Medical Terms – Glossary

Pathologist: A specialist in pathology (the study of disease), pathologists examine and evaluate cells, tissues or organs in order to come to a diagnosis. They usually work in pathology labs or very large hospitals. When your vet or oncologist submits a biopsy, for example, a pathologist is the one who actually examines the tissue under…

Complete Blood Count: A very common test used to assist in diagnosis. It measures many aspects of the blood, including the numbers and types of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Also known as a “CBC.”

Chronotherapy: Literally, “time therapy.” Most compounds (chemotherapy drugs as well as other agents) seem to have a time of day when they are at their most potent, with the fewest side effects. For example, one drug may be best at 10am, while another is best at 3pm. Chronotherapy is in its infancy in the U.S.,…

Carcinogens: Carcinogens are cancer-causing agents, which can be found anywhere – in our food, in our water, in our air, and in our soil. Carcinogens are discussed in some detail in Chapter 8 of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide.

Cancer: Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of cells in the body. Cancer can form tumors, invade surrounding healthy tissues (called local invasion), and slip into the circulation to start new growths in distant sites (metastasis). Cancers are usually named for the body part or type of cell in which they arise. Cancer that has spread…

Metastasis: When cancer spreads to distant sites in the body by slipping tumor cells into the circulatory system (the blood or the lymph), we call it metastasis.

Systemic Cancer: This is cancer of any type that has spread to and/or affects the entire body. Some cancers, such as lymphoma, are systemic by default because they occur in cells that circulate throughout the entire body. In other cases, a cancer is called systemic if it has metastasized to distant locations from the primary…

Bioavailability: The relative amount of a drug or agent that reaches the circulation (and therefore has a better chance to reach the cancer cells). Theoretically, an agent that is given through injection has higher bioavailability because it is 100% intact when it first enters the blood (although it may later be broken down or otherwise…

In Vivo: Literally translated as “in life,” this often refers to a treatment that is tested in a living body. If a tested cancer treatment works in vivo, it is more promising.

Local Invasion: When cancer tumors spread to the healthy tissues immediately surrounding the tumor, we call it local invasion. Local invasion is therefore different from metastasis, which is cancer that has spread to distant locations in the body.

Biopsy: A surgery that removes a tumor, or a sample of a tumor, for the purpose of cancer diagnosis. The specimen is submitted to a pathologist, where special processing and examination of the tissue yields a classification of the cancer (or lack thereof). Because of the time it takes to properly prepare and examine biopsies,…

Nutraceutical: Originally, nutraceutical was defined as any substance from dietary ingredients that could yield health benefits. Today, the word’s meaning has been expanded to include purified agents from many sources, including botanical (plant) sources. A nutraceutical tends to have higher concentrations of the agent than are commonly found in nature, and therefore more potent effect.…

Cell: Cells are the tiny “building blocks” of the body. They are so small that over 10,000 can fit on the head of a pin. Until a few years ago, science believed that once a cell committed to being a certain kind of cell – a heart cell, a liver cell, and so on –…

Apoptosis: Apoptosis is the completely natural body process that causes cells to destroy themselves at the end of their natural lifespan. Also known as “programmed cell death” or “cell suicide,” apoptosis can also be triggered when a cell sustains irreparable damage, becomes infected, or starts dividing uncontrollably. In an average healthy human adult, somewhere around…

Alternative Medicine: Any treatment that is not within the bounds of conventional veterinary medicine is labeled “alternative.” Some vets embrace this label for themselves and may even reject many conventional treatments. In this way, an alternative veterinarian can be just as dogmatic in her thinking as a conventional veterinarian. In addition, as treatments once labeled…

Wide margin: Margins of at least two to three centimeters (sometimes more, and sometimes less, depending upon the case) that surrounded the cancer and were removed from the body during a biopsy or other surgery. Malignant tumors are more likely to recur if they are removed with narrow margins, so wide margins, if possible, are…

Acupuncture: The use of needles to stimulate certain points on the body. The model used in this system involves regulating the energy flow (“chi” or “ki”) in sites or pathways in the body (“meridians”). Acupuncture is a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a complex medical system with thousands of years of history. Some conventional…

Benign: A tumor with a very low potential to spread to other areas is generally not dangerous and is called benign. Even benign tumors can cause problems, however, if they press on an internal organ, interfere with normal movement, are prone to injury, or if they burst open to cause bleeding or infection.

Apoptogens: Agents that induce apoptosis in cells (many of the supplements discussed in Chapter 12 of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide are apoptogens.) Inducing apoptosis in cancer cells is a way to get the cancer to actively kill itself.

Angiogenesis: Angiogenesis means “creating new blood vessels.” Cancer tumors form new blood vessels out of existing vessels, so they can access nutrients and oxygen in the bloodstream. These new blood vessels shunt nutrition to the tumor at the expense of healthy body parts. They also serve as transportation routes for cancer cells to metastasize to…

Wild Diet: Dogs are not designed to eat dry kibble, just like we are not designed to eat crackers as our main food source. Dogs in the wild eat freshly killed animals. While the wide availability of pre-packaged commercial dog food in the last half century has led us to think of it as the…