Computerized Axial Tomography, CAT, or Computed Tomography, CT Terms +

1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and containing the teeth, the gums, and the tongue.

Various kinds of food are broken down mechanically in the mouth by chewing and saliva is added as a lubricant.

Saliva contains amylase, an enzyme which digests starch.

2. Any opening or aperture in the body.

The mouth in both senses of the word is also called the os, the Latin word for "an opening", or "mouth".

A diagnostic test that uses a strong magnet to view tissues in the body and displays them in a series of "slices."

1. A structural unit in which a number of tissues, combined in specific amounts and patterns, perform a common task.
2. A relatively independent part of the body that carries out one or more special functions.

The organs of the human body include such areas as the eye, the ear, the heart, the lungs, and the liver.

The thinning of the bones including the reduction in bone mass because of the depletion of calcium and bone protein.

Osteoporosis easily results in fractures of the bones, which are often slow to heal and then even heal poorly.

It is more common in older adults, particularly post-menopausal women; in patients on steroids; and in those who take steroidal drugs.

Unchecked osteoporosis can lead to changes in posture, physical abnormality; especially, a form of hunch back expressed by some people as "dowager's hump", and a decreased ability to move around.

A fish-shaped spongy grayish-pink organ about 6 inches (15 cm) long that stretches across the back of the abdomen, behind the stomach.

The head of the pancreas is on the right side of the abdomen and is connected to the duodenum (the first section of the small intestine).

The narrow end of the pancreas, called the tail, protrudes to the left side of the body.

The carrying of a developing embryo or fetus within the female body.

This condition can be indicated by positive results of a urine test, and confirmed through a blood test, ultrasound, detection of fetal heartbeat, or an X-ray.

Pregnancy lasts for about nine months, measured from the date of the woman's last menstrual period (LMP). It is divided into three trimesters, each roughly three months long.

1. Rays of energy including gamma rays and X-rays which are just two of the types of energy waves often used in medicine.
2. The use of energy waves that diagnose or treat disease.

A doctor who specializes in reading X-rays and other diagnostic scans.

A physician who specializes in radiology, the branch of medicine that uses ionizing and non-ionizing radiation for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases: "Radiologists are professionals in the use of such diagnostic techniques as x-rays, CT scans (computerized tomography scans), and MRI's (magnetic resonance Imaging) for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases."

The breaking out or eruption of the skin.

Medically, a rash is referred to as an exanthem.

The word exanthem comes from the Greek exanthema which means "a breaking out".

Anthos in Greek is "a flower" particularly a flower blossom, so a child breaking out with a rash is sometimes compared to a flower that is blooming.

As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of the body by gathering information with a sensing device.

The body's outer covering which protects people from heat and light, injury, and infection.

It regulates body temperature and stores water, fat, and vitamin D.

Weighing about six pounds, the skin is the human body's largest organ. It is made up of two main layers; the outer epidermis and the inner dermis.

The skull is a collection of bones which enclose the brain and give form to the head and face.

The bones of the skull include: the frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal, sphenoid, ethmoid, zygomatic, maxilla, nasal, vomer, palatine, inferior concha, and the mandible.

The major column of nerve tissue that is connected to the brain and that lies within the vertebral canal and from which the spinal nerves emerge.

Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves originate in the spinal cord: eight cervical , twelve thoracic, 5 lumbar, five sacral, and one coccygeal.

The spinal cord and the brain constitute the central nervous system (CNS). The spinal cord consists of nerve fibers that transmit impulses to and from the brain.

Like the brain, the spinal cord is covered by three connective-tissue envelopes called the meninges. The space between the outer and middle envelopes is filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a clear colorless fluid that cushions the spinal cord against strong and sudden shocks.

1. The column of bone known as the vertebral column, which surrounds and protects the spinal cord.

The spine can be categorized according to the level of the body; for example, the cervical spine (neck), the thoracic spine (upper and middle back), and the lumbar spine (lower back).

2. Any short prominence of bone.

The spines of the vertebrae protrude at the bottom of the back of the neck and in the middle of the back. These spines protect the spinal cord from injury from behind.