Human health and medicine

Vaccines and autism

Vaccines and autism: the disproven claim, from Wakefield's retracted 1998 Lancet paper, that MMR or thimerosal vaccines cause autism; IOM, WHO, and meta-analyses of over 1.3 million children find no association.

Vaccines COVID study

Vaccines COVID study (NCT06597370), an observational patient registry by Mexico's National Polytechnic Institute measuring anti-spike IgG mRNA expression in 80 Mexican adults vaccinated with ChAdOx1, Sputnik V, BNT162b2, or CoronaVac; completed December 2021, no results posted.

VACoCREW trial

VACoCREW (NCT02444598) was a Karolinska Institutet-sponsored randomized trial at civilian hospitals in Jordan and Iraq comparing negative-pressure wound therapy with standard dressings for conflict-related extremity wounds; NPWT showed no clinical or cost benefit.

Oct 20, 2026

VACTERL with hydrocephalus

VACTERL-H (VACTERL with hydrocephalus, Sujansky-Leonard syndrome) is a rare multiple congenital anomaly condition combining VACTERL features with hydrocephalus, often from aqueductal stenosis; known genes include ZIC3, FANCB, and FANCD1.

Vacuolar myopathy with sarcoplasmic reticulum protein aggregates

Vacuolar myopathy with sarcoplasmic reticulum protein aggregates (vacuolar aggregate myopathy, OMIM 616231, ORPHA 88635) is a rare autosomal dominant CASQ1-related myopathy with p.Asp244Gly founder mutation, adult-onset cramps, myalgia, mild weakness, and elevated creatine kinase.

Vacutainer

Vacutainer is BD's trademarked evacuated blood collection tube, patented by Joseph Kleiner in 1949 as the Evacutainer; vacuum draws a fixed blood volume into color-coded additive tubes, with low-vacuum tubes reducing hemolysis.

Vacuum aspiration

Vacuum aspiration, also called suction curettage, is a surgical procedure that empties the uterus through a cannula attached to a vacuum source, used for early abortion and miscarriage care.

Vacuum extraction

Vacuum extraction is an assisted vaginal delivery in which a suction cup on the baby's scalp applies traction during the second stage of labor, now more common than forceps in the United States.

Vacuum-assisted biopsy

Vacuum-assisted biopsy, also known as vacuum-assisted breast biopsy, is a minimally invasive breast biopsy method in which vacuum suction draws tissue into the needle for multiple larger samples through one insertion.

Vacuum-assisted closure therapy

Vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy, also called negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), applies controlled suction through a sealed foam dressing to remove wound fluid and promote granulation tissue.

Vadadustat

Vadadustat (VAFSEO, AKB-6548) is an oral HIF prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor approved in 2024 for anemia of chronic kidney disease in adults on dialysis, dosed 300 mg daily, noninferior to darbepoetin alfa in dialysis trials but not in non-dialysis CKD.

Oct 20, 2026

VaDe-4 trial

VaDe-4 (NCT05612321) is an Italian randomized controlled trial from Ospedale degli Infermi di Biella comparing vacuum-assisted delivery in the all-fours position versus supine position, targeting 250 women, with cup detachment and emergency caesarean as failure measures.

Vadimezan

Vadimezan (DMXAA, ASA404, AS1404), 5,6-dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid, is a vascular disrupting agent and mouse-selective STING agonist that failed Phase III NSCLC trials because it does not activate human STING.

VADT trial

VADT (Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trial), VA Cooperative Study #465, randomized 1,791 veterans with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes to intensive versus standard glucose control; no significant cardiovascular event reduction during 5.6 years, transient post-trial benefit.

VADT-F study

VADT-F (VADT-FS, CSP #465-F, NCT00756613) is the VA's observational long-term follow-up of the Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trial, which found a transient 17% cardiovascular benefit at 10 years but no legacy effect or mortality benefit at 15 years.

Vagal maneuver

Vagal maneuvers (Valsalva, carotid sinus massage, diving reflex) are first-line physical techniques that raise vagal tone to terminate AV-node-dependent supraventricular tachycardia; the modified REVERT Valsalva converts about 43% versus 17% standard.

Vagal tone

Vagal tone is the vagus nerve's parasympathetic influence on the heart, estimated from HRV indices RMSSD, pNN50, and HF power; measured via ECG, tied to respiration, and distinct from wearable PRV.

Vagina

Vagina: the elastic muscular canal of the female reproductive tract, from vulva to cervix; also called birth canal. Distinct from the vulva; about 7-10 cm unaroused; no glands, lactobacilli-dominated microbiota; vaginitis is the most common disorder.

Vaginal atresia

Vaginal atresia (ICD-10 Q52.0, ORPHA:65681) is a rare congenital obstruction of the uterovaginal outflow tract in which the urogenital sinus fails to form the lower vagina, replaced by fibrous tissue; presents with primary amenorrhea and cyclic pelvic pain, treated surgically.

Vaginal biopsy

A vaginal biopsy is a procedure that removes a small tissue sample from the vaginal wall for microscopic examination, the gold standard for diagnosing vaginal precancerous lesions and cancer.

Vaginal birth after cesarean

Vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC), also called vaginal delivery following previous caesarean section, is vaginal birth after a prior cesarean, attempted via trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC); success rates run 60-80%, with uterine rupture under 1% as the main risk.

Vaginal brachytherapy

Vaginal brachytherapy, also called vaginal cuff brachytherapy, is a radiation therapy technique that places radioactive sources inside the vagina, mainly after hysterectomy for endometrial cancer.

Vaginal carcinoma

Vaginal carcinoma, or vaginal cancer, is a rare malignancy of the vaginal epithelium, usually HPV-associated squamous cell carcinoma (80-90% of cases). Staged FIGO I-IV; treated mainly with radiation, brachytherapy, and surgery.

Vaginal contraction

Vaginal contraction: tightening of vaginal and pelvic floor muscles, voluntary or reflexive, occurring in orgasm, childbirth assessment, and vaginismus; measured by manometry and sEMG.

Vaginal Creams, Foams, and Jellies

Vaginal creams, foams, and jellies: semisolid intravaginal dosage forms (also called vaginal gels) for local or systemic delivery of antibiotics, antifungals, hormones, and spermicides; limited by leakage and low mucosal retention.

Vaginal cytology

Vaginal cytology is a diagnostic method that microscopically examines cells from the vagina and cervix to detect malignant cells and assess hormonal status, in humans and animals.

Vaginal delivery

Vaginal delivery, or vaginal birth, is birth of a baby through the birth canal rather than by cesarean section, spanning three stages of labor. Key facts: ACOG second-stage limits, oxytocin augmentation, operative vaginal delivery, and VBAC success rates.

Vaginal discharge

Vaginal discharge, also called vaginal secretion or fluor vaginalis, is normal fluid that keeps the vagina clean and moist; a change in color, odor, or amount may signal infection.

Vaginal evisceration

Vaginal evisceration, also called vaginal cuff dehiscence with evisceration, is the expulsion of abdominal contents through a vaginal cuff defect, a rare emergency after hysterectomy, with rates of 0.032–1.2% and higher risk after laparoscopic routes.