Glossary
BioScience.com.pk try the best to avoid the use of medical terms that could make it more difficult to understand the information on this website. Still, there are a number of terms that can’t be avoided and that are useful to know because they are so often used by the doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals with whom you might speak. The list below includes the terms used on BioScience.com.pk for which we have provided definitions.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Cytoplasm | |
| Cytology | The microscopic assessment of individual cells or groups of cells that are either shed in body fluids or collected by smears and scrapings (e.g., the Pap smear) or by aspiration from deeper tissues through a very fine needle |
| Cytokine | one of a group of proteins released by cells of the immune system that carry signals to neighboring cells to regulate and/or promote an immune response |
| Culture | Deliberate growing of cells, especially microorganisms, in a solid or liquid medium (e.g. agar, gelatin), as of bacteria in a Petri dish |
| CSF | Also known as: Cerebrospinal Fluid |
| Cryoprecipitate | A component prepared from donated blood; after freezing plasma and thawing, a precipitate that remains solid. It is rich in fibrinogen and Factor VIII. |
| Croup | Also known as: bronchiolitis |
| Corpus Luteum | Literally, yellow body in the ovary; the progesterone-producing tissue that remains after an egg is releaed from the ovary |
| Convalescent Sample | In the clinical laboratory, pertaining to samples taken at a time when a patient is recovering from a disease or condition |
| Connective tissue | Tissue that connects organs or other structures within the body. It supports, attaches and encloses organs, fills the spaces between them, and forms ligaments and tendons. |
| Conjugated bilirubin | A water-soluble form of bilirubin formed in the liver by the chemical addition of sugar molecules to unconjugated bilirubin; when present in the blood, conjugated bilirubin can become chemically bound to albumin, forming delta-bilirubin (also known as biliprotein). |
| Congenital | Present at birth |
| Colposcopy | a procedure in which a health practitioner uses a lighted magnifying instrument to examine a woman's cervix for abnormal areas, to take samples for biopsy, and/or treat as indicated |
| Colonoscopy | Examination of the rectum and entire colon with a flexible lighted instrument |
| Colonization | The presence or growth of bacteria on or in the body; those who are colonized may or may not develop an infection and/or may spread the bacteria to others, in whom they may cause disease. |