Dorsal
Dorsal: Relating to the back or posterior of a structure. As opposed to the ventral, or front, of the structure. Some of the dorsal surfaces of the body are the back, buttocks, calves, and the knuckle side of the hand.
For a more complete listing of terms used in medicine for spatial orientation, please see the entry to “Anatomic Orientation Terms”.
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- Dorsum
Dorsum: The back or posterior side of a structure. Something that pertains to the dorsum is dorsal.
- Dose, absorbed
Dose, absorbed: In radiology, the absorbed dose is the amount of energy that is deposited in any material by ionizing radiation. The unit of absorbed dose, the rad, is a measure of energy absorbed per gram of material. An alternative unit of absorbed dose is the gray. One gray equals 100 rads.
- DOTS
DOTS: Stands for Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course. DOTS is a strategy used to reduce the number of tuberculosis (TB) cases. In DOTS, healthcare workers observe patients as they take their medicine. Left alone, many people with tuberculosis fail to take all their medication and contribute to the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis.
- Double contrast barium enema
Barium enema.
- Double helix
Double helix: The structure of DNA, in which two strands of DNA spiral about each other.