Vernix caseosa
A white cheesy substance that covers and protects the skin of the fetus and is still all over the skin of a baby at birth. Vernix caseosa is composed of sebum (the oil of the skin) and cells that have sloughed off the fetus’ skin.
“Vernix” is the Latin word for “varnish.” The vernix varnishes the baby. “Caseosa” is “cheese” in Latin.
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- Verruca
A wart by another name, a local growth of the outer layer of the skin (the epidermis) caused by a virus. The virus of warts (a human papillomavirus) is transmitted by contact. The contact can be with a wart on someone else or one on oneself (autoinoculation). Warts that occur on the hands or feet […]
- Version
1. In obstetrics, the process of turning the fetus. A cephalic version brings the fetal head into the birth canal. 2. In gynecology, the tilting of the uterus. Uterine retroversion indicates the uterus is tilted backwards. 3. In ophthalmology, the conjugate rotation (turning) of both eyes in the same direction. The special uses of the […]
- Vertebra
A vertebra is one of 33 bony segments that form the spinal column of humans. There are 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral (fused into one sacrum bone) and 4 coccygeal (fused into one coccyx bone).
- Vertebra, first cervical
The first cervical (neck) vertebra is called the atlas. It supports the head. The atlas bone is named for the Greek god Atlas who was condemned to support the earth and its heavens on his shoulders. (Because the god Atlas often adorned maps, a compilation of maps came to be known as an atlas).
- Vertebra, prominent
The 7th cervical (neck) vertebra (C7) is sometimes called the prominent vertebra because of the length of its spinous process (the projection off the back of the vertebral body). The spinous process of the top thoracic vertebra (T1) just below C7 is sometimes even more prominent than that of the “prominent vertebra”.