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Circulatory system
Circulatory system Pertaining to the heart and blood vessels, and the circulation of blood.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Heart
The hollow, muscular organ responsible for pumping blood through the circulatory system.
Blood
The life-maintaining fluid which is made up of plasma, red blood cells (erythrocytes), white blood cells (leukocytes), and platelets; blood circulates through the body's heart, arteries, veins, and capillaries; it carries away waste matter and carbon dioxide, and brings nourishment, electrolytes, hormones, vitamins, antibodies, heat, and oxygen to the tissues.
Circulation
The flow of blood through the body. Includes the heart, arteries, veins and capillaries.
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Circadian
Fluctuating regularly on a time basis usually entrained to a metabolic, endocrine, neurochemical, light-dark, temperature, or seasonal cycle (see also diurnal, ultradian). There are very fast biorhythm cycles such as in the EEG and ECG, a 90-minute cycle seen in REM-NREM sleep or in waking attentive/alert-drowsy/inattentive swing, a twice daily body temperature peak and slump. a 24-hour ACTH cycle, a monthly menstrual cycle, and possibly longer seasonal cycles not yet thoroughly described.
Circadian rhythm
Biological timing and rhythmicity that, in humans, is characterised by cycles of approximately 24 hours. Synonym: biological clock.
Circanol
Circanol is a prescription or over-the-counter drug which is (or once was) approved in the United States and possibly in other countries. Active ingredient(s): ergoloid mesylates.
Circle of Willis
An arterial circle at the base of the brain that is of critical importance. The circle of Willis receives all the blood that is pumped up the two internal carotid arteries that come up the front of the neck and that is pumped from the basilar artery formed by the union of the two vertebral arteries that come up the back of the neck. All the principal arteries that supply cerebral hemispheres of the brain branch off from the circle of Willis.
Circular breathing
Inhaling through the nose and inflating the cheeks and neck with air at the same time.Some saxophone players do circular breathing; this may not be a safe practice since it may reduce blood flow to the brain.
Circulation
The flow of blood through the body. Includes the heart, arteries, veins and capillaries.
Circulation, fetal
The blood circulation in the fetus (the unborn baby). Before birth, the blood from the heart that is destined (in the pulmonary artery) for the lungs is shunted away from the lungs and returned to the greatest of arteries (the aorta). The shunt is through a short vessel called the ductus arteriosus. When this shunt is open, it is said to be a patent (pronounced pá tent) ductus arteriosus (PDA). The PDA usually closes at or shortly after birth and blood is permitted to course freely to the lungs.
Circulatory
Having to do with the circulation, the movement of fluid in a regular or circuitous course. Although the adjective "circulatory" need not necessarily refer to the circulation of the blood, for all practical purposes today it does. A circulatory problem is taken usually to be a problem with the blood circulation, for example with heart failure.
Circum-
Prefix meaning around, surrounding, or encircling. As in circumcision, circumflex, and circumjacent. From the Latin preposition circum meaning round.
Circumcision
The surgical removal of the sheath of skin (called a foreskin) that covers the head of the penis.
Circumflex
Curved like a bow. In anatomy, circumflex describes a structure that bends around like a bow. For example, the circumflex branch of the left coronary artery.
Circumscribed
Having a border, localized. Often associated with a capsule and benign tumors of the brain, for example, meningiomas, pituitary adenomas and acoustic neuromas. See diffuse.
Circumstantiality
Pattern of speech that is indirect and delayed in reaching its goal because of excessive or irrelevant detail or parenthetical remarks. The speaker does not lose the point, as is characteristic of loosening of associations, and clauses remain logically connected, but to the listener it seems that the end will never be reached.
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Cholestasis
Blocked bile ducts often caused by gallstones.
Chromosomes
Filaments of genetic material in every cell nucleus that are made up of genes and that transmit genetic information from one generation of cells to the next.
Chyme
A thick liquid made of partially digested food and stomach juices. This liquid is made in the stomach and moves into the small intestine for further digestion.
Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)
Term used to classify the degree of precancerous change in cells of the cervix in a condition called cervical dysplasia.
Cineangiography
The procedure of taking moving pictures to show the passage of dye through blood vessels.
Circulatory system
Cirrhosis
A chronic liver condition caused by scar tissue and cell damage. Cirrhosis makes it hard for the liver to remove poisons (toxins) like alcohol and drugs from the blood. These toxins build up in the blood and may affect brain function.
Claudication
Pain or fatigue in arms and legs due to poor supply of oxygen to the muscles.
Clostridium difficile (C. difficile)
Bacteria naturally present in the large intestine that make a substance that can cause a serious infection called pseudomembranous colitis in people taking antibiotics.
Cochlear implant
An electronic apparatus that allows people with severe hearing loss to recognize some sounds, especially speech sounds, and that consists chiefly of a microphone and receiver, a processor that converts speech into electronic signals, and an array of electrodes that transmit the signals to the auditory nerve in the inner ear.
Cognitive
The mental process of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment.
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