Glossary
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Need a definition? Please
C
CARC
Chemical Agent Resistant Coating.
CDC
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
CIA
Central Intelligence Agency.
CT SCAN (CAT, computerized tomography)
Computerized series of x-rays.
Cancer
A general term for uncontrolled, abnormal growth of cells. Cancer cells can spread locally or through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body.
Carcinogenic
Capable of causing cancer.
Cardiac
Pertains to the heart.
Cardiovascular
Of, relating to, or involving the heart and blood vessels.
Case study
An uncontrolled (prospective or retrospective) observational study involving an intervention and outcome in a single patient. (Also known as a single case report or anecdote.)
Case-control study
A retrospective observational study in which investigators identify a group of patients with a specified outcome (cases) and a group of patients without the specified outcome (controls). Investigators then compare the cases and the controls to determine possible factors which can be linked to the outcome.
Central nervous system, CNS
The part of the nervous system that includes the brain and spinal cord and coordinates all of the nervous system activity.
Chemical warfare agents
Incendiary mixtures, smokes, irritants, or other poisons used as offensive weapons of war.
Chronic
Continuing for a long time.
Chronic fatigue syndrome, CFS, CFID
A group of symptoms, of unknown cause, characterized by unexplained fatigue, weakness, muscle pain, feeling poorly, trouble thinking, and sometimes, fever and/or lymph node swelling.
Clinical
Pertaining to medical care.
Clinical significance
A conclusion about whether or not an observation is of practical meaning to patients and health care providers. To illustrate, in a research trial, a type of treatment might be found to have a statistically significant effect on a group of patients, but the effect might not have any practical importance (clinical significance). For example, a large study might discern that a particular treatment produced an average lowering of heart rate of one beat per minute, but this finding might not be considered important in the overall assessment of the treatment's efficacy or safety.
Cohort study
An observational study in which outcomes in a group of patients that received an intervention are compared with outcomes in a similar group i.e., the cohort, either contemporary or historical, of patients that did not receive the intervention. In an adjusted- (or matched-) cohort study, investigators identify (or make statistical adjustments to provide) a cohort group that has characteristics (e.g., age, gender, disease severity) that are as similar as possible to the group that experienced the intervention.
Confidentiality
Pertains to the treatment of information that an individual has disclosed in a relationship of trust and with the expectation that it will not be divulged to others in ways that are inconsistent with the understanding of the original disclosure without permission.
Control group
A group of patients that serves as the basis of comparison when assessing the effects of the intervention of interest that is given to the patients in the treatment group. Depending upon the circumstances of the trial, a control group may receive no treatment, a "usual" or "standard" treatment, or a placebo. To make the comparison valid, the composition of the control group should resemble that of the treatment group as closely as possible.
Cross-sectional study
A (prospective or retrospective) observational study in which a group is chosen (sometimes as a random sample) from a certain larger population, and the exposures of people in the group to an intervention and outcomes of interest are determined.
Culture
Growing living cells in the laboratory; used to test for the cause of infection or to examine characteristics of cells taken from a human or other animal.
