Renal Cell Cancer Glossary of Terms

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

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

Adrenal gland: A small gland located on top of the kidney. The adrenal glands produce horm...

Amyloidosis: A group of diseases that result from the abnormal deposition of a protein, ca...

Analysis: In psychology, a term for conversation-based therapeutic processes used to gain ...

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

Artery: A vessel that carries blood high in oxygen content away from the heart to the far...

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...

Belly: That part of the body that contains all of the structures between the chest and t...

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 ...

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

Blood in the urine: Blood that appears in the urine. Also known as hematuria. Gross hematu...

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is...

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

Bowel: The small and large intestine.

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

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...

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

Chills: feelings of coldness accompanied by shivering. Chills may develop after exposure t...

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

Clinical trials: Trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications or medical...

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...

Computed tomography: An x-ray procedure that uses the help of a computer to produce a deta...

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...

Cysts: Cysts are abnormal, closed sac-like structures within a tissue that contain a liqui...

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

Dialysis: The process of cleansing the blood by passing it through a special machine. Dial...

Drain: A device for removing fluid from a cavity or wound. A drain is typically a tube or ...

Embolization: A treatment that clogs small blood vessels and blocks the flow of blood, suc...

Erythrocyte: A cell that contains hemoglobin and can carry oxygen to the body. Also called...

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

Fetus: An unborn offspring, from the embryo stage (the end of the eighth week after concep...

Gastrointestinal: Adjective referring collectively to the stomach and small and large inte...

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 ...

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Hematology: The diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases of the blood and bone mar...

Hematology-oncology: The diagnosis, treatment and prevention of blood diseases (hematology...

Hematuria: Blood in the urine. Hematuria may or may not be accompanied by pain, but it is...

High blood pressure: A repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90 mmHg. Chro...

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

Hormone therapy: Treatment of disease or symptoms with synthetic or naturally derived horm...

Hypercalcemia: A higher-than-normal level of calcium in the blood. Hypercalcemia can be a ...

IL-2: Interleukin-2.

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

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

Immunotherapy: Treatment to stimulate or restore the ability of the immune (defense) syst...

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

Incurable: Not amenable to a cure. Incapable of being cured, healed and made well again. ...

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...

Interleukin-2: A type of interleukin, a chemical messenger, a substance that can improve t...

Intravenous pyelogram: An X-ray of the kidneys and urinary tract. Abbreviated IVP. Structu...

Intron: Part of a gene that is initially transcribed into the primary RNA transcript but i...

Joint: The area where two bones are attached for the purpose of permitting body parts to m...

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

Kidney cancer: Malignancy of the kidney, the organ that is primarily responsible for the r...

Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures, and for preparing chemicals a...

Laparoscopy: A type of surgery in which small incisions are made in the abdominal wall thr...

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

Low blood pressure: Any blood pressure that is below the normal expected for an individua...

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....

Lymphatic: Pertaining to a small, thin channel that is similar to a blood vessel and that ...

Lymphatic system: The tissues and organs, including the bone marrow, spleen, thymus, and l...

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

Magnetic resonance imaging: A procedure that uses magnetism, radio waves, and a computer t...

Malaise: A vague feeling of discomfort, one that cannot be pinned down but is often sensed...

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

Medical history: 1. In clinical medicine, the patient's past and present which may ...

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

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

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

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...

Nephrectomy: Surgery to remove all or part of the kidney, for example, because of cancer.

Neuropathy: Any disease or malfunction of the nerves.

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 ...

Obesity: The state of being well above one's normal weight.

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...

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...

Pancreas: A spongy, tube-shaped organ that is about 6 inches long and is located in the ba...

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

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

Polycythemia: Too many red blood cells. The opposite of anemia. polycythemia formally exis...

Positron emission tomography: PET. A highly specialized imaging technique that uses short-...

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...

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

Prothrombin: A coagulation (clotting) factor that is needed for the normal clotting of blo...

Prothrombin time: A test that is done to gauge the integrity of part of the blood clotting...

Pyelogram: An X-ray study of the kidneys, especially showing the pelvis (urine-collecting ...

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 ...

Radiologist: A physician specialized in radiology, the branch of medicine that uses ionizi...

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

Referral: The recommendation of a medical or paramedical professional. If you get a refer...

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

Renal: Having to do with the kidney. For example, renal cancer is cancer of the kidneys.

Renal cancer: Malignancy of the kidney, the organ that is primarily responsible for the re...

Renal cell cancer: Cancer that develops in the lining of the renal tubules, which filter t...

Renal cell carcinoma: Cancer that develops in the lining of the renal tubules, which filte...

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...

Sclerosis: Localized hardening of skin. Sclerosis is generally caused by underlying diseas...

Sedimentation rate: A blood test that detects and monitors inflammation in the body. Abbre...

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 ...

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...

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...

Systemic therapy: Treatment that reaches cells throughout the body by traveling through th...

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

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

Tomography: The process for generating a tomogram, a two-dimensional image of a slice or s...

Tuberous sclerosis: A genetic disorder that is characterized by abnormalities of the skin,...

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

Ultrasound: High-frequency sound waves. Ultra-sound waves can be bounced off tissues by us...

Ureter: One of the two tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Each ureter...

Urinary: Having to do with the function or anatomy of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, or ur...

Urinary tract: The organs of the body that produce, store, and discharge urine. These orga...

Urine: Liquid waste produced by the kidneys. Urine is a clear, transparent fluid that norm...

Urography: A method for examining the structure and functionality of the urinary system. A...

Urologist: A physician who specializes in diseases of the urinary organs in females and th...

Vaccines: Microbial preparations of killed or modified microorganisms that can stimulate a...

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

Vessel: A tube in the body that carries fluids. Examples of vessels are blood vessels and ...

VHL: Von Hippel-Lindau. See Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome.

Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome: A genetic disease that is characterized by hemangioblastomas (...

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

Womb: The womb (uterus) is a hollow, pear-shaped organ located in a woman's lower abdomen ...

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