Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «T»:
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Tricyclic antidepressants
Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs): One of a class of medications
used to treat depression. The tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are also used
for some forms of anxiety, fibromyalgia, and the control of chronic
pain.
"Tricyclic" refers to the presence of three rings in the chemical
structure of th...
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Trigeminal nerve
Trigeminal nerve: The trigeminal nerve functions both as the chief nerve of sensation for the face and the motor nerve controlling the muscles of mastication (chewing).
Problems with the sensory part of the trigeminal nerve result in pain or loss of sensation in the face. Problems with the motor ro...
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Trigeminal neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia: Also called tic douloureux. Inflammation of the trigeminal nerve (the fifth cranial nerve) that most commonly causes paroxysms of very intense lightning pain in the areas of the face the nerve supplies -- the lips, eye, nose, scalp, forehead, gums, cheek, and chin -- on the inv...
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Trigger
Trigger: Something that either sets off a disease in people who are genetically predisposed to developing the disease, or that causes a certain symptom to occur in a person who has a disease. For example, sunlight can trigger rashes in people with lupus....
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Triglyceride test
Triglyceride test: A simple blood test to measure the level of triglycerides in the blood.
Triglycerides are the major form of fat stored by the body. Elevated triglyceride levels are considered to be a risk factor for atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and coronary heart disease, because ...
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Triglycerides
Triglycerides: The major form of fat stored by the body. A triglyceride consists of three molecules of fatty acid combined with a molecule of the alcohol glycerol.
Triglycerides serve as the backbone of many types of lipids (fats). Triglycerides come from the food we eat as well as from being produ...
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Triiodothyronine
Triiodothyronine: A hormone made by the thyroid
gland. It has three iodine molecules attached to its molecular
structure. It is the most powerful thyroid hormone, and affects
almost every process in the body, including body temperature, growth,
and heart rate. Also known as T3, liothyronine....
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Trimester
Trimester: The nine months of pregnancy is
traditionally divided into three trimesters: distinct
periods of roughly three months in which different phases
of fetal development take place.
The first trimester is a time of basic cell differentiation. It is said to truly end at the mother's first ...
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Trimethylaminuria (TMA)
Trimethylaminuria (TMA): An inborn error
of metabolism associated with an offensive body odor, the smell of rotting fish, due to
the excessive excretion of TMA in urine, sweat, and breath. Persons with TMA may
experience tachycardia (fast heart rate) and severe hypertension (high blood pressure)
aft...
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Trimox
Trimox: See: Amoxicillin....
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Trinucleotide
Trinucleotide: A sequence of 3 base pairs; a triplet of bases. The gene code is made up of trinucleotides....
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Trip
Trip: Street name for alpha-ethyltryptamine and for LSD....
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Trip-hammer pulse
Trip-hammer pulse: See: Pulse, water hammer....
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Tripeptide
Tripeptide: A peptide consisting of three amino acids....
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Triphalangeal
Triphalangeal: Having three phalanges in a digit normally composed of only two....
