Category: C

  • Creatine phosphate

    A store of energy-giving phosphate in muscles. A high-energy compound in muscle which has a higher phosphate group transfer potential than ATP. It acts as a reservoir for phosphate so that the muscle can maintain a steady level of ATP to support muscle contraction. It also serves this function in nerve so that a steady…

  • Craniotabes

    Thinness of the bones in the occipital region of a child’s skull, caused by rickets, marasmus or syphilis. In infancy, an abnormal softening of the skull bones. Those in the occipital region become almost paper thin. This condition may be the result of marasmus, rickets, or syphilis.  

  • Craniosynostosis

    The early closing of the bones in a baby’s skull, so making the skull contract. A condition involving premature closing or absence of joints, or sutures, in the skull; a baby with this condition is born without fontanelles, or spaces between the plates of the skull to allow for growth. Causes of the disorder are…

  • Craniopharyngioma

    A tumour in the brain originating in the hypophyseal duct. A slow-growing, calcified, cystic tumor of the brain that is usually benign (not cancerous), develops near the pituitary gland, and usually affects children or older adults. A craniopharyngioma may be associated with increased pressure within the cranium. The tumor usually develops in the pituitary stalk…

  • Craniometry

    The process of measuring skulls to find differences in size and shape. The science of measuring the differences in size and shape of skulls. The measurements are usually taken from a lateral X-ray of the head. A line is drawn from the top of the canal of the outer ear the floor of the orbit,…

  • Cranial cavity

    A space inside the bones of the cranium, in which the brain-is situated. The cavity of the skull, which contains the brain. The entire area inside the skull that accommodates the brain and its surrounding membranes.  

  • Cradle

    A metal frame put over a person in bed to keep the weight of the bedclothes off the body. A framework of metal strips or other material that forms a cage over an injured part of the body of a patient lying in bed, to protect it from the pressure of the bedclothes. A cage…

  • Cracked lip

    A lip where the skin has split because of cold or dryness.  

  • Coxsackie virus

    Coxsackie virus

    One of a group of enteroviruses which enter the cells of the intestines and can cause diseases such as aseptic meningitis and Bornholm disease [After Coxsackie, New York, where the virus was first identified]. One of a group of RNA containing viruses that are able to multiply in the gastrointestinal tract. About 30 different types…

  • Coxalgia

    Pain in the hip joint.