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General Illness Information Common Name: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Medical Term: None Specified. Description: Chronic airway obstruction resulting from chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or a combination of the two.  Estimated to affect 12-15 million people in North America. Males are more affected than females.  Incidence in females is rising. It is the fourth common cause of death Causes: Damage to airways occurs from: Cigarette smoking – most important cause; Air…

General Illness Information Common Name: Cholecystitis and Cholangitis Medical Term: None Specified. Description: Infection or inflammation of the gallbladder, which collects and concentrates bile from the liver (Cholecystitis). Infection or inflammation of the ducts that drain bile from the liver to the gallbladder (cholangitis). More common in women and some ethnic groups (North American Indians). Incidence increases with age. Causes: Unknown. Postulated to be caused by inflammation or bacterial infection,…

General Illness Information Common Name: Cerebral Palsy (CP) Medical Term: None Specified Description: Cerebral palsy is a term used to describe a group of patients with a non-progressive impairment of movement and posture that is a result of a central nervous system abnormality that occurred prenatally, perinatally or during the first three years of life Cerebral palsy is not a disease and it is non progressive and non hereditary. Incidence…

General Illness Information Common Name: Cervical Cancer Medical Term:None Specified Description: A common, but treatable, cancer of the cervix (the lower third of the uterus, which opens into the vagina). It can affect women of all ages, but most common between ages 40 and 55. About 85% of cervical cancers are squamous cell carcinomas i.e. they arise from the scaly, skin-like cells covering the outside of the cervix. Most other cervical…

Description Cervical spondylosis is a degenerative process that develops in the bones of the neck (vertebrae) and intervertebral discs, resulting in compression of the spinal cord in the neck. Affects men and women equally. Very common after age 50, and considered by many to be a natural aging phenomenon. Causes Osteoarthritis (wear and tear on joints that accompanies aging); Arthritis (inflammation of a joint); Injuries such as automobile accidents with…

General Illness Information Common Name: Chalazion Medical Term: None Specified. Description: Chronic inflammation of the meibomian gland in the eyelid.  Meibomian glands are long thin oil glands found in the eyelid, and serve to lubricate the lid margins. Causes: Blockage of a duct leading to the surface of the eyelid from the meibomian gland. The blockage may be due to infection (usually staphylococcal) around the duct opening. Prevention: If you…

General Illness Information Common Name: Cervicitis Medical Term: None Specified. Description: Inflammation or infection of the cervix. There are two types, and either may be contagious: acute cervicitis, which is usually a bacterial or viral infection with specific symptoms and chronic cervicitis, which is a long-term infection that may not have symptoms. Causes: The organism Chlamidia trachomatis most commonly causes acute cervicitis. Other causes are: Neisseria Gonorrhea and Herpes Virus….

General Illness Information Common Name: Cataract Medical Term: None Specified Description: Opacity (or clouding) of the lens of the eye. As the opacity gets denser, it interferes with vision. Cataracts can occur in one or both eyes. Cataracts are not cancerous. Most common cause of visual loss (blindness) in adults. Causes: Common causes include: Aging. Metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus, galactosemia (inherited disease of infants in which milk cannot…

General Illness Information Common Name: Celiac Disease Medical Term: Gluten Enteropathy Description: A chronic diarrheal disease characterized by intestinal malabsorption of almost all nutrients precipitated by eating foods containing gluten. This intestinal sensitivity to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and oats causes changes in the intestine which prevents it from absorbing nutrients. Usually present between ages of 6-12 months when the child is first introduced to gluten….

General Illness Information Common Name: Cellulitis Medical Term: None Specified Description: An infection of the skin and tissue beneath the skin. Non-contagious, non cancerous. Usually proceeded by skin surface injury. Severe cellulites of face are termed Erysipelas. Causes: Many different bacteria may cause infection; most common is from Streptococcus bacteria. The second most common is staphylococcus. Cellulitis due to streptococci tends to spread rapidly over a wide area because this…