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Glossary Terms: 1-10 | 11-20 | 21-30 | 31-34
macrophage
(mack-row-faj)
:
a type of white blood cell that engulfs and destroys foreign materials.
magnetic resonance imaging
:
a method of taking pictures of the inside of the body. Instead of using x-rays, MRI uses a powerful magnet and transmits radio waves through the body; the images appear on a computer screen as well as on film. Like x-rays, the procedure is physically painless, but some people find it psychologically uncomfortable to be inside the MRI machine.
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
:
a method of taking pictures of the inside of the body. Instead of using x-rays, MRI uses a powerful magnet and transmits radio waves through the body; the images appear on a computer screen as well as on film. Like x-rays, the procedure is physically painless, but some people find it psychologically uncomfortable to be inside the MRI machine.
malignant tumor
(muh-lig-nant)
:
a mass of cancer cells that may invade surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body.
mammogram, mammography
:
an x-ray of the breast; the method of detecting breast cancers which cannot be felt. Mammograms are done with a special type of x-ray machine that is used only for this purpose. A mammogram can show a developing breast tumor before it is large enough to be felt by a woman or even by a highly skilled health care professional. Screening mammography is used to help find breast cancer early in women without any symptoms. Diagnostic mammography helps the doctor learn more about breast masses or the cause of other breast symptoms.
mammoplasty
:
plastic surgery to reconstruct the breast or to change the shape, size, or position of the breast. Reduction mammoplasty reduces the size of the breast. Augmentation mammoplasty enlarges a woman's breast, usually with implants.
Man to Man
:
American Cancer Society program of education and support for men with prostate cancer. Call 1-800-ACS-2345 to ask about program locations.
margin
:
edge of the tissue removed during surgery. A negative surgical margin is a sign that no cancer was left behind. A positive surgical margin indicates that cancer cells are found at the outer edge of the tissue removed and is usually a sign that some cancer remains in the body.
mastectomy
(mas-tek-to-me)
:
surgery to remove all or part of the breast and sometimes other tissue.
Extended radical mastectomy removes the breast, skin, nipple, areola, chest muscles (pectoral major and minor), and all axillary and internal mammary lymph nodes on the same side.
Halsted radical mastectomy removes the breast, skin, nipple, areola, both pectoral muscles, and all axillary lymph nodes on the same side.
Modified radical mastectomy removes the breast, skin, nipple, areola, and most of the axillary lymph nodes on the same side, leaving the chest muscles intact.
Partial mastectomy removes less than the whole breast, taking only part of the breast in which the cancer occurs and a margin of healthy breast tissue surrounding the tumor.
Subcutaneous mastectomy is surgery to remove internal breast tissue. The nipple and skin are left intact.
Prophylactic mastectomy is a mastectomy done before any evidence of cancer can be found, for the purpose of preventing cancer. This procedure is sometimes recommended for women at very high risk of breast cancer.
Quadrantectomy is a partial mastectomy in which the quarter of the breast that contains a tumor is removed.
Segmental mastectomy is a partial mastectomy.
Simple mastectomy or total mastectomy removes only the breast and areola.
mastitis
:
inflammation or infection of the breast.
Glossary Terms: 1-10 | 11-20 | 21-30 | 31-34
