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Digital rectal exam
Digital rectal exam An exam to detect abnormalities that can be felt (palpated) from within the rectum. The doctor inserts a lubricated, gloved finger into the rectum and feels for anything that is not normal.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Rectum
An 8-inch chamber connected to the large intestine that receives solid waste (feces) from the descending colon to be expelled from the body. The rectum connects the colon to the anus. It is the rectum's job to receive stool from the colon, to let the person know that there is stool to be evacuated, and to hold the stool until evacuation happens.
Doctor
1. One whose occupation is to treat diseases, particularly a physician, dentist, or veterinarian with an appropriate license. 2. A teacher (particularly at a college or university), a scholar, or one who holds a postgraduate degree (especially a Ph.D. degree). 3. A shaman.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
Digit
A finger or toe.
Digit, supernumerary
An extra finger or toe.
Digital rectal exam (DRE)
Procedure in which the physician inserts a gloved finger into the rectum to examine the rectum and the prostate gland for signs of cancer.
PREVIOUS AND NEXT TERMS--------------------------------------
Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis
Abbreviated as DISH. A form of degenerative arthritis characteristically associated with flowing calcification along the sides of the vertebrae of the spine and commonly associated with inflammation (tendinitis) and calcification of the tendons at their attachments points to bone. Because areas of the spine and tendons can become inflamed, antiinflammatory medications (NSAIDs) such ibuprofen can be helpful in both relieving pain and inflammation.
Diffuse mastocytosis
A form of mastocytosis in which the entire skin is thickened and leathery with generalized reddening and intense pruritus (itching) due to widespread infiltration of the skin with mast cells.
Diffuse toxic goiter
Graves disease, the most common cause of hyperthyroidism (overactivity of the thyroid gland), with generalized diffuse overactivity ("toxicity") of the entire thyroid gland which becomes enlarged into a goiter.
DiGeorge syndrome
A genetic disorder characterized by hypocalcemia, immunodeficiency, and congenital heart disease: Hypocalcemia (low calcium levels in the blood) due to hypoplasia (underdevelopment) of the parathyroid glands that are needed to control calcium; Immunodeficiency due to hypoplasia (underdevelopment) of the thymus (an organ behind the breastbone needed for the maturation of lymphocytes into T cells); and Congenital heart disease with defects of the outflow tracts (the pulmonary artery and aorta) from the heart. Next to Down syndrome, DiGeorge syndrome is the most common genetic cause of congenital heart disease.
Digit, supernumerary
An extra finger or toe.
Digital rectal exam
Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase
An enzyme necessary to pyrimidine synthesis and therefore essential to the production of DNA and RNA. The drug leflunomide (Arava), an immunomodulatory agent, acts by specifically inhibiting dihydroorotate dehydrogenase.
Dihydroxyacetone
Also known as DHA, the active ingredient in most sunless tanning lotions.
Dilatation and curettage
A minor operation in which the cervix is expanded enough (dilatation) to permit the cervical canal and uterine lining to be scraped with a curet (or curette), an instrument shaped like a spoon. This procedure also is called D and C.
Dilate
To stretch or enlarge. It comes from the Latin verb "dilatare" meaning "to enlarge or expand."
Dilating
The widening and opening of the cervix caused by uterine contractions.
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