osteosarcoma.
Scan: As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of the body by gathering information with a sensing device.
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Side effects: Problems that occur when treatment goes beyond the desired effect. Or problems that occur in addition to the desired therapeutic effect.
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Skin: The skin is the body's outer covering. It protects us against heat and light, injury, and infection. It regulates body temperature and stores water, fat, and vitamin D. Weighing about 6 pounds, the skin is the body's largest organ. It is made up of two main layers; the outer epidermis and the inner dermis.
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Skull: The skull is a collection of bones which encase the brain and give form to the head and face. The bones of the skull include the following: the frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal, sphenoid, ethmoid, zygomatic, maxilla, nasal, vomer, palatine, inferior concha, and mandible.
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Stage: As regards cancer , the extent of a cancer, especially whether the disease has spread from the original site to other parts of the body. See also: Staging .
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Staging: In regard to cancer, the process of doing examinations and tests to learn the extent of the cancer, especially whether it has metastasized (spread) from its original site to other parts of the body.
Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity by operative or manual methods. A medical doctor specialized in the removal of organs, masses and tumors and in doing other procedures using a knife (scalpel). The definition of a "surgeon" has begun to blur in recent years as surgeons have begun to minimize the cutting, employ new technologies that are "minimally invasive," use scopes, etc.
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Surgery: The word "surgery" has multiple meanings. It is the branch of medicine concerned with diseases and conditions which require or are amenable to operative procedures. Surgery is the work done by a surgeon. By analogy, the work of an editor wielding his pen as a scalpel is s form of surgery. A surgery in England (and some other countries) is a physician's or dentist's office.
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Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. Anxiety, lower back pain, and fatigue are all symptoms. They are sensations only the patient can perceive. In contrast, a sign is objective evidence of disease. A bloody nose is a sign. It is evident to the patient, doctor, nurse and other observers.
Therapy: The treatment of disease .
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Thigh: The thigh extends from the hip to the knee. The thigh has only one bone, the femur which is the largest bone in the human body.
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Tired: A feeling of a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment, usually accompanied by a sense of weariness and fatigue.
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Tissue: A tissue in medicine is not like a piece of tissue paper. It is a broad term that is applied to any group of cells that perform specific functions. A tissue in medicine need not form a layer. Thus, - The bone marrow is a tissue;
- Connective tissue consists of cells that make up fibers in the framework supporting other body tissues; and
- Lymphoid tissue is the part of the body's immune system that helps protect it from bacteria and other foreign entities.
Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are a classic sign of inflammation, and can be benign or malignant (cancerous). There are dozens of different types of tumors. Their names usually reflect the kind of tissue they arise in, and may also tell you something about their shape or how they grow. For example, a medulloblastoma is a tumor that arises from embryonic cells (a blastoma) in the inner part of the brain (the medulla). Diagnosis depends on the type and location of the tumor. Tumor marker tests and imaging may be used; some tumors can be seen (for example, tumors on the exterior of the skin) or felt (palpated with the hands).
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Vessel: A tube in the body that carries fluids: blood vessels or lymph vessels.
Voluntary: Done in accordance with the conscious will of the individual. The opposite of involuntary.
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Weight loss: Weight loss is a decrease in body weight resulting from either voluntary (diet, exercise) or involuntary (illness) circumstances. Most instances of weight loss arise due to the loss of body fat, but in cases of extreme or severe weight loss, protein and other substances in the body can also be depleted. Examples of involuntary weight loss include the weight loss associated with cancer, malabsorption (such as from chronic diarrheal illnesses ), and chronic inflammation (such as with rheumatoid arthritis).
X-ray: 1. High-energy radiation with waves shorter than those of visible light. X-rays possess the properties of penetrating most substances (to varying extents), of acting on a photographic film or plate (permitting radiography), and of causing a fluorescent screen to give off light (permitting fluoroscopy). In low doses X-rays are used for making images that help to diagnose disease, and in high doses to treat cancer . Formerly called a Roentgen ray. 2. An image obtained by means of X-rays.
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From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com  |
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- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI Scan) - Medical information on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) used in detecting structural abnormalities of the body. Learn uses, risks, and how to prepare for an MRI scan Source:MedicineNet
- Chemotherapy - Explains chemotherapy, a drug treatment to kill cancer cells. Article includes descriptions, uses, and side effects, and care support. Source:Government
- Questions To Ask Before Surgery - Surgery questions to ask prior to having a procedure are important. Your surgeon should be available to answer your surgery questions prior to the procedure. Source:MedicineNet
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