Medical Jargon

Ever feel like someone is talking a foreign language? This page might help explain some of those weirdo medical words you're not quite sure of.

  • Anemia a condition where there are insufficient red blood cells in the body.
  • Benign not malignant, not cancer. Can't spread to other parts of the body.
  • Biopsy the removal of cells or tissue for microscopic examination, to assist in the diagnosis of disease.
  • Blood transfusion the administration of red blood cells.
  • Bone marrow an area in the middle of the bones where red cells, white cells and platelets are made.
  • Cancer a general term for a large group of diseases that display uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells.
  • Catheter a thin, flexible tube used for injection and withdrawal of fluids.
  • Central line a method for giving IV fluids, blood products and medicine by surgically inserting a catheter into a neck vein that passes into other large blood vessels.
  • CT Scan (CAT Scan) Computer Axial Tomography, a procedure that shows cross sectional views of various organs by passing x-rays through the body at various angles.
  • External beam irradiation the most common form of radiation treatment.
  • Graft a surgical procedure in which healthy bone, skin or other tissue replaces diseased, damaged or amputated parts of the body.
  • Intravenous (IV) administering drugs, blood products, or fluids directly into the vein.
  • Limb savage surgery when the original bone is being replaced with artificial (prosthetic) bone or with bone from another part of the body.
  • Localised cancer a malignancy found only in the original site.
  • Lymph a clear, yellowish fluid consisting primarily of white blood cells that travel the lymphatic system to help combat infection.
  • Malignant Cancerous. Likely to spread to other parts of the body.
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) a non-invasive imaging technique that creates cross sectional pictures of the body. Imaging appears on a computer screen as well as on film.
  • Metastasis the spreads of cancer from its original site to distant parts of the body by way of lymph system or blood stream.
  • Oncology the branch of medicine dealing with the origin, cause, growth and treatment of cancer.
  • Palliative medicine treatment that focuses on relieving symptoms such as pain, but is not expected to cure disease.
  • Platelets particles in the blood that aid in blood clotting and prevent bleeding.
  • Prognosis the expected outcome of disease with or without treatment.
  • Prosthesis an artificial body part.
  • Protocol a programme of treatment for cancer.
  • Red blood cells the cells in the blood that carry oxygen from the lungs around the rest of the body.
  • Relapse the return of a disease after a time of improvement.
  • Remission the absence of symptoms of a disease.
  • Staging a medical system used by doctors to identify the extent of the disease.
  • Total body irradiation a radiation treatment that is given to the entire body prior to a bone marrow transplant.
  • Toxicity harmful side effects caused by a drug.
  • Tumor an abnormal lump of tissue that can be malignant or benign.
  • White blood cells the cells in the blood that help fight infection.
  • X-Rays high-energy electromagnetic radiation used in low dosages to photograph the inner body and in high dosages to treat cancer.
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