ExpertGlossary terms starting with C

4,595 terms

Chemistry Model A computer model used in air pollution investigations that simulates chemical and photochemical reactions of the pollutants during their transport and…
chemoembolization A procedure in which the blood supply to the tumor is blocked surgically or mechanically and anticancer drugs are administered directly into the tumor.
chemoimmunotherapy (KEE-moh-IH-myoo-noh-THAYR-uh-pee) Chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy. Chemotherapy uses different drugs to kill or slow the growth of cancer cells…
chemoprevention (KEE-mo-pre-VEN-shun) The use of drugs, vitamins, or other agents to try to reduce the risk of, or delay the development or recurrence of, cancer.
chemoprevention study In cancer prevention, a clinical trial that studies whether taking certain medicines, vitamins, minerals, or food supplements can prevent cancer.
Chemoprophylaxis The use of antimalarial drugs to prevent malaria disease.
chemoprotective A quality of some drugs used in cancer treatment. Chemoprotective agents protect healthy tissue from the toxic effects of anticancer drugs.
chemoradiation Treatment that combines chemotherapy with radiation therapy. Also called chemoradiotherapy.
chemoradiotherapy (KEE-moh-RAY-dee-oh-THAYR-uh-pee) Treatment that combines chemotherapy with radiation therapy. Also called chemoradiation .
chemosensitivity The susceptibility of tumor cells to the cell-killing effects of anticancer drugs.
chemosensitivity assay A laboratory test that measures the number of tumor cells that are killed by a cancer drug.
chemosensitizer A drug that makes tumor cells more sensitive to the effects of chemotherapy.
chemostat A continuous and open culture in which growth rate and cell density are maintained constant by a fixed rate of input of a growth-limiting nutrient.
chemotaxis The movement of a cell, or the whole or part of an organism, towards or away from an increasing concentration of a particular substance.
chemotherapeutic agent A drug used to treat cancer.
Chemotherapy (KEE-moh-THAYR-uh-pee) Treatment with drugs that kill cancer cells.
Chert A hard, dense, fine-grained type of sedimentary rock; a microcrystalline aggregate of silica (quartz).
chest wall The muscles, bones, and joints that make up the area of the body between the neck and the abdomen.
chest X-ray An x-ray of the structures inside the chest. An x-ray is a type of high-energy radiation that can go through the body and onto film, making pictures of…
Cheval French for Split bet.
ChexSystems The ChexSystems, Inc. network is comprised of member financial institutions that regularly contribute information on mishandled checking and savings…
Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base (CMAFB) CMAFB provides the primary facilities for the command, operations, and processing centers which support the correlation and assessment functions of the…
CHG Change
CHGS changes
chiasma (ki-AZ-ma) An anatomy term for an X-shaped crossing (for example, of nerves or tendons).
Chief Administrative Law Judge (Chief ALJ) Chief Administrative Law Judge (Chief ALJ) means the chief official of the Office of the Administrative Law Judges of the Department of Labor or the Chief…
Chief Elected Official (CEO) The official recipient of Part A or Part B Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funds. For Part A, this is usually a city mayor, county executive, or chair of the…
Chief Information Officer (CIO) Agency official responsible for: 1) Providing advice and other assistance to the head of the executive agency and other senior management personnel of the…
Chief Information Security Officer SEE Senior Agency Information Security Officer.
chief judge The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
Child Offspring of parentage; progeny, "issue."
Child custody a term that refers to the custody of children after a divorce.
child document A document that inherits values from another document (the parent document).
Child Object An object that resides in another object. A child object implies relation. For example, a file is a child object that resides in a folder, which is the…
Child Support a term that refers to payment by one spouse to the other for the upbringing of their children.
child-life worker A professional who is responsible for making a child's hospital and treatment experience less scary.
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Insurance program jointly funded by state and federal government that provides health coverage to low-income children and, in some states, pregnant women…
Chiller A device for removing heat from a gas or liquid stream for air conditioning/cooling.
Chimera (or chimaera) 1. An organism whose cells are not all genotypically identical. This can occur as a result of: somatic mutation; grafting (see: graft…
Chimera (pl. chimaera) An organism that contains cells or tissues with a different genotype. These can be mutated cells of the host organism or cells from a different organism…
Chimeraplasty A method designed to create defined alterations in DNA sequence at a target locus, with potential both for gene therapy and for investigating gene…
chimeric (ky-MEER-ik) Having parts of different origins. In medicine, refers to a person, organ, or tissue that contains cells with different genes than the rest…
chimeric DNA See: chimera (2).
chimeric gene An engineered gene, where a coding sequence is fused to promoter and/or other sequences derived from a different gene.
chimeric protein See: fusion protein.
chimeric selectable marker gene A gene that is constructed from parts of two or more different genes and allows the host cell to survive under conditions where it would otherwise die.
Chimney A masonry or metal stack that creates a draft to bring air to a fire and to carry the gaseous byproducts of combustion safely away.
Chimney Drain A vertical or inclined layer of pervious material in an embankment to facilitate and control drainage of the embankment fill.
Chimney Effect The tendency of heated air or gas to rise in a duct or other vertical passage, such as in a chimney, small enclosure, or building, due to its lower…
Chinese meridian theory (chy-NEEZ meh-RID-ee-un THEER-ee) In traditional Chinese medicine, meridians are channels that form a network in the body, through which qi (vital energy)…
Chinese rhubarb (chy-NEEZ ROO-barb) The root of this plant has been used in some cultures to treat certain medical problems.
Chinook This is a region-specific term used for Foehn Winds in the lee of the Rocky Mountains in the United States; Foehn Winds are warm, dry winds that occur in…
Chinook Arch A foehn cloud formation appearing as a bank of altostratus clouds east of the Rocky Mountains, heralding the approach of a chinook.
chip See: micro-array.
chip rate The rate of encoding. [NTIA] 2. In direct-sequence-modulation spread-spectrum systems, the rate at which the information signal bits are transmitted as a…
chip time In spread-spectrum systems, the duration of a chip produced by a frequency-hopping signal generator.
Chip vans Special construction bottom dump trucks (grain trucks) or conventional tractor- trailer vans used for hauling pulp chips, mill residues, hog fuel, and…
Chip/Check A casino term for tokens used instead of money.
Chipper A machine that produces wood chips by knife action.
Chipping Loosening of shallow rock by light blasting or air hammers.
CHIPS Woody material cut into short, thin wafers. Chips are used as a raw material for pulping and fiberboard or as biomass fuel.
CHIR-265 A substance being studied in the treatment of melanoma. CHIR-265 may block the growth of tumors and the growth of blood vessels from surrounding tissue to…
Chironomid Group of two-winged flying insects who live their larval stage underwater and emerge to fly about as adults.
chirping The rapid changing, as opposed to long-term drifting, of the frequency of an electromagnetic wave.
Chisel plowing Cropland preparation by a special implement (chisel) that avoids complete inversion of the soil (as occurs with conventional moldboard plowing).
chitin A type of polysaccharide (sugar molecule) that is made by some plants and animals.
chitinase An enzyme which breaks down chitin.
chlorambucil An anticancer drug that belongs to the family of drugs called alkylating agents.
Chloramphenicol An antibiotic that interferes with protein synthesis.
chlorenchyma Plant tissue (leaf mesophyll and other parenchyma cells) containing chloroplasts.
Chlorination The application of chlorine to water, generally for the purpose of disinfection, but frequently for accomplishing other biological or chemical results…
chlorine A chemical used to disinfect water and as a bleach.
Chlorofluorocarbon A family of chemicals composed primarily of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and fluorine. Used principally as refrigerants and industrial cleansers.
Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) A family of chemicals composed primarily of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and fluorine whose principal applications are as refrigerants and industrial…
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - Manufactured substances used as coolants and computer-chip cleaners. When these products break down they destroy stratospheric ozone, creating…
chloroma A malignant, green-colored tumor of myeloid cells (a type of immature white blood cell). This tumor is usually associated with myelogenous leukemia.
chlorophyll One of the two pigments responsible for the green colour of most plants. It is an essential component of the machinery to absorb light energy for…
chloroplast Specialized plastid that contains chlorophyll. Lens-shaped and bounded by a double membrane, chloroplasts contain membranous structures (thylakoids) piled…
Chloroplast chromosome Circular DNA found in the photosynthesizing organelle (chloroplast) of plants instead of the cell nucleus where most genetic material is located.
chloroplast DNA The DNA present in the chloroplast. Although the chloroplast has a small genome, the large number of chloroplasts per cell ensures that chloroplast DNA is…
chloroplast transit peptide (Abbreviation: CTP). A transit peptide that, when fused to a protein, acts to transport that protein into plant chloroplasts.
Chloroquine A drug used against malaria for both prevention and treatment. A very safe and inexpensive drug, its value has been compromised by the emergence of…
chloroquinoxaline sulfonamide (KLOR-oh-kwih-NOK-sah-leen sul-FAH-nuh-MIDE) A substance being studied in the treatment of cancer. It is a type of topoisomerase inhibitor.
chlorosis The appearance of yellow colour in plants, due to the failure of development or the breakdown of chlorophyll.
Choker A cable loop that is attached to a log during the yarding process.
cholangiocarcinoma A rare type of cancer that develops in cells that line the bile ducts in the liver.
cholangiosarcoma (ko-LAN-jee-o-sar-KO-ma) A tumor of the connective tissues of the bile ducts.
cholecalciferol (KOH-leh-kal-SIH-fuh-rol) A nutrient that helps the body use calcium and phosphorus and make strong bones and teeth.
cholelith Solid material that forms in the gallbladder or common bile duct. Choleliths are made of cholesterol or other substances found in the gallbladder.
cholestasis Any condition in which the release of bile from the liver is blocked. The blockage can occur in the liver (intrahepatic cholestasis) or in the bile ducts…
cholesterol (kuh-LESS-tuh-rawl) A waxy, fat-like substance made in the liver, and found in the blood and in all cells of the body.
choline magnesium trisalicylate (KOH-leen mag-NEE-see-um TRY-suh-LIH-sih-LAYT) A substance used to treat arthritis and relieve pain, inflammation, and fever.
chondrocyte Cartilage cell. Chondrocytes make the structural components of cartilage.
Chondrocytes Cartilage cells.
chondroitin sulfate The major glycosaminoglycan (a type of sugar molecule) in cartilage.
chondrosarcoma (KON-droh-sar-KOH-muh) A type of cancer that forms in bone cartilage. It usually starts in the pelvis (between the hip bones), the shoulder, the ribs, or…
CHOP (1) Countermeasures Hands-On Program. Also known as the MDA Countermeasures Skunkworks . (2) Change of Operational Control.
Choppy Game A game where neither the player nor the house has been winning consistently. Or, a game where no discernible streaks nor patterns have been appearing.
chordoma (kor-DO-ma) A type of bone cancer that usually starts in the lower spinal cord.
chorioadenoma destruens (KOR-ee-oh-A-deh-NOH-muh des-TROO-ens) A type of cancer that grows into the muscular wall of the uterus.