Human health and medicine

Distigmine

Distigmine (Ubretid), distigmine bromide, is a long-acting reversible carbamate cholinesterase inhibitor approved in Japan in 1967 for myasthenia gravis and underactive bladder, with 72-hour half-life and cholinergic crisis as its key risk.

Sep 29, 2026

Distraction osteogenesis

Distraction osteogenesis is a surgical technique that lengthens bone by slowly separating a cut segment with a mechanical device so new bone fills the gap, used for limb lengthening and craniofacial reconstruction.

Sep 29, 2026

Distributional cost-effectiveness analysis

Distributional cost-effectiveness analysis (DCEA) is a health economic evaluation method, introduced in 2014, that estimates how an intervention's costs and health effects are distributed across social subgroups.

Distributive shock

Distributive shock, also called vasodilatory shock, is circulatory shock from widespread vasodilation with normal blood volume. Subtypes are septic, anaphylactic, neurogenic, and toxin-induced shock; it is the most common shock type and is treated with fluids and vasopressors.

District Hospitals

District hospitals: government-controlled hospitals serving as the major health facility for a designated geographic area; first referral level between primary care clinics and regional or tertiary hospitals, providing generalist 24-hour care.

DISTROKE trial

DISTROKE (NCT03626558), Diaphragmatic Function Description in Stroke Patients, was a withdrawn French preliminary ultrasound study of post-stroke diaphragm function; no participants were enrolled and no results were posted.

Disturbance of affect

Disturbance of affect (ICD-11 MB24.6) is a symptom code for a disturbance in the expression or outward manifestation of mood, under MB24 symptoms involving mood or affect, distinct from diagnosable mood disorders.

Disturbance of body image

Disturbance of body image (ICD-11 MB27.3), also called body image disturbance: excessively negative, distorted, or inaccurate perception of one's own body; core feature of eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder.

Disturbances in tooth eruption

Disturbances in tooth eruption are delays, premature eruption, or complete failure of teeth to emerge from the jaw, caused by local obstructions, ankylosis, or genetic and systemic factors.

Disturbances in tooth formation

Disturbances in tooth formation (ICD-10 K00.4; ICD-11 DA07.3) are developmental odontogenesis disorders including enamel hypoplasia, dilaceration, regional odontodysplasia, and Turner tooth, caused by genetic or environmental disruption of tooth development.

Disturbances of oral epithelium

Disturbances of oral epithelium (ICD-11 DA01.0) groups oral epithelial disorders including leukoplakia, hairy leukoplakia, and wandering rash of the mouth, continuing ICD-10 K13.2; leukoplakia carries a 3-17% 10-year oral cancer transformation risk.

Disturbances of salivary secretion

Disturbances of salivary secretion (ICD-11 DA04.6, 唾液分泌障害): conditions of increased (sialorrhoea, hypersalivation) or decreased (hyposalivation, xerostomia-related) saliva secretion, caused by medications, Sjögren's syndrome, aging, and radiation, managed with sialogogues, substitutes, botulinum toxin, or surgery.

Disturbances of smell or taste

Disturbances of smell or taste (ICD-11 MB41): anosmia, hyposmia, parosmia, phantosmia, dysgeusia, hypogeusia, ageusia. Mostly sinonasal, postinfectious, or posttraumatic; diagnosed by ENT psychophysical testing; olfactory training is the main treatment.

Disufenton

Disufenton sodium (NXY-059, Cerovive, OKN-007) is a nitrone free-radical-trapping drug AstraZeneca developed for acute ischemic stroke; positive SAINT I, negative SAINT II, withdrawn, later studied as OKN-007 for glioblastoma.

Disulfiram

Disulfiram (Antabuse) is an aldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitor, FDA-approved since 1951 for alcohol dependence, that causes acetaldehyde buildup and an aversive reaction if alcohol is drunk; effective mainly under supervised dosing.

DITRA

DITRA (deficiency of interleukin-36 receptor antagonist; OMIM 614204) is a rare autosomal recessive autoinflammatory disease caused by IL36RN mutations, causing recurrent generalized pustular psoriasis flares with fever; treated with spesolimab.

Diuresis

Diuresis is increased urine excretion, from Greek diourein. Distinguished as water diuresis (urine osmolality 300), caused by glucose, mannitol, urea, or diuretic drugs, and induced therapeutically in heart failure and SIAD.

Diuretic

Diuretic: drug that increases renal sodium and water excretion. Classes include loop diuretics (furosemide, NKCC2), thiazides (chlorthalidone, NCC), and potassium-sparing agents; used for hypertension, heart failure, and edema since chlorothiazide's 1958 introduction.

Diurnal enuresis

Diurnal enuresis, or daytime urinary incontinence (DUI), is involuntary daytime urine leakage in children aged 5 or older; over 65% of cases are functional, treated first with urotherapy, though trial evidence for interventions remains weak.

Divergence excess

Divergence excess, also called divergence excess exotropia, ICD-11 9C83.62, is an intermittent exotropia pattern with a distance deviation at least 10 prism diopters greater than near; true versus simulated forms are separated by the monocular occlusion patch test.

Divergence insufficiency

Divergence insufficiency, also called age-related distance esotropia, is an acquired comitant esotropia greater at distance than near causing distance diplopia, mainly in adults over 50, treated with prism or strabismus surgery.

Divergence nystagmus

Divergence nystagmus (分离性眼球震颤), ICD-11 9C84.51, is a rare disconjugate nystagmus with the eyes beating in opposite directions, caused by vergence imbalance and associated with midline cerebellar and dorsal pontine lesions.

Divergence paralysis

Divergence paralysis (divergence palsy, ICD-11 9C83.61) is a rare acquired ocular motility disorder: complete loss of divergence with distance esotropia, normal convergence, and horizontal diplopia at distance, linked to raised intracranial pressure and brainstem lesions.

Diversion colitis

Diversion colitis, also called diversion proctocolitis or disuse colitis, is inflammation of bowel excluded from the fecal stream after ostomy surgery; hallmark lymphoid follicular hyperplasia, SCFA deficiency hypothesis, treated by stoma reversal.

Sep 29, 2026

Diverticulectomy

Diverticulectomy is the surgical excision of a diverticulum, a herniated pouch of the organ wall. In the bladder it is usually done for infection, stones, reflux, or malignancy.

Diverticulitis

Diverticulitis, inflammation of colonic diverticula (pouches in the colon wall), causes acute lower left abdominal pain, fever, and nausea; treated with diet, selective antibiotics, and sometimes colectomy.

Diverticulitis of large intestine

Diverticulitis of large intestine (ICD-11 DC80) is inflammation of colonic diverticula, usually sigmoid, caused by diverticular perforation; mostly uncomplicated, managed selectively with antibiotics, CT-confirmed.

Diverticulitis of small intestine

Diverticulitis of small intestine (ICD-11 DC70, small bowel diverticulitis) is inflammation of small-intestine diverticula, mainly jejunal or duodenal, causing bleeding, perforation, abscess, or obstruction, diagnosed by CT.

Diverticulosis

Diverticulosis of large intestine (ICD-11 DC81, colonic diverticulosis): multiple pouches (diverticula) herniating through the colon wall, mostly sigmoid; over 30% of US adults 50-59 affected, usually asymptomatic, under 5% develop diverticulitis.