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February 10, 2012

Cryotherapy Glossary of Terms

The following are health and medical definitions of terms that appear in the Cryotherapy 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).

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).
See the entire definition of Benign

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to metastasize (spread).
See the entire definition of Cancer

Cryosurgery: Treatment performed with an instrument that freezes and destroys abnormal tissue.
See the entire definition of Cryosurgery

Cryotherapy: Literally, "cold therapy." Cryotherapy, sometimes referred to as cryosurgery, is a procedure used to destroy tissue of both benign and malignant lesions by the freezing and re-thawing process. Liquid nitrogen is the most commonly used freezing source for cryotherapy. Examples of the uses of cryotherapy in medicine are the treatment (removal) of various types of skin lesions , the treatment of dysplastic (precancerous) tissue of the uterine cervix, and the treatment of some prostate cancers.
See the entire definition of Cryotherapy

Cutaneous: Relating to the skin. As, for example, in cutaneous allodynia, a cutaneous papilloma, and cutaneous syndactyly. From the Latin cutis meaning skin.

Femoral: Having to do with the femur or, less often, the thigh. As in the femoral head (the head of the femur), the femoral artery, and femoral vein.

Lateral: 1. In anatomy, the side of the body or a body part that is farther from the middle or center of the body. Typically, lateral refers to the outer side of the body part, but it is also used to refer to the side of a body part. For example, when referring to the knee, lateral refers to the side of the knee farthest from the opposite knee. The opposite of lateral is medial.
2. In radiology, slang for a lateral X-ray.
See the entire definition of Lateral

Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses chemical and electrical signals to transmit sensory and motor information from one body part to another. See: Nervous system.

Neuralgia: Pain along the course of a nerve.

Neuroma: A tumor that arises in nerve cells.

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.
See the entire definition of Pain

Pain management: The process of providing medical care that alleviates or reduces pain. Pain management is an extremely important part of health care, as patients forced to remain in severe pain often become agitated and/or depressed and have poorer treatment outcomes. Mild to moderate pain can usually be treated with analgesic medications, such as aspirin or ibuprofen. For chronic or severe pain, opiates and other narcotics are often used, sometimes in concert with analgesics; with steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs when the pain is related to inflammation; or with anti-depressants, which can potentiate some pain medications without raising the actual dose of the drug, and which affect the brain's perception of pain. Narcotics carry with them a potential for side effects and addiction, so patients and caregivers must weigh the level of pain against these dangers in the pain management process. The risk of addiction is not normally a concern in the care of terminal patients.
See the entire definition of Pain management

Probe: (1) In surgery, a probe is a slender flexible rod with a blunt end used to explore, for example, an opening to see where it goes. (2) In molecular genetics, a probe is a labeled bit of DNA or RNA used to find its complementary sequence or locate a particular clone like homing in on a needle in a haystack.

Prostate: A gland within the male reproductive system that is located just below the bladder. Chestnut shaped, the prostate surrounds the beginning of the urethra, the canal that empties the bladder.
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Prostate cancer: An uncontrolled (malignant) growth of cells in the prostate gland which is located at the base of the urinary bladder and is responsible for helping control urination as well as forming part of the semen. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death of males in the U.S.

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Cryotherapy

What is Coats' disease?

In 1912, Dr. George Coats described one sharply outlined form of exudative retinitis, clinically characterized as follows:

  1. Occurrence in infantile or juvenile male patients
  2. Unilaterality
  3. Absence of systemic diseases
  4. Exudates below the retinal vessels
  5. Retinal hemorrhages
  6. Slow progression to retinal detachment, cataract, atrophy, or glaucoma

Today little has been added. This rare condition is not inherited and may be successfully treated if caught early. However, since is not usually diagnosed early, it usually progresses to cause a marked loss of vision or blindness in one eye.

What are causes and risk factors for Coats' disease?

No causes or risk factors are known.

At this point, although there is no known hereditary component or any other cause, there may be some evidence to suggest that Coats' disease is caus...

Read the Coats' Disease article »







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