• Specialty
  • Cardiology
  • Dentistry
  • Dermatology
  • General Medicine
  • GI/GU
  • Hematology
  • Immunology
  • Lab Medicine & Pathology
  • Neuro-Psych
  • OB-Gyn
  • Oncology
  • Ophthalmology
  • Orthopaedic
  • Otolaryngology - ENT
  • Radiology
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• GI/GU
  • Cancers & Tumors - GI/GU
  • Digestive Terms
  • Diseases - GI/GU
  • Feedings - GI/GU
  • Herbs - GI/GU
  • STD Terms
  • Syndromes - GI/GU
  • Tubes - GI/GU
  • Sample Reports - Urology
  • Sample Reports - Gastroenterology

• STD Terms

- D -

• Dental dam

A sheet of latex that can be used to cover the vagina or anus during oral sex in order to prevent body fluids from passing from one person to another. It is called a dental dam because it was designed to be used for dental procedures. A substitute can be made by cutting off the tip and slitting the side of a latex condom.



• Dermatitis

Inflammation of the skin.



• Diathermy

The use of heat to destroy abnormal cells. Also called cauterization or electrodiathermy.



• Dilation and curettage

A minor operation in which the cervix is dilated (expanded) so that the cervical canal and tissue from the uterine lining can be scaped with a spoon-shaped instrument called a curette. Also called a D and C.



• Dilator

A device used to stretch or enlarge an opening.



• Disseminated infection

A herpes infection that spreads over a wider than usual area of the body, frequently afflicting internal organs.



• DNA (DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID)

A double-stranded molecule that makes up the chromosomes in the center of a cell and carries genetic information in the form of genes. The genetic code utilized by DNA resides in the varying sequences of four nucleotide molecules: adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine.



• Double-Blind

A kind of clinical study in which neither the participants nor the doctors know who is receiving the experimental drug and who is receiving the placebo or standard comparison treatments. This method is believed to achieve the most accuracy because neither the doctors nor the patients can affect the observed results with their psychological biases.



• Douching

Using water or a medicated solution to clean the vagina and cervix.



• Dyspareunia

The medical term for painful sex.



• Dysplasia

Abnormal changes or growth of cells and tissues. See Cervical Dysplasia.



• Dysuria

Painful or difficult urination. Dysuria may be due to a STD.