Human health and medicine

Adipocere

Adipocere, also called grave wax or corpse wax, is a waxy, soap-like postmortem substance formed from body fat under anaerobic, moist, warm conditions; it preserves corpses for centuries and complicates forensic time-of-death estimation.

Adiposis dolorosa

Adiposis dolorosa (Dercum disease, Dercum's disease) is a rare disorder of painful subcutaneous fat with multiple lipomas, mainly in overweight women aged 35-50; diagnosis is clinical and by exclusion.

Adiposity

Adiposity, also called body fat status, is the amount of fat deposited at body sites or organs. Measured by BMI, waist circumference, BIA, DXA, CT, and MRI; visceral fat distribution drives cardiometabolic risk beyond total fat mass.

Adjunctive and non-pharmacological management of rheumatoid arthritis

Adjunctive and non-pharmacological management of rheumatoid arthritis covers glucocorticoid bridging, NSAIDs, exercise, occupational therapy, orthoses, and diet used alongside DMARD therapy; only exercise carries a strong guideline recommendation.

Adjustable gastric band

Adjustable gastric band (LAGB, Lap-Band): inflatable silicone band around the upper stomach for severe obesity, first implanted 1993, FDA approved 2001; gives about 45% excess weight loss but high reoperation rates and near abandonment as a primary procedure.

Adjustment disorder

Adjustment disorder (F43.2x) is a trauma- and stressor-related mental disorder with emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor; DSM-5-TR subtypes include depressed mood, anxiety, and mixed forms, with talk therapy as first-line treatment.

Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy

Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy is concurrent chemotherapy and radiation given after cancer surgery to eliminate residual microscopic disease, established in glioblastoma and endometrial cancer but contested in pancreatic cancer.

Adjuvant Chemotherapy

Adjuvant chemotherapy, also called preventative chemotherapy, is anticancer drug treatment given after surgery to kill remaining cells and prevent recurrence; contrasted with neoadjuvant chemotherapy given before surgery, with established uses in breast, colorectal, lung, and other cancers.

Adjuvant immunotherapy

Adjuvant immunotherapy gives immune checkpoint inhibitors such as pembrolizumab and nivolumab after complete tumor removal or chemoradiation, aiming to eradicate residual microscopic disease and prevent relapse.

Adjuvant Radiotherapy

Adjuvant radiotherapy: radiation given after primary cancer treatment (usually surgery) to reduce recurrence. Used in breast, cervical, and selected lung and prostate cancers; benefits and harms vary by stage and risk.

ADME

ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) describes a drug's fate in the body, central to pharmacokinetics and drug development, where poor ADME properties cause nearly half of candidate losses and drive IVIVE, allometric scaling, and PBPK prediction methods.

Admilparant

Admilparant (BMS-986278) is Bristol Myers Squibb's oral LPA1 receptor antagonist for pulmonary fibrosis; phase 2 showed slowed FVC decline in IPF and PPF, and phase 3 ALOFT-IPF met its primary endpoint at 60 mg.

Admixture mapping

Admixture mapping is a genetic association method, proposed by Paul McKeigue in 1998, that finds disease variants in admixed populations by testing local ancestry against phenotype.

Adnan al-Bursh

Adnan al-Bursh (عدنان البرش) was a Palestinian orthopedic surgeon who headed the orthopedics department at Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital. Arrested in December 2023, he died in Israeli custody in April 2024.

Adolescence

Adolescence: the developmental phase between childhood and adulthood, WHO-defined as ages 10-19, marked by puberty, brain maturation into the mid-to-late 20s, and rising mental health burden.

Adolf Hitler and vegetarianism

Adolf Hitler's vegetarianism: the dictator self-identified as vegetarian from 1942, called meat "corpse", but ate meat into 1937; Nazi propaganda amplified the image while vegetarian societies were banned in 1935.

Oct 10, 2026

Adolf Lorenz

Adolf Lorenz (1854–1946) was an Austrian orthopedic surgeon from Weidenau, Austrian Silesia, known for the bloodless, non-operative treatment of congenital hip dislocation and for his wealthy 1902 American visit.

ADOPTCanVets study

ADOPTCanVets (NCT07818980) is an observational University Health Network study adapting a self-guided digital ACT chronic pain program on the Manage My Pain app for Canadian Veterans, using feedback from 22 Veterans and clinicians recruited in Toronto starting September 2026.

Adoptive cell therapy

Adoptive cell therapy, also called adoptive immunotherapy, is a cancer treatment in which a patient's immune cells are engineered or expanded outside the body and infused to attack tumors.

Adoptive cell transfer

Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) is an immunotherapy in which a patient's own or donor immune cells are modified and reinfused to treat cancer, pioneered by Steven Rosenberg in 1985.

Adrafinil

Adrafinil (CRL40,028) is a synthetic benzhydrylsulfinyl wake-promoting prodrug identified in 1974 at Laboratoire Lafon, metabolized to modafinil; approved in France 1981 and 1985, withdrawn 2011, never US/EU approved, now sold as a nootropic.

Adrenal cortex

Adrenal cortex: outer steroid-secreting region of the adrenal (suprarenal) gland, about 90% of its mass. Three zones: glomerulosa (aldosterone), fasciculata (cortisol), reticularis (DHEA and androgens), regulated by ACTH and angiotensin II.

Adrenal Cortex Function Tests

Adrenal cortex function tests: ACTH (cosyntropin) stimulation test, insulin tolerance, CRH, and metyrapone tests for adrenal insufficiency, plus dexamethasone suppression testing for Cushing's syndrome, with cortisol and ACTH cutoffs.

Adrenal crisis

Adrenal crisis (acute adrenal insufficiency, Addisonian crisis) is a life-threatening cortisol deficiency emergency in adrenal insufficiency, treated with immediate 100 mg hydrocortisone, saline resuscitation, and sick-day steroid dosing.

Adrenal gland

Adrenal gland: paired endocrine glands atop the kidneys; cortex makes cortisol, aldosterone, and androgen precursors, medulla makes epinephrine and norepinephrine. First described by Eustachio in 1564; cortisone work won the 1950 Nobel Prize.

Adrenal insufficiency

Adrenal insufficiency, including Addison's disease (primary AI) and secondary/tertiary AI, is deficient cortisol production; diagnosed by ACTH stimulation testing and treated with lifelong glucocorticoid replacement and emergency hydrocortisone for adrenal crisis.

Adrenal medulla

Adrenal medulla: inner, chromaffin-cell portion of the adrenal gland, neural crest derived, secreting epinephrine and norepinephrine under splanchnic nerve control; distinct from the steroid-producing adrenal cortex, with pheochromocytoma as its main disorder.