Decompression: Operation to relieve pressure
on a structure
Deep: Further away form the skin.
Deep venous thrombosis or DVT: A blood clot
within a leg vein.
Demineralized bone matrix: A supplement to
bone fusion made up of the fibrous proteins of bone.
Demyelination: The loss of the normal lining
of an axon so that conduction of nerve signals is greatly
slowed or blocked.
Dens: The portion of the C2 vertebra pointing
upward.
Dermatome: An area of the skin innervated
by a single spinal nerve root.
DEXA scan: Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry
used to assess bone density to diagnose osteoporosis.
Diagnosis: The identification of a medical
condition that explains a patient's symptoms and predicts
the necessary treatment.
Diagnostic imaging: The use of medical imaging
to achieve a diagnosis.
Discectomy: Removal of all or part of a spinal
disc.
Discitis: Infection within a disc space.
Discogenic pain: A pain syndrome deriving
from an abnormal spinal disc.
Discogram: An injection used to evaluate
the health of a spinal intervertebral disc, by the annulus.
Disc bulge: An abnormal expansion on the
margin of a disc, typically still well contained by the annulus.
Disc herniation: The escape of a portion
of the nucleus pulpous through or partly through the annulus
fibrosis.
Distracting stimulus: A sensory stimulation
applied in order to distract the patient typically from pain
carried by the same nerve.
Dorsal root ganglia: A collection of neurons
associated with the processing of sensory information Found
within the sensory portion of the spinal nerve, just as the
nerve exits the spinal foramina.
Dorsiflexion: Bending the ankle upward to bring the toes closer
to the knee.
Double- blind randomized trial: A type of
medical research study in which neither the patient nor the
physician knows whether a treatment or a placebo has been
given. Considered to help avoid bias in the evaluation of
results of an experiment.
Dura: A hard, leathery membrane that surrounds
the brain and the spinal cord.
Dysphagia: Difficulty swallowing.
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