Leukemia Glossary of Terms

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Abdomen: The belly, that part of the body that contains all of the structures between the...

Abdominal: Relating to the abdomen, the belly, that part of the body that contains all of ...

Abdominal pain: Pain in the belly. Abdominal pain can be acute or chronic. It may reflect ...

Abnormal: Outside the expected norm, or uncharacteristic of a particular patient.

Acupuncture: The practice of inserting needles into the body to reduce pain or induce anes...

Acute: Of abrupt onset, in reference to a disease. Acute often also connotes an illness th...

Acute leukemia: Cancer of the blood cells that characteristically comes on suddenly and, i...

Acute lymphocytic leukemia: See: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Acute myelogenous leukemia: Abbreviated AML. Also called acute myeloid leukemia or acute n...

Acute nonlymphocytic leukemia: Abbreviated ANLL. More commonly called acute myeloid leukem...

Addiction: An uncontrollable craving, seeking, and use of a substance such as alcohol or a...

Allogeneic: Taken from different individuals of the same species. Two or more individuals ...

Anemia: The condition of having a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells or quantity ...

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

ANLL: Acute nonlymphocytic leukemia.

Anti-infective: An agent that is capable of acting against infection, either by inhibiting...

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

Anus: The opening of the rectum to the outside of the body.

Arms: An appendage in anatomy and in clinical trials. See: Arm.

Aspirate: To suck in. A patient may aspirate for example by accidentally drawing material ...

Atypical: Unusual, or not fitting a single diagnostic
category.

Autologous: In blood transfusion and transplantation, a situation in which the donor and r...

Benzene: A sweet smelling, highly toxic hydrocarbon. Long-term exposure to benzene is know...

Biological therapy: Treatment to stimulate or restore the ability of the immune (defense)...

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

Blast: An immature blood cell.

Blast phase: Refers to advanced chronic myelogenous leukemia. In this phase, the number of...

Blasts: Immature blood cells. Leukemic blasts do not grow and age normally; they prolifera...

Blurred vision: Lack of sharpness of vision with, as a result, the inability to see fine d...

Bone marrow: The soft blood-forming tissue that fills the cavities of bones and contains f...

Bone marrow biopsy: The removal of a sample of bone marrow and a small amount of bone thro...

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

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

Carbon dioxide: A gas which is the byproduct of cellular metabolism and which collects in ...

Catheter: A thin, flexible tube.

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

Cerebrospinal fluid: A watery fluid that is continuously produced and absorbed and that fl...

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

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

Chest X-ray: A type of X-ray commonly used to detect abnormalities in the lungs. A chest X...

Chromosome: A carrier of genetic information that is visible under an ordinary light micro...

Chromosomes: The microscopically visible carriers of the genetic material. They are compos...

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

Chronic leukemia: Cancer of the blood cells (leukemia) that progresses slowly.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia: The most common form of leukemia in adults, in which lymphoc...

Chronic myelocytic leukemia: See: Chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Chronic myelogenous leukemia: A chronic malignant disease in which too many white blood ...

Chronic phase: Refers to the early stages of chronic myelogenous leukemia. The number of ...

Circulation: In medicine, the movement of fluid through the body in a regular or circuitou...

Coenzyme: A substance that enhances the action of an enzyme. (An enzyme is a protein that ...

Coenzyme Q10: A compound needed for the proper functioning of an enzyme, a protein that sp...

Cure: 1. To heal, to make well, to restore to good health. 2. A time withou...

Cuts: Severed skin. Washing a cut or scrape with soap and water and keeping it clean and d...

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. ...

Differentiation: 1 The process by which cells become progressively more specialize...

Digestive system: The system of organs responsible for getting food into and out of the bo...

Disease-free survival: The length of time after treatment during which no disease is found...

Donor: The giver of a tissue or an organ, such as a blood donor or kidney donor.

Down syndrome: A common birth defect that is usually due to an extra chromosome 21 (trisom...

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

Essential: In medicine, of unknown cause, as in essential hypertension (high blood pressur...

Excision: 1. Surgical removal, as in the excision of a tumor. 2. The remov...

Family history: The family structure and relationships within the family, including inform...

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

Formaldehyde: A pungent gas, with the chemical formula HCHO, used as an antiseptic, disinf...

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

Groin: The area where the thigh meets the hip.

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

Hairy cell leukemia: A rare type of chronic leukemia in which the abnormal white blood cel...

Headache: A pain in the head with the pain being above the eyes or the ears, behind the he...

Hematologist: A physician who specializes in diagnosing and treating diseases of the blood...

Hematopoiesis: The production of all types of blood cells including formation, development...

Hematopoietic: Pertaining to hematopoiesis, the production of all types of blood cells. Al...

Hemoglobin: The oxygen-carrying pigment and predominant protein in the red blood cells. He...

Immune: Protected against infection, usually by the presence of antibodies.

Immune system: A complex system that is responsible for distinguishing a person from every...

Induction therapy: The first in a series of therapeutic measures taken to treat a disease,...

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

Interferon: A naturally occurring substance that interferes with the ability of viruses t...

Interleukins: Substances used in biological therapy. Interleukins stimulate the growth and...

Intrathecal chemotherapy: Treatment with drugs that are injected into the fluid surroundin...

Irradiation: The use of high-energy radiation from x-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, and other...

Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen. The kid...

Lethal: Deadly.

Leukemia: Cancer of the blood cells. Strictly speaking, leukemia should refer only to canc...

Leukocytes: White Blood Cells that help the body fight infections and other diseases. Also...

Liver: The largest solid organ in the body, situated in the upper part of the abdomen on t...

Lumbar: Referring to the five lumbar vertebrae, the disks below them, and the correspondin...

Lumbar puncture: A procedure in which cerebrospinal fluid is removed from the spinal canal...

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....

Lymphocytic: Referring to lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. For example, lymphocyti...

Lymphoid: Referring to lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, or to tissue in which lymp...

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

Marrow: The bone marrow.

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

Monoclonal: Derived from a single cell and cells identical to that cell.

Monoclonal antibody: An antibody produced by a single clone of cells. A monoclonal antibod...

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

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

Myelogenous: Referring to the nonlymphocytic groups of white blood cells, including the gr...

Myeloid: Referring to myelocytes, a type of white blood cell. Also known as myelogenous.

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...

Night sweats: Severe hot flashes that occur at night and result in a drenching sweat. Nigh...

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

Nurse: 1) A person trained, licensed, or skilled in nursing. 2) To feed an infant at the ...

Ommaya reservoir: A device that is implanted under the scalp to deliver anticancer drugs t...

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

Onset: In medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for ex...

Organ: A relatively independent part of the body that carries out one or more special func...

Oxygen: The odorless gas that is present in the air and necessary to maintain life. Oxygen...

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

Pediatric: Pertaining to children.

Plasma: The liquid part of the blood and lymphatic fluid, which makes up about half of the...

Platelet: An irregular, disc-shaped element in the blood that assists in blood clotting....

Precursor: Forerunner. That which precedes or is derived from an available source.

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...

Protein: One of the three nutrients used as energy sources (calories) by the body. Protein...

Proteins: Large molecules composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific orde...

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

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

Radiotherapy: The treatment of disease with ionizing radiation. Also called radiation ther...

Red blood cell: The blood cell that carries oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is...

Red blood cells: The blood cells that carry oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is...

Relapse: The return of signs and symptoms of a disease after a remission.

Remission: Disappearance of the signs and symptoms of cancer or other disease. A remission...

Reservoir: 1. A place where something such as water is kept in reserve.
2....

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...

Shortness of breath: Difficulty in breathing. Medically referred to as dyspnea. Shortness ...

Shoulder: A structure made up of two main bones: the scapula (shoulder blade) and the hume...

Sibling: A brother or sister.

Spinal cord: The major column of nerve tissue that is connected to the brain and lies with...

Spinal tap: Also known as a lumbar puncture or "LP", a spinal tap is a procedure whereby ...

Spine: 1) The column of bone known as the vertebral column, which surrounds and protects ...

Spleen: An organ that is located in the upper-left part of the abdomen, not far from the s...

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 ...

Stem cell: One of the human body's master cells, with the ability to grow into any one of ...

Stem cell transplantation: The use of stem cells as a treatment for cancer or other illnes...

Stem cells: One of the human body's master cells, with the ability to grow into any one of...

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

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

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

Syndrome: A combination of symptoms and signs that together represent a disease process.

Systemic: Affecting the entire body. A systemic disease such as diabetes can affect the wh...

T-cell leukemia: A disease in which certain cells of the lymphoid system called T lymphocy...

Testicles: The testicles (also called testes or gonads) are the male sex glands. They are ...

Therapeutic: Relating to therapeutics, the branch of medicine that is concerned specifical...

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

Thrombocytopenia: : A low platelet count. Platelets are irregular, disc-shaped element in ...

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

Topoisomerase: A class of enzymes that alter the supercoiling of double-stranded DNA. (In ...

Transplant: The grafting of a tissue from one place to another, just as in botany a bu...

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

Ventricle: A chamber of an organ. For example, the four connected cavities in the central ...

Virus: A microorganism that is smaller than a bacterium that cannot grow or reproduce apar...

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

White blood cell: One of the cells the body makes to help fight infections. There are seve...

White blood cell count (leukocyte count): The number of white blood cells (WBCs) in the b...

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