Medical Academic Word List (MAWL)

incubate

(verb) grow under conditions that promote development; sit on (eggs)

intense

(adj.) (of color) having the highest saturation; in an extreme degree; extremely sharp or intense

mediate

(adj.) acting through or dependent on an intervening agency;being neither at the beginning nor at the end in a series; (verb) occupy an intermediate or middle position or form a connecting link or stage between two others; act between parties with a view to reconciling differences

chronic

(adj.) being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering

individual

(adj.) being or characteristic of a single thing or person;separate and distinct from others of the same kind; concerning one person exclusively; characteristic of or meant for a single person or thing; (noun) a single organism; a human being

evident

(adj.) capable of being seen or noticed; clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment

normal

(adj.) conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal; being approximately average or within certain limits in e.g. intelligence and development; in accordance with scientific laws; forming a right angle; (noun) something regarded as a normative example

respective

(adj.) considered individually

prior

(adj.) earlier in time; (noun) the head of a religious order; in an abbey the prior is next below the abbot

potential

(adj.) existing in possibility; expected to become or be; in prospect; (noun) the inherent capacity for coming into being; the difference in electrical charge between two points in a circuit expressed in volts

significant

(adj.) fairly large; important in effect or meaning; too closely correlated to be attributed to chance and therefore indicating a systematic relation; rich in significance or implication

positive

(adj.) formally laid down or imposed; characterized by or displaying affirmation or acceptance or certainty etc.; greater than zero; reckoned, situated or tending in the direction which naturally or arbitrarily is taken to indicate increase or progress or onward motion;indicating existence or presence of a suspected condition or pathogen;having a positive electric charge; involving (adv.)antage or good;persuaded of; very sure; marked by excessive confidence; impossible to deny or disprove; of or relating to positivism; (noun) a film showing a photographic image whose tones correspond to those of the original subject

liver

(adj.) having a reddish-brown color; (noun) large and complicated reddish-brown glandular organ located in the upper right portion of the abdominal cavity; secretes bile and functions in metabolism of protein and carbohydrate and fat; synthesizes substances involved in the clotting of the blood; synthesizes vitamin A; detoxifies poisonous substances and breaks down worn-out erythrocytes; liver of an animal used as meat; someone who lives in a place; a person who has a special life style

multiple

(adj.) having or involving or consisting of more than one part or entity or individual; (noun) the product of a quantity by an integer

muscular

(adj.) having or suggesting great physical power or force; of or relating to or consisting of muscle; having a robust muscular body-build characterized by predominance of structures (bone and muscle and connective tissue) developed from the embryonic mesodermal layer; (of a person) possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful

acid

(adj.) having the characteristics of an acid; harsh or corrosive in tone; being sour to the taste; (noun) street name for lysergic acid diethylamide; any of various water-soluble compounds having a sour taste and capable of turning litmus red and reacting with a base to form a salt

overall

(adj.) involving only main features; including everything; (noun)(usually plural) work clothing consisting of denim trousers (usually with a bib and shoulder straps); a loose protective coverall or smock worn over ordinary clothing for dirty work

previous

(adj.) just preceding something else in time or order; too soon or too hasty; (used especially of persons) of the immediate past

similar

(adj.) marked by correspondence or resemblance; (of words) expressing closely related meanings; resembling or similar; having the same or some of the same characteristics; often used in combination;having the same or similar characteristics; capable of replacing or changing places with something else; permitting mutual substitution without loss of function or suitability

primary

(adj.) not derived from or reducible to something else; basic;of first rank or importance or value; direct and immediate rather than secondhand; of primary importance; most important element; of or being the essential or basic part; (noun) a preliminary election where delegates or nominees are chosen; one of the main flight feathers projecting along the outer edge of a bird's wing; coil forming the part of an electrical circuit such that changing current in it induces a current in a neighboring circuit

available

(adj.) obtainable or accessible and ready for use or service;convenient for use or disposal; not busy; not otherwise committed

molecular

(adj.) relating to simple or elementary organization; relating to or produced by or consisting of molecules

specific

(adj.) stated explicitly or in detail; (sometimes followed by `to') applying to or characterized by or distinguishing something particular or special or unique; being or affecting a disease produced by a particular microorganism or condition; used also of stains or dyes used in making microscope slides; relating to or distinguishing or constituting a taxonomic species; (noun) a medicine that has a mitigating effect on a specific disease; a fact about some part (as opposed to general)

phase

(noun) (astronomy) the particular appearance of a body's state of illumination (especially one of the recurring shapes of the part of Earth's moon that is illuminated by the sun); (physical chemistry) a distinct state of matter in a system; matter that is identical in chemical composition and physical state and separated from other material by the phase boundary; a particular point in the time of a cycle; measured from some arbitrary zero and expressed as an angle; any distinct time period in a sequence of events; (verb) adjust so as to be in a synchronized condition; arrange in phases or stages

error

(noun) (baseball) a failure of a defensive player to make an out when normal play would have sufficed; departure from what is ethically acceptable; a misconception resulting from incorrect information; part of a statement that is not correct; (computer science) the occurrence of an incorrect result produced by a computer; a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention; in(adv.)ertent incorrectness

cell

(noun) (biology) the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms; they may exist as independent units of life (as in monads) or may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and animals; a device that delivers an electric current as the result of a chemical reaction; a room where a prisoner is kept; small room is which a monk or nun lives; any small compartment; a small unit serving as part of or as the nucleus of a larger political movement; a hand-held mobile radiotelephone for use in an area divided into small sections, each with its own short-range transmitter/receiver

gene

(noun) (genetics) a segment of DNA that is involved in producing a polypeptide chain; it can include regions preceding and following the coding DNA as well as introns between the exons; it is considered a unit of heredity

therapy

(noun) (medicine) the act of caring for someone (as by medication or remedial training etc.)

data

(noun) a collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn

concentrate

(noun) a concentrated example; a concentrated form of a foodstuff; the bulk is reduced by removing water; the desired mineral that is left after impurities have been removed from mined ore; (verb)make (the solvent of a solution) dense or denser; direct one's attention on something; draw together or meet in one common center; cook until very little liquid is left; be cooked until very little liquid is left; make more concise; compress or concentrate; make central

disorder

(noun) a disturbance of the peace or of public order;condition in which there is a disturbance of normal functioning; a condition in which things are not in their expected places; (verb) bring disorder to; disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed

source

(noun) a facility where something is available; anything that provides inspiration for later work; a document (or organization) from which information is obtained; (technology) a process by which energy or a substance enters a system; a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to; the place where something begins, where it springs into being; anything (a person or animal or plant or substance) in which an infectious agent normally lives and multiplies;someone who originates or causes or initiates something; a person who supplies information; (verb) specify the origin of; get (a product) from another country or business

clinic

(noun) a healthcare facility for outpatient care; meeting for diagnosis of problems and instruction or remedial work in a particular activity; a medical establishment run by a group of medical specialists

estimate

(noun) a judgment of the qualities of something or somebody; an approximate calculation of quantity or degree or worth;the respect with which a person is held; a statement indicating the likely cost of some job; a document appraising the value of something (as for insurance or taxation); (verb) judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time); judge to be probable

dose

(noun) a measured portion of medicine taken at any one time;the quantity of an active agent (substance or radiation) taken in or absorbed at any one time; street name for lysergic acid diethylamide; a communicable infection transmitted by sexual intercourse or genital contact; (verb) treat with an agent; add (an agent) to; administer a drug to

procedure

(noun) a mode of conducting legal and parliamentary proceedings; a particular course of action intended to achieve a result;a process or series of acts especially of a practical or mechanical nature involved in a particular form of work; a set sequence of steps, part of larger computer program

area

(noun) a part of a structure having some specific characteristic or function; the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary; a part of an animal that has a special function or is supplied by a given artery or nerve; a subject of study; a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography); a particular environment or walk of life

range

(noun) a place for shooting (firing or driving) projectiles of various kinds; a variety of different things or activities; the limits within which something can be effective; a large tract of grassy open land on which livestock can graze; a series of hills or mountains; the limits of the values a function can take; a kitchen appliance used for cooking food; an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"; the limit of capability; (verb) let eat; lay out orderly or logically in a line or as if in a line; range or extend over; occupy a certain area; change or be different within limits; have a range; be capable of projecting over a certain distance, as of a gun;assign a rank or rating to; feed as in a meadow or pasture; move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment

technique

(noun) a practical method or art applied to some particular task; skillfulness in the command of fundamentals deriving from practice and familiarity

period

(noun) a punctuation mark (.) placed at the end of a declarative sentence to indicate a full stop or after abbreviations; the end or completion of something; a unit of geological time during which a system of rocks formed; one of three periods of play in hockey games;the interval taken to complete one cycle of a regularly repeating phenomenon; a stage in the history of a culture having a definable place in space and time; the monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women from puberty to menopause; an amount of time

assay

(noun) a quantitative or qualitative test of a substance (especially an ore or a drug) to determine its components; frequently used to test for the presence or concentration of infectious agents or antibodies etc.; an appraisal of the state of affairs; a written report of the results of an analysis of the composition of some substance; a substance that is undergoing an analysis of its components; (verb)analyze (chemical substances); make an effort or attempt

fraction

(noun) a small part or item forming a piece of a whole; the quotient of two rational numbers; a component of a mixture that has been separated by a fractional process; (verb) perform a division

task

(noun) a specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee; any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted;(verb) assign a task to; use to the limit

process

(noun) a sustained phenomenon or one marked by gradual changes through a series of states; a natural prolongation or projection from a part of an organism either animal or plant; (psychology) the performance of some composite cognitive activity; an operation that affects mental contents; a mental process that you are not directly aware of; a particular course of action intended to achieve a result; a writ issued by authority of law; usually compels the defendant's attendance in a civil suit; failure to appear results in a default judgment against the defendant; (verb) subject to a process or treatment, with the aim of readying for some purpose, improving, or remedying a condition; perform mathematical and logical operations on (data) according to programmed instructions in order to obtain the required information; deal with in a routine way; deliver a warrant or summons to someone; shape, form, or improve a material; march in a procession; institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against

structure

(noun) a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts; the manner of construction of something and the arrangement of its parts; a particular complex anatomical part; the complex composition of knowledge as elements and their combinations; the people in a society considered as a system organized by a characteristic pattern of relationships; (verb) give a structure to

pathway

(noun) a trodden path; a bundle of myelinated nerve fibers following a path through the brain

method

(noun) a way of doing something, especially a systematic way; implies an orderly logical arrangement (usually in steps); an acting technique introduced by Stanislavsky in which the actor recalls emotions or reactions from his or her own life and uses them to identify with the character being portrayed

injury

(noun) an act that injures someone; an accident that results in physical damage or hurt; any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.; a casualty to military personnel resulting from combat

component

(noun) an artifact that is one of the individual parts of which a composite entity is made up; especially a part that can be separated from or attached to a system; an abstract part of something; something determined in relation to something that includes it

factor

(noun) an independent variable in statistics; anything that contributes causally to a result; any of the numbers (or symbols) that form a product when multiplied together; (genetics) a segment of DNA that is involved in producing a polypeptide chain; it can include regions preceding and following the coding DNA as well as introns between the exons; it is considered a unit of heredity; an abstract part of something;a businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for a commission; one of two or more integers that can be exactly divided into another integer; (verb) resolve into factors

protein

(noun) any of a large group of nitrogenous organic compounds that are essential constituents of living cells; consist of polymers of amino acids; essential in the diet of animals for growth and for repair of tissues; can be obtained from meat and eggs and milk and legumes

lesion

(noun) any visible abnormal structural change in a bodily part;any break in the skin or an organ caused by violence or surgical incision

symptom

(noun) anything that accompanies X and is regarded as an indication of X's existence; (medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease

inflammation

(noun) arousal to violent emotion; a response of body tissues to injury or irritation; characterized by pain and swelling and redness and heat; the act of setting something on fire; the state of being emotionally aroused and worked up

insulin

(noun) hormone secreted by the isles of Langerhans in the pancreas; regulates storage of glycogen in the liver and accelerates oxidation of sugar in cells

role

(noun) normal or customary activity of a person in a particular social setting; the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group; what something is used for; an actor's portrayal of someone in a play

section

(noun) one of several parts or pieces that fit with others to constitute a whole object; a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical); a segment of a citrus fruit; a small team of policemen working as part of a police platoon; a small army unit usually having a special function; a division of an orchestra containing all instruments of the same class; (geometry) the area created by a plane cutting through a solid; a distinct region or subdivision of a territorial or political area or community or group of people; a very thin slice (of tissue or mineral or other substance) for examination under a microscope; a land unit of 1 square mile measuring 1 mile on a side;the cutting of or into body tissues or organs (especially by a surgeon as part of an operation); one of the portions into which something is regarded as divided and which together constitute a whole; a specialized division of a large organization; (verb) divide into segments

tissue

(noun) part of an organism consisting of an aggregate of cells having a similar structure and function; a soft thin (usually translucent) paper; (verb) create a piece of cloth by interlacing strands of fabric, such as wool or cotton

donor

(noun) person who makes a gift of property; (medicine) someone who gives blood or tissue or an organ to be used in another person (the host)

site

(noun) physical position in relation to the surroundings; the piece of land on which something is located (or is to be located); a computer connected to the internet that maintains a series of web pages on the World Wide Web; (verb) assign a location to

outcome

(noun) something that results; a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon

target

(noun) sports equipment consisting of an object set up for a marksman or archer to aim at; a reference point to shoot at; the location of the target that is to be hit; the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to be attainable); a person who is the aim of an attack (especially a victim of ridicule or exploitation) by some hostile person or influence; (verb) intend (something) to move towards a certain goal

research

(noun) systematic investigation to establish facts; a search for knowledge; (verb) inquire into; attempt to find out in a systematically and scientific manner

contrast

(noun) the act of distinguishing by comparing differences; the range of optical density and tone on a photographic negative or print (or the extent to which adjacent areas on a television screen differ in brightness); the perceptual effect of the juxtaposition of very different colors; the opposition or dissimilarity of things that are compared; a conceptual separation or distinction; (verb) put in opposition to show or emphasize differences; to show differences when compared; be different

approach

(noun) the act of drawing spatially closer to something; a relatively short golf shot intended to put the ball onto the putting green;ideas or actions intended to deal with a problem or situation; a close approximation; the temporal property of becoming nearer in time; the event of one object coming closer to another; a way of entering or leaving; a tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of others; the final path followed by an aircraft as it is landing; (verb) make (adv.)ances to someone, usually with a proposal or suggestion; come near in time; move towards; begin to deal with; come near or verge on, resemble, come nearer in quality, or character

score

(noun) the act of scoring in a game or sport; the facts about an actual situation; a written form of a musical composition; parts for different instruments appear on separate staves on large pages; a set of twenty members; grounds; a number that expresses the accomplishment of a team or an individual in a game or contest; a slight surface cut (especially a notch that is made to keep a tally); an amount due (as at a restaurant or bar); a seduction culminating in sexual intercourse; a number or letter indicating quality (especially of a student's performance); a resentment strong enough to justify retaliation; (verb) make underscoring marks; gain points in a game; get a certain number or letter indicating quality or performance; make small marks into the surface of; write a musical score for; assign a grade or rank to, according to one's evaluation; induce to have sex

design

(noun) the act of working out the form of something (as by making a sketch or outline or plan); a decorative or artistic work; a preliminary sketch indicating the plan for something; an arrangement scheme; the creation of something in the mind; something intended as a guide for making something else; an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions; (verb) intend or have as a purpose; design something for a specific role or purpose or effect;conceive or fashion in the mind; invent; make a design of; plan out in systematic, often graphic form; create the design for; create or execute in an artistic or highly skilled manner; create designs; make or work out a plan for; devise

function

(noun) the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group; what something is used for; a formal or official social gathering or ceremony; a relation such that one thing is dependent on another; a mathematical relation such that each element of one set is associated with at least one element of another set; a set sequence of steps, part of larger computer program; a vaguely specified social event; (verb) perform as expected when applied;perform duties attached to a particular office or place or function; serve a purpose, role, or function

affect

(noun) the conscious subjective aspect of feeling or emotion;(verb) act physically on; have an effect upon; have an effect upon; have an emotional or cognitive impact upon; make believe with the intent to deceive; connect closely and often incriminatingly

expose

(noun) the exposure of an impostor or a fraud; (verb) abandon by leaving out in the open air; expose or make accessible to some action or influence; expose to light, of photographic film; to show, make visible or apparent; expose while ridiculing; especially of pretentious or false claims and ideas; make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret; put in a dangerous, dis(adv.)antageous, or difficult position;remove all or part of one's clothes to show one's body; disclose to view as by removing a cover

region

(noun) the extended spatial location of something; a large indefinite location on the surface of the Earth; the approximate amount of something (usually used prepositionally as in `in the region of'); a part of an animal that has a special function or is supplied by a given artery or nerve; a knowledge domain that you are interested in or are communicating about

baseline

(noun) the lines a baseball player must follow while running the bases; an imaginary line or standard by which things are measured or compared; the back line bounding each end of a tennis or handball court; when serving the server must not step over this line

volume

(noun) the magnitude of sound (usually in a specified direction); a publication that is one of a set of several similar publications; the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object; a relative amount; physical objects consisting of a number of pages bound together; the property of something that is great in magnitude

culture

(noun) the raising of plants or animals; (biology) the growing of microorganisms in a nutrient medium (such as gelatin or agar); the tastes in art and manners that are favored by a social group; the attitudes and behavior that are characteristic of a particular social group or organization; a particular society at a particular time and place; all the knowledge and values shared by a society; a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality

cancer

(noun) type genus of the family Cancridae; the fourth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about June 21 to July 22; a small zodiacal constellation in the northern hemisphere; between Leo and Gemini; (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Cancer; any malignant growth or tumor caused by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division; it may spread to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system or the blood stream

serum

(noun) watery fluid of the blood that resembles plasma but contains fibrinogen

generate

(verb) bring into existence; produce (energy); make children;give or supply

conclude

(verb) bring to a close; reach a conclusion after a discussion or deliberation; reach agreement on; come to a close;decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion

obtain

(verb) come into possession of; receive a specified treatment (abstract); be valid, applicable, or true

occur

(verb) come to one's mind; suggest itself; to be found to exist;come to pass

identify

(verb) consider to be equal or the same; recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something; identify as in botany or biology, for example; consider (oneself) as similar to somebody else;conceive of as united or associated; give the name or identifying characteristics of; refer to by name or some other identifying characteristic property

infect

(verb) contaminate with a disease or microorganism;communicate a disease to; affect in a contagious way; contaminate with ideas or an ideology

survive

(verb) continue to live; endure or last; continue in existence after (an (adv.)ersity, etc.); support oneself; live longer than

detect

(verb) discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of

evaluate

(verb) form a critical opinion of; place a value on; judge the worth of something

define

(verb) give a definition for the meaning of a word; determine the nature of; show the form or outline of; determine the essential quality of

indicate

(verb) indicate a place, direction, person, or thing; either spatially or figuratively; to state or express briefly; suggest the necessity of an intervention; in medicine; give evidence of; be a signal for or a symptom of

activate

(verb) make active or more active; make (substances) radioactive; aerate (sewage) so as to favor the growth of organisms that decompose organic matter; make more adsorptive; put in motion or move to act

involve

(verb) make complex or intricate or complicated; occupy or engage the interest of; wrap; contain as a part; connect closely and often incriminatingly; engage as a participant; require as useful, just, or proper; have as a necessary feature or consequence; entail

require

(verb) make someone do something; consider obligatory; request and expect; have need of; require as useful, just, or proper

vary

(verb) make something more diverse and varied; be subject to change in accordance with a variable; make or become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence; be at variance with; be out of line with

demonstrate

(verb) march in protest; take part in a demonstration;establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment; provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one's behavior, attitude, or external attributes; show or demonstrate something to an interested audience

intervene

(verb) occur between other event or between certain points of time; get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force; be placed or located between other things or extend between spaces and events

induce

(verb) reason or establish by induction; cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner; cause to arise; cause to occur rapidly;produce electric current by electrostatic or magnetic processes

respond

(verb) respond favorably or as hoped; show a response or a reaction to something; reply or respond to

participate

(verb) share in something; become a participant; be involved in

analyze

(verb) subject to psychoanalytic treatment; make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of; break down into components or essential features; consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning; break down into components or essential features

achieve

(verb) to gain with effort

react

(verb) undergo a chemical reaction; react with another substance under certain conditions; show a response or a reaction to something; act against or in opposition to

per

throughout