Lung Cancer Glossary of Terms

1. Lung Cancer Slideshow Pictures
2. Effects of Secondhand Smoke Slideshow Pictures
3. Tips to Quit Smoking Slideshow Pictures

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

Abdominal cavity: The cavity within the abdomen, the space between the abdominal wall and...

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

Adenocarcinoma: A cancer that develops in the lining or inner surface of an organ and usua...

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

Adjuvant: A substance that helps and enhances the effect of a drug, treatment, or biologic...

Adjuvant chemotherapy: Chemotherapy given after removal of a cancerous tumor to further he...

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

Anesthetic: A substance that causes lack of feeling or awareness, dulling pain to permit s...

Anxiety: A feeling of apprehension and fear, characterized by physical symptoms such as pa...

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

Arsenic: A metallic element that forms a number of poisonous compounds, arsenic is found i...

Asbestos: A natural material made up of tiny fibers that is used as thermal insulation. In...

Backbone: The spine. A flexible row of bones stretching from the base of the skull to the...

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

Bone scan: A nuclear medicine technique for creating images of bones on a computer screen ...

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

Breast cancer: Breast cancer is diagnosed with self- and physician-examination of the brea...

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

Bronchi: The plural of bronchus.

Bronchitis: Inflammation and swelling of the bronchi. Bronchitis can be acute or chronic.

Bronchoscope: A thin, flexible instrument with a lighted viewing tube that is used to visu...

Bronchoscopy: A procedure that permits the doctor to see the breathing passages through a...

Calcium: A mineral found mainly in the hard part of bones, where it is stored. Calcium is ...

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...

Carcinoid tumor: A tumor which secretes large amounts of the hormone serotonin. Carcinoid ...

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...

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 pain: Pain in the chest that can be a result of many things, including angina, heart...

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

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

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: COPD. Any disorder that persistently obstructs bron...

Clinical trial: A study that is intended to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of medic...

Colon: The long, coiled, tubelike organ that removes water from digested food. The remaini...

Colon cancer: A malignant tumor arising from the inner wall of the large intestine (the co...

Contrast: Short for "contrast media." Contrast media are X-ray dyes used to provide contra...

COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Any disorder that persistently obstructs bron...

Cough: A rapid expulsion of air from the lungs, typically in order to clear the lung airwa...

Coughing up blood: see hemoptysis.

Cranial: 1. Pertaining to the cranium or skull. 2. Toward the head. As oppo...

Critical care: The specialized care of patients whose conditions are life-threatening and ...

Cryosurgery: Treatment performed with an instrument that freezes and destroys abnormal tis...

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

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

Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way...

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

Effusion: Too much fluid, an outpouring of fluid. For example, a pleural effusion is an ab...

Endoscopy: Examination of the inside of the body by using a lighted, flexible instrument c...

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

Group therapy: 1) A type of psychiatric care in which several patients meet with one or m...

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

Hemoptysis: Spitting up blood or blood-tinged sputum from the respiratory tract. Hemoptysi...

Heroin: Semisynthetic drug derived from morphine. Discovered in 1874, it was introduced co...

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

Hospice: A program or facility that provides special care for people who are near the end ...

Hospice care: Care designed to give supportive care to people in the final phase of a term...

Incision: A cut through skin or other tissue performed by a health care professional.

Inflammation: A localized reaction that produces redness, warmth, swelling, and pain as a ...

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

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

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

Lobe: Part of an organ that appears to be separate in some way from the rest. A lobe may b...

Lung cancer: Cancer of the major organ of respiration - the lung. Lung cancer kills more m...

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...

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

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

Median: The middle, as in the median strip in a highway. For example, the median nerve is ...

Mediastinoscopy: A procedure in which the physician inserts a tube into the chest to view ...

Mediastinum: The area between the lungs. The organs in the mediastinum include the heart a...

Medical school: A school with a curriculum leading to a medical degree. The mission of eve...

Mesothelioma: A malignant tumor of the mesothelium, the thin lining of the surface of the ...

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...

Methadone: A synthetic opiate. The most common medical use for methadone is as a legal sub...

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

Morphine: A powerful narcotic agent that has strong analgesic (pain relief) action and oth...

Motor: Something that produces or refers to motion. For example, a motor neuron is a nerve...

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

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Mucus: A thick fluid that is produced by the lining of some organs of the body.

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

Narcotic: 1. A drug that causes insensibility or stupor. A narcotic induces narcosi...

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...

Nickel: A silver-white metallic element. Long-term exposure to nickel, such as from jewelr...

Nicotine: An alkaloid (a nitrogen-containing chemical) made by the tobacco plant or produc...

Nodule: A small collection of tissue that is palpable (can be felt) at any level of the sk...

Non-small cell lung cancer: Cancer of the lung which is not of the small cell carcinoma (o...

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

Nursing: 1) Profession concerned with the provision of services essential to the maintena...

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

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

Opium: An addictive narcotic drug that is derived from the unripe seedpods of the opium po...

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...

Pain management: The process of providing medical care that alleviates or reduces pain. Mi...

Palliative care: 1) Medical or comfort care that reduces the severity of a disease or slo...

Paraneoplastic syndrome: A group of signs and symptoms caused by a substance that is produ...

Passive smoking: Inhalation of smoke that comes from someone else smoking. Passive smoking...

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

Periphery: 1. The outside or surface of a structure; the portion outside the centr...

Peritoneum: The membrane that lines the abdominal cavity and covers most of the abdominal ...

Pharmacy: A location where prescription medications are sold. A pharmacy is constantly sup...

Pleura: One of the two membranes around the lungs. These two membranes are called the visc...

Pleural: Pertaining to the pleura, the thin covering that protects the lungs. The term "pl...

Pleural effusion: Excess fluid between the two membranes that cover the lungs (the viscera...

Pneumonia: Inflammation of one or both lungs, with dense areas of lung inflammation. Pneum...

Pneumothorax: Free air in the chest outside the lung. Pneumothorax can occur spontaneously...

Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or dev...

Primary tumor: A tumor that is at the original site where it first arose. For example, a p...

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

Prophylactic: A preventive measure. The word comes from the Greek for "an advance guard," ...

Prophylactic cranial irradiation: Radiation therapy to the head that is intended to preven...

Prostate: A gland within the male reproductive system that is located just below the blad...

Prostate cancer: A malignant tumor of the prostate, the gland that produces some of the co...

Pulmonary: Having to do with the lungs.

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 ...

Radium: The radioactive element discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. Since the di...

Radon: A radioactive element that is formed, as a gas, during the breakdown of radium. Rad...

Recurrence: The return of a sign, symptom, or disease after a remission. The reappearance ...

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

Regimen: A plan or a regulated course, such as a diet, exercise, or treatment, that is des...

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...

Respiratory: Having to do with respiration.

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

Secondhand smoke: Smoke that comes from the burning end of a cigarette or that is exhaled ...

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

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Small cell lung cancer: A type of lung cancer in which the cells appear small and round un...

Sodium: The major positive ion (cation) in the fluid surrounding cells in the body. The ch...

Sputum: Mucous material from the lungs that is produced (brought up) by coughing.

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

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 ...

Standard of care: 1. A diagnostic and treatment process that a clinician should fol...

Sternum: The long flat bone in the upper middle of the front of the chest. The sternum art...

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...

Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. In contrast, a sign is objective. Blood comin...

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

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

Thoracentesis: Removal of fluid from the space between the lungs and the chest wall (the p...

Thoracotomy: An operation to open the chest, usually in order to gain access to the lungs ...

Thorax: The area of the body that is located between the abdomen and the neck. Within the ...

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

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

Tuberculosis: A highly contagious infection caused by the bacterium called Mycobacterium ...

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

Uranium: A metallic element that is used as nuclear fuel and is highly toxic and radioacti...

Vertebrae: The preferred plural of vertebra. (The alternate plural is vertebras.) See also...

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

Wheezing: A whistling noise in the chest during breathing. Wheezing occurs when the airway...

Windpipe: The trachea, a tube-like portion of the respiratory (breathing) tract that conn...

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