Human health and medicine

Definitive chemoradiotherapy

Definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) treats localized cancer with concurrent full-dose radiation and chemotherapy, without surgery, aiming at cure; it is best established for locally advanced esophageal cancer.

Definitive fixation

Definitive fixation is the permanent implant-based stabilization of a fracture, recommended as primary treatment in stable patients, while unstable polytrauma patients first receive temporary external fixation.

Definitive radiotherapy

Definitive radiotherapy is radiation treatment given with curative intent as the primary or sole therapy for a tumor, without surgery, typically delivered in small daily doses over several weeks.

Deflazacort

Deflazacort (Emflaza) is a corticosteroid prodrug, FDA-approved in 2017 for Duchenne muscular dystrophy in patients 2 years and older, dosed 0.9 mg/kg/day, metabolized via CYP3A4 to 21-desacetyldeflazacort.

Deformable image registration

Deformable image registration is a medical image processing method that aligns two images of anatomy by locally warping one until its structures match, used most extensively in radiotherapy treatment planning.

DEFUSE 3 trial

DEFUSE 3 (Endovascular Therapy Following Imaging Evaluation for Ischemic Stroke 3), NINDS-funded StrokeNet randomized trial of thrombectomy 6-16 hours after stroke onset with perfusion-mismatch selection; 182 patients, functional independence 45% vs 17%, extended thrombectomy window to 24 hours with DAWN.

Degarelix

Degarelix (Firmagon, FE200486) is an injectable GnRH antagonist peptide by Ferring for advanced hormone-dependent prostate cancer; 240 mg then 80 mg monthly, rapid castration without flare, main drawback injection-site reactions.

Degenerative disc disease

Degenerative disc disease, also called discogenic disease or intervertebral disc degeneration, is painful breakdown of spinal discs; imaging degeneration is nearly universal with age, definitions vary, and treatment is mostly conservative.

Degenerative disease

A degenerative disease, also called a degenerative disorder, is one marked by progressive deterioration in how affected tissues or organs work; examples include osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer disease.

Degenerative high myopia

Degenerative high myopia, also called pathologic myopia, is a form of myopia in which excessive elongation of the eyeball causes structural damage that can lead to vision loss.

Degenerative mitral valve prolapse

Degenerative mitral valve prolapse, also called Barlow disease or myxomatous MVP, is connective-tissue degeneration of the mitral valve causing leaflet displacement ≥2 mm above the annulus, mitral regurgitation, and in a subset arrhythmic risk.

Dehydrated hereditary stomatocytosis

Dehydrated hereditary stomatocytosis, also called hereditary xerocytosis, is a rare autosomal dominant hemolytic anemia caused mainly by PIEZO1 gain-of-function mutations, causing red cell dehydration, iron overload, and post-splenectomy thrombosis risk.

Dehydration

Dehydration: deficiency of body water from losses exceeding intake, caused by diarrhea, vomiting, sweating, fever, or diuretics; treated with fluids, oral rehydration salts, or IV therapy.

Oct 20, 2026

Dehydration of newborn

Dehydration of newborn (neonatal dehydration, ICD-11 KB63.1) is excessive body water loss in a newborn; the key form is hypernatremic dehydration from inadequate breast milk intake, treated with slow sodium correction.

Deinfibulation

Deinfibulation, also called defibulation, is a minor surgical procedure cutting open scar tissue sealing the vaginal opening in Type III FGM/C, restoring urination, menstruation, intercourse, and childbirth.

Deinstitutionalization

Deinstitutionalization is the process of shifting mental health care from long-stay psychiatric institutions to community-based services, so people can return to and live in their communities.

Dejarnette Sanitarium

Dejarnette Sanitarium (DeJarnette State Sanitarium) was a 1932 psychiatric hospital in Staunton, Virginia, founded by eugenicist Dr. Joseph S. DeJarnette; later a children's facility, now the Commonwealth Center for Children & Adolescents.

Dejerine-Sottas syndrome

Dejerine-Sottas syndrome (DSS), also CMT3 or HMSN III, is a severe infantile-onset demyelinating Charcot-Marie-Tooth phenotype with nerve conduction below 10-12 m/s, areflexia, and foot deformities, caused by PMP22, MPZ, EGR2, or PRX mutations.

Dejerine–Roussy syndrome

Dejerine–Roussy syndrome, or thalamic pain, is central post-stroke pain described by Dejerine and Roussy in 1906: contralateral burning pain, hemihypesthesia, hemiataxia, and choreoathetosis after thalamic or spinothalamic tract stroke.

Delafloxacin

Delafloxacin (Baxdela, ABT-492, RX-3341) is an anionic fluoroquinolone antibiotic approved by the FDA in June 2017 for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections, non-inferior to vancomycin plus aztreonam, with IV and oral formulations.

Delamanid

Delamanid (Deltyba), Otsuka's nitroimidazole antibiotic for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis; EMA-authorized 2014, WHO Group C medicine, QT-prolonging, now in the 6-month BDLLfxC regimen.

Delandistrogene moxeparvovec

Delandistrogene moxeparvovec (Elevidys, delandistrogene moxeparvovec-rokl) is Sarepta's one-time AAVrh74 gene therapy delivering micro-dystrophin for Duchenne muscular dystrophy; first US-approved DMD gene therapy (2023), later given a boxed liver-failure warning and ambulatory-only indication (2025).

Oct 20, 2026

Delapril

Delapril (地拉普利) is a lipophilic nonsulfhydryl ACE inhibitor prodrug launched by Takeda in 1989 for hypertension, converted to two active diacid metabolites and marketed in fixed combinations with manidipine and indapamide.

Delavirdine

Delavirdine (DLV, Rescriptor) is a bisheteroarylpiperazine NNRTI for HIV-1, approved by the FDA on April 4, 1997 as the second NNRTI after nevirapine; dosed 400 mg three times daily, limited by rash and rapid K103N resistance, now discontinued.

Delayed breast reconstruction

Delayed breast reconstruction is a surgical procedure that rebuilds the breast in a second operation, weeks to years after mastectomy, usually once cancer treatment is finished.

Delayed Diagnosis

Delayed diagnosis (late diagnosis, diagnosis delay): a diagnosis established later than optimal, one of three diagnostic error types; affects about 5% of US outpatients yearly, driven by test-ordering and follow-up failures.

Delayed ejaculation

Delayed ejaculation, also known as retarded ejaculation, is a male sexual dysfunction in which a man needs an unusually long time to ejaculate, or cannot at all.

Delayed encephalopathy due to carbon monoxide poisoning

Delayed encephalopathy due to carbon monoxide poisoning, also called delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae, is a rare neurological disorder that emerges weeks after apparent recovery from carbon monoxide poisoning, causing cognitive impairment, personality changes, and parkinsonism.