Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «E»:
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Exstrophy
Exstrophy: Eversion of a hollow organ at birth. An exstrophic bladder is one that is turned inside out like a rubber glove.
In exstrophy of the cloaca (a primitive embryonic
structure) an area of the intestine is interposed between two separate areas of the bladder.
The word exstrophy is from the...
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Extended family
Extended family: The family group consisting not only the nuclear family (the parents and their children) but also embracing the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and sometimes more distant relatives....
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Extension
Extension: The process of straitening or the state
of being strait. Extension of the hip and knee joints is necessary to stand up from the
sitting position. ...
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External ear
External ear: There are three sections of the ear. They are
the external
ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The external ear
looks complicated
but it is functionally the simplest part of the ear. It
consists of the
pinna or auricle (the visible projecting portion of the
ear), the external
a...
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External fixation
External fixation: A procedure that stabilizes and joins the ends of fractured (broken) bones by a splint or cast.
External fixation is as opposed to internal fixation in which the ends of the fractured bone are joined by mechanical devices such as metal plates, pins, rods, wires or screws....
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External genitalia, female
External genitalia, female: See: Female external genitalia....
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External genitalia, male
External genitalia, male: See: Male external genitalia....
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External jugular vein
External jugular vein: The more superficial of the two jugular veins situated on each side of the neck. The other is the internal jugular vein. They drain blood from the head, brain, face and neck and convey it toward the heart.
The external jugular vein collects most of the blood from the outside o...
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External radiation therapy
External radiation therapy: Radiation therapy using
a machine located outside the body to aim high-energy rays at a tumor. ...
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Extra systole
Extra systole: See: Extrasystole....
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Extracellular
Extracellular: Outside a cell. As opposed to intracellular, meaning within a cell....
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Extracolonic
Extracolonic: Outside the colon. An hereditary colon cancer syndrome may also predispose to extracolonic malignancies....
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Extracorporeal
Extracorporeal: Outside the body, in the anatomic sense. As in extracorporeal circulation, extracorporeal dialysis, and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. From extra- + corpus, meaning body....
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Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: (ECMO) A life support system that circulates the blood through an oxygenating system. ECMO is like a heart-lung machine that takes over the work of the heart and lungs during open heart surgery. ECMO may be used, for example, to treat ARDS (acute respiratory dis...
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Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy
Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy: A technique for shattering stones such as kidney stones or gallstones with a shock wave produced outside the body.
To focus on kidney stones here, there are several methods available for producing an acoustical or ultrasonic "big bang" which can be focused fro...