Diphtheria
An acute infectious upper respiratory tract disease that affects the throat. It is caused by the bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Symptoms include sore throat and mild fever at first. As the disease progresses, a membranous substance forms in the throat that makes it difficult to breathe and swallow. Diphtheria can be deadly. It is one of the diseases that the DT (diphtheria-tetanus), DTP (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis), and DTaP (diphtheria-tetanus-acellular-pertussis) vaccines are designed to prevent.
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Diploe: The soft spongy material between the inside table and outside table (the interior and exterior bony plates) of the skull. The diploe contains bone marrow.
- Diploid
Diploid: The number of chromosomes in most cells of the body. The diploid in humans is 46, which is twice the haploid number of 23 chromosomes contained in human eggs (ova) and sperm.
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A condition in which a single object appears as two objects. Also known as double vision.
- Diplopia, binocular
Diplopia, binocular: Double vision (diplopia) that is only evident when looking through both eyes and disappears if one eye is closed or covered. The condition is caused by misalignment of the eyes by the extraocular muscles (the muscles around the eyeball that control gaze). This may be due to strabismus (misalignment of the eyes from […]
- Diplopia, monocular
Diplopia, monocular: Double vision (diplopia) in only one eye. The double vision persists when the other eye is covered. Monocular diplopia can be caused by astigmatism (abnormal curvature of the front of the cornea), keratoconus (cone-shaped cornea), pterygium (thickening of the conjunctiva over the cornea), a cataract, dislocation of the lens, a mass in the […]