Cancer of the Mouth and Throat Glossary of Terms

Adjacent: Lying nearby. Related terms include superjacent, subjacent, and circumjacent. Fr...

Anesthesia: Loss of feeling or awareness, as when an anesthetic is administered before sur...

Antibody: An immunoglobulin, a specialized immune protein, produced because of the introdu...

Aspiration: Removal of a sample of fluid and cells through a needle. Aspiration also re...

Benign: Not malignant. A benign tumor is one that does not invade surrounding tissue or sp...

Betel nut: The nut of the Areca palm tree and an ingredient of betel nut quid, an addictiv...

Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for examination under a microscope to check for ...

Bladder: A hollow organ in the lower abdomen that stores urine. The kidneys filter waste f...

Brachytherapy: Radiation treatment given by placing radioactive material directly in or ne...

Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through ...

Bronchi: The plural of bronchus.

Buccal mucosa: The inner lining of the cheeks and lips.

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, ...

Cancer causes: In most individual cases of cancer, the exact cause of cancer is unknown. T...

Cancer symptoms: Abnormal sensations or conditions that persons can notice that are a resu...

Carcinoma: Cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover body organs. Ex...

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small c...

Cervix: The cervix is the lower, narrow part of the uterus (womb). The uterus, a hollow, ...

Chemotherapy: 1. In the original sense, a chemical that binds to and specifically k...

Chewing tobacco: Tobacco that is chewed, not smoked. A form of smokeless tobacco.

Chin: Medically, the mentum. The lower portion of the face below the lower lip including t...

Chronic: In medicine, lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one that lasts 3 months ...

CT scan: Computerized tomography scan. Pictures of structures within the body created by a...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Diarrhea: A common condition that involves unusually frequent and liquid bowel movements. ...

Dry mouth: The condition of not having enough saliva to keep the mouth wet. This is due to...

Dysplasia: Abnormality in form or development. For example, retinal dysplasia is abnormal ...

Ear: The hearing organ. There are three sections of the ear, according to the anatomy tex...

Epidermal: Pertaining to the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin.

Epidermal growth factor: EGF.

Epidermal growth factor receptor: EGFR.

Erythroplakia: An abnormal reddened patch with a velvety surface that is found in the mout...

Esophagus: The tube that connects the pharynx (throat) with the stomach. The esophagus lie...

External radiation therapy: Radiation therapy in which the source of radiation is a machin...

Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency ...

Gland: A group of cells that secrete a substance for use in the body. For example, the thy...

Hair loss: Hair loss is the thinning of hair on the scalp. The medical term for hair loss ...

Hard palate: The first section of the bony part of the roof of the mouth, located in front...

Head and neck cancer: The common carcinomas of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx as wel...

Heartburn: An uncomfortable feeling of burning and warmth occurring in waves rising up be...

Hoarseness: Hoarseness is a term referring to abnormal voice changes. Hoarseness may be ma...

Hormone: A chemical substance produced in the body that controls and regulates the activit...

HPV: Human papillomavirus.

Human papillomavirus: HPV. A family of over 100 viruses including those which cause warts ...

Incidence: The frequency with which something, such as a disease or trait, appears in a pa...

Infection: The invasion and multiplication of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, an...

Internal radiation therapy: Radiation therapy in which a small container of radioactive ma...

Jaw: The movable junction of the bones below the mouth (the mandible) and the bone just ab...

Laryngoscopy: Examination of the larynx (voice box), either with a mirror (indirect laryng...

Larynx: A tube-shaped organ in the neck that contains the vocal cords. The larynx is about...

Lesion: An area of abnormal tissue change. Lesions vary in severity from harmless to serio...

Leukoplakia: A white spot or patch on the mucous membranes in the mouth (for instance, ins...

Lips: Aside from the lips of the mouth, there are two pairs of lips at the entrance to the...

Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon...

Lymph: The almost colorless fluid that travels through the lymphatic system, carrying cell...

Lymph node: One of many small, bean-shaped organs located throughout the lymphatic system....

Lymphoma: A tumor of the lymphoid tissue. The major types of lymphoma are Hodgkin's diseas...

Malignancy: A tumor that is malignant (cancerous), that can invade and destroy nearby tiss...

Malignant: 1. Tending to be severe and become progressively worse, as in malignant ...

Metastasis: 1. The process by which cancer spreads from the place at which it firs...

Metastasize: The spread from one part of the body to another. When cancer cells metastasiz...

Microscope: An optical instrument that augments the power of the eye to see small objects....

Molecule: The smallest unit of a substance that can exist alone and retain the character o...

Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and con...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Mucosa: Having to do with a mucous membrane. For example, the oral mucosa.

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. T...

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

Neck: The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constric...

Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses electrical and chemical signals to transmit sensory an...

Node: Literally a knot, a node is a collection of tissue. For example a lymph node, is a ...

Nose: The external midline projection from the face. The purpose of the nose is to warm, c...

Nuclear medicine: The branch of medicine concerned with the use of radioisotopes in the di...

Nutrition: 1) The science or practice of taking in and utilizing foods. 2) A nourishing ...

Oncologist: A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. After a ...

Oncology: The field of medicine that is devoted to cancer. Clinical oncology consists of t...

Operating room: A facility that is equipped for performing surgery. Abbreviated OR.

Operation: In medicine, a surgical procedure. Many operations are named after persons. The...

Oral cancer: Cancer within the mouth. Oral cancer is associated with smoking cigarettes an...

Oral surgeon: A dentist who has special training in surgery to correct problems of the mou...

Oropharynx: The part of the throat that is at the back of the mouth, in contrast to the na...

Otolaryngologist: A physician specialized in diagnosing and treating diseases of the head ...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Palate: The roof of the mouth. The front portion is bony (hard palate), and the back porti...

Pathologist: A physician who identifies diseases and conditions by studying abnormal cells...

Penis: The external male sex organ. The penis contains two chambers, the corpora cavernosa...

PET scan: The popular name (and abbreviation) of Positron Emission To...

Pharynx: The hollow tube that is about 5 inches long and starts behind the nose and ends a...

Physical therapist: A person who is trained and certified by a state or accrediting body t...

Plastic surgeon: A surgeon who specializes in reducing scarring or disfigurement that may ...

Precancerous: Pertaining to something that is not yet overtly cancerous, but appears to be...

Premalignant: Pertaining to tissue that is not yet malignant but is poised to become malig...

Primary care: A patient's main source for regular medical care, ideally providing continui...

Prognosis: The forecast of the probable outcome or course of a disease; the patient's chan...

Prosthetics: The art and science of developing artificial replacements for body parts. Dep...

Prosthodontist: A dentist with special training in making replacements for missing teeth o...

Radiation: 1. Rays of energy. Gamma rays and X-rays are two of the types of energy ...

Radiation oncologist: A physician whose specialty is the use of radiation therapy as a tre...

Radiation therapy: The use of high-energy rays to damage cancer cells, stopping them from ...

Radioactive: Emitting energy waves due to decaying atomic nuclei. Radioactive substances a...

Receptor: 1. In cell biology, a structure on the surface of a cell (or inside a cel...

Recurrent: Appearing or occurring again. For example, a recurrent fever is a fever that ha...

Residual: Something left behind. With residual disease, the disease has not been eradicate...

Risk factor: Something that increases a person's chances of developing a disease. For exam...

Rule out: Term used in medicine, meaning to eliminate or exclude something from considera...

Scan: As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of...

Smokeless tobacco: Tobacco that is not smoked but used in another form such as chewing tob...

Snuff: Tobacco in the form of a powder that is inhaled into the nose, not smoked.

Soft palate: The muscular part of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is directly behin...

Sore: 1. (adjective) A popular term for painful, such as a sore throat. 2. (...

Sore throat: Pain in the throat. Sore throat may be caused by many different causes, inclu...

Speech therapist: An older term for a speech- language pathologist.

Squamous cell carcinoma: Cancer that begins in squamous cells -- thin, flat cells that loo...

Squamous cells: Flat cells that look like fish scales. The word "squamous" came from the L...

Stage: As regards cancer, the extent of a cancer, especially whether the disease has spre...

Staging: stagingDoing exams and tests to learn the extent of a cancer, especially whether ...

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

Sunburn: Sunburn is an inflammation of the skin that develops in response to exposure to u...

Sunscreen: A substance that blocks the effect of the sun's harmful rays. Using lotions tha...

Supportive care: Treatment given to prevent, control, or relieve complications and side ef...

Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity via operative or manual meth...

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Throat: The throat is the anterior (front) portion of the neck beginning at the back of th...

Thyroid: 1. The thyroid gland. Also, pertaining to the thyroid gland. 2. A p...

Thyroid gland: A gland that makes and stores hormones that help regulate the heart rate, b...

Thyroid hormone: A chemical substance made by the thyroid gland for export into the bloods...

Tired: A feeling of a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment,...

Tobacco: A South American herb (Nicotiana tabacum) whose leaves contain 2 to 8 percent nic...

Tongue: A strong muscle that is anchored to the floor of the mouth. The tongue is covered ...

Tonsils: Small masses of lymphoid tissue at the back and on both sides of the throat.

Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are a classic sign of inflammation, and can be ...

Ulcer: A lesion that is eroding away the skin or mucous membrane. Ulcers can have various ...

Ultraviolet radiation: Invisible rays that are part of the energy that comes from the su...

Vagina: The muscular canal that extends from the cervix to the outside of the body. It is ...

Vein: A blood vessel that carries blood that is low in oxygen content from the body back t...

Vitamin A: Vitamin A is retinol. Carotene compounds (found, for example, in egg yolk, butt...

Voice box: The voice box, or larynx, is the portion of the respiratory (breathing) tract ...

Vulva: The female external genital organs, including the labia, clitoris, and entrance to ...

Weight loss: Weight loss is a decrease in body weight resulting from either voluntary (die...

X-ray: High-energy radiation with waves shorter than those of visible light. X-ray is used...