Medical Glossary

This glossary contains:
19186
medical terms

Chorion




Chorion

The outermost of the two membranes surrounding the embryo/fetus, part of which forms the fetal portion of the placenta.

RELATED TERMS
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Membranes
Also know as the bag of waters, this thin sac contains the amniotic fluid and the fetus. The membranes will either rupture spontaneously during labor or be ruptured to speed up labor.

Fetal
Having to do with the fetus.

Placenta
Organ that grows in the uterus during pregnancy and connects the blood supplies of the mother and baby.



SIMILAR TERMS
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Chorda tympani
A branch of the facial nerve (the seventh cranial nerve) that serves the taste buds in the front of the tongue, runs through the middle ear, and carries taste messages to the brain.

Chordae Tendinae
The thin, fibrous chords that lead from the valve leaflets to the small papillary muscles within the heart muscle wall, contributes to the support of the tricuspid and mitral valves.

Chordae tendineae
Thread-like bands of fibrous tissue which attach on one end to the edges of the tricuspid and mitral valves of the heart and on the other end to the papillary muscles, small muscles within the heart that serve to anchor the valves.

Chordee
Fixed curvature or tying down of the penis or hypertrophied clitoris as in the hypospadiac birth defect characteristic of various types of hermaphroditism.

Chordoma
A form of bone cancer that usually starts in the lower spinal column.

Chorea
Rapid, jerky, dance-like movement of the body.

Chorioangioma, placental
A benign vascular (blood vessel) tumor of the placenta (afterbirth). Large chorioangiomas cause complications including polyhydramnios (excess amniotic fluid), maternal and fetal clotting problems (coagulopathies), premature delivery, toxemia, fetal heart failure, and hydrops (excess fluid) affecting the fetus.

Choriocarcinoma
A highly malignant tumor that arises from trophoblastic cells within the uterus. Choriocarcinoma tends to be invasive and to metastasize early and widely through both the venous and lymphatic systems. Choriocarcinoma is one of the two types of gestational trophoblastic tumor, the other being hydatidiform mole.

Chorionic gonadotropin
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a peptide hormone produced in pregnancy, that is made by the embryo soon after conception and later by the trophoblast (part of the placenta). Its role is to prevent the demise of the corpus luteum of the ovary and thereby maintain progesterone production that is critical for a pregnancy in humans. hCG may have additional functions, for instance it is thought that it affects the immune tolerance of the pregnancy.

Chorionic villus sampling
A procedure for first-trimester prenatal diagnosis. Chorionic villus sampling may be done between the eighth and tenth weeks of pregnancy. The aim is to diagnose severe abnormalities afflicting the fetus. In the procedure, tissue is withdrawn from the villi (vascular fingers) of the chorion, a part of the placenta, and examined. Chorionic villus sampling is referred to commonly as CVS.

Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS)
A procedure in which a small sample of cells are taken from the placenta through a small catheter placed up through the vagina and the cervix. This is done earlier in pregnancy than amniocentesis and is used to test for chromosomal and other biochemical abnormalities that may affect the health and well being of the baby.

Chorioretinitis
An inflammation of the back of the eye involving the choroid and retina. It may be due to a number of different diseases, which affect the body such as toxoplasmosis, histoplasmosis, sarcoidosis, tuberculosis and syphilis.

Choroid
This is the vascular coat between the sclera and the retina, which furnishes blood and nutrition to the outer layer of the retina.

Choroideremia
Atrophy or decay of the choroid, choriocapillaris and Bruch’s membrane of the eye, leading to a severe loss of vision. Usually progresses to light perception by 50 years of age. Leads to night blindness tunnel vision and reduced visual acuity. No treatment available.

Choroiditis
An inflammation of the back of the eye involving the choroid and retina. It may be due to a number of different diseases, which affect the body such as toxoplasmosis, histoplasmosis, sarcoidosis, tuberculosis and syphilis.



PREVIOUS AND NEXT TERMS
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Challenge test
See Provocation test

Corticosteroid drugs
Anti-inflammatory drugs that interfere with the immune system, suppress it and thereby dampen the inflammatory overreaction. They can be used to treat a number of allergic diseases - e.g. allergic rhinitis, eczema and rheumatoid arthritis. Corticosteroid drugs come as creams, inhalants, tablets and eye drops.

Cell line
A general term applied to a defined population of cells that has been maintained in culture for an extended period and usually has undergone a spontaneous process, called transformation, that allows the cells to continue dividing (replicating) in culture indefinitely.

Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH)
A chromosomal screening technique that permits the detection of quantitative changes in chromosomal copy number without the need for cell culturing. It provides a global overview of chromosomal gains and losses throughout the whole genome (including extra, missing, and broken chromosomes), but cannot detect small changes in DNA sequence or changes in the imprinting state of a gene.

Chimera
An organism composed of cells derived from at least two genetically different individuals.

Chorion

Cleavage
The process of cell division in the very early embryo before it becomes a blastocyst.

Cleavage pattern
The pattern in which cells in a very early embryo divide; each species of organism displays a characteristic cleavage pattern that can be observed under a microscope. Departure from the characteristic pattern usually indicates that an embryo is abnormal, so cleavage pattern is used as a criterion for preimplantation screening of embryos.

Clone
1) An exact genetic replica of a DNA molecule, cell, tissue, organ, or entire plant or animal. 2) An organism that has the same nuclear genome as another organism.

Cloning
The production of a clone. (For the purpose of this report, generating an individual animal or person that derives its nuclear genes from a diploid cell taken from an embryo, fetus, or born individual of the same species.)

Culture
Growth of cells, tissues or embryos in vitro on an artificial nutrient medium in the laboratory.

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This dictionary contains 19186 terms.







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