Human health and medicine

Diffuse optical tomography

Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) is a medical imaging method that reconstructs 3-D maps of near-infrared light absorption in thick tissue, applied to breast tumors and brain function.

Diffuse orbital inflammation (ICD-11 9A22.1), also called diffuse idiopathic orbital inflammation or orbital pseudotumor, is a noninfectious, non-neoplastic inflammatory condition diffusely involving orbital fat, diagnosed by exclusion and treated first with corticosteroids.

Oct 20, 2026

Diffuse panbronchiolitis

Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB, 弥漫性泛细支气管炎) is a rare idiopathic inflammatory lung disease of respiratory bronchioles, mainly affecting East Asians, marked by chronic sinusitis, cough, sputum, tree-in-bud HRCT nodules, and treatable with low-dose macrolides.

Oct 20, 2026

Diffuse unilateral subacute neuroretinitis

Diffuse unilateral subacute neuroretinitis (DUSN), or unilateral wipe-out syndrome, is a unilateral chorioretinitis caused by a mobile subretinal nematode such as Toxocara canis or Baylisascaris procyonis, treated by laser photocoagulation or albendazole.

Diffusion kurtosis imaging

Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) is an MRI technique that quantifies non-Gaussian water diffusion in tissue, extending diffusion tensor imaging; it was introduced by Jens Jensen and colleagues in 2005.

Diffusion spectrum imaging

Diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) is a magnetic resonance imaging method that reconstructs water diffusion without a tissue model, resolving crossing fibers that diffusion tensor imaging cannot.

Diffusion tensor imaging

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an MRI technique that estimates water diffusion per voxel, producing anisotropy maps and tract reconstructions used for stroke, brain tumors, and surgical planning.

Diffusional kurtosis imaging

Diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) is a diffusion MRI method that quantifies non-Gaussian water diffusion to probe tissue microstructure, introduced by Jens H. Jensen and colleagues in 2005.

Diflorasone diacetate

Diflorasone diacetate (Florone, Psorcon) is a synthetic 0.05% topical corticosteroid, first approved in 1977, used twice daily for corticosteroid-responsive dermatoses such as psoriasis and eczema; the ointment is rated very potent and the cream can suppress the HPA axis.

Diflunisal

Diflunisal, originally marketed as Dolobid, is a long-acting salicylic acid NSAID used for mild to moderate pain and arthritis, first approved in the United States in 1982.

Difluprednate

Difluprednate (Durezol) is a 0.05% ophthalmic corticosteroid emulsion, a difluorinated prednisolone derivative developed in Japan, FDA-approved in 2008 for post-ocular-surgery inflammation and pain and in 2012 for endogenous anterior uveitis.

Diftet

Diftet is a WHO-prequalified diphtheria and tetanus vaccine (adsorbed, DT), product FVP-P-77, made by BB-NCIPD EAD in Sofia, Bulgaria, prequalified 09/05/2006, 30 IU diphtheria and 40 IU tetanus toxoid per dose.

Digastric muscle

Digastric muscle (musculus digastricus), a two-bellied suprahyoid neck muscle joining mandible, hyoid, and temporal bone via an intermediate tendon. Dual innervation: anterior belly CN V3 mylohyoid nerve, posterior belly CN VII; depresses mandible, elevates hyoid.

Digestion

Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food into absorbable nutrients in the GI tract, involving the mouth, stomach, small intestine, and accessory organs; differs between monogastric humans and pigs and ruminants like cattle.

Digestion and absorption

Digestion and absorption: the gastrointestinal processes that break food into monosaccharides, amino acids, and fatty acids and move them across the small-intestinal epithelium via paracellular and transcellular transport, and how maldigestion and malabsorption arise.

Digestive diseases

Digestive Diseases (Dig Dis) is a peer-reviewed gastroenterology journal published by S. Karger, Basel; founded 1983 as Survey of Digestive Diseases, ISSN 0257-2753, indexed in MEDLINE, edited by Peter Malfertheiner.

Digestive surgery

Digestive surgery: operative treatment of digestive tract and associated organs; also Digestive Surgery (Dig Surg), Karger journal for gastrointestinal surgeons founded 1984, official journal of the Collegium Internationale Chirurgiae Digestivae and European Digestive Surgery.

Digestive System Diagnostic Techniques

Digestive system diagnostic techniques: imaging (fluoroscopy, CT, MRI, ultrasound), endoscopy (upper GI endoscopy, colonoscopy, ERCP, capsule endoscopy), and lab tests (stool, breath, blood, biopsy) used to diagnose GI, liver, pancreatic, and biliary diseases.

Digestive system fistula

Digestive system fistula (ICD-11 ME24.1): an abnormal epithelial connection between the GI tract and another organ or the skin. Mostly acquired from surgery, Crohn's disease, diverticulitis, cancer, or radiation; 20–37% of enterocutaneous fistulas close spontaneously.

Digestive System Surgical Procedures

Digestive system surgical procedures (MeSH E04.210): operations on the gastrointestinal tract, liver, biliary tract, and pancreas, performed open, laparoscopically, or robot-assisted, with ERAS perioperative care protocols.

Digit ratio

Digit ratio (2D:4D) is index finger length divided by ring finger length; lower in males, proposed in 1998 as a prenatal testosterone marker, though large meta-analyses find weak hormone validation.

Digit symbol substitution test

The digit symbol substitution test (DSST) is a timed neuropsychological test of processing speed, in which a person copies geometric symbols beneath matching digits using a key.

Digital breast tomosynthesis

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is an X-ray technique that reconstructs low-dose breast projections into thin slices, revealing lesions hidden by overlapping tissue in 2D mammograms.

Digital contact tracing

Digital contact tracing is a public health surveillance method that uses smartphone apps, mostly Bluetooth-based, to notify people exposed to an infectious disease so they can test and isolate.

Oct 22, 2026

Digital ELISA

The single-molecule array (Simoa) is a digital ELISA technology commercialized by Quanterix that counts individual enzyme-labeled protein complexes in femtoliter wells, roughly 1,000-fold more sensitive than conventional immunoassays.

Digital Health

Digital health is the use of digital technologies to improve health, an umbrella term the World Health Organization applies to eHealth, mHealth, telemedicine, big data, genomics, and artificial intelligence.

Digital radiography

Digital radiography (DR) is a medical imaging method that captures X-ray images with electronic detectors instead of screen-film cassettes, producing digital radiographs that can be processed, stored, and displayed electronically.

Digital smile design

Digital smile design (DSD) is a digital dentistry workflow that uses facial and intraoral photographs, video, and software to analyze smile esthetics and plan cosmetic treatment, producing a digital wax-up and mock-up.

Digital subtraction angiography

Digital subtraction angiography (DSA): fluoroscopic X-ray technique subtracting a pre-contrast mask image from contrast-filled frames to show vessels; gold standard in neurovascular imaging since 1980.