Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

calcium deficiency
A low blood level of calcium
(hypocalcemia), which can make the nervous sys-
tem highly irritable, causing spasms of the hands
and feet (tetany), muscle cramps, abdominal
cramps, overly active reflexes, and so on. Chronic
calcium deficiency contributes to poor mineraliza-
tion of bones, soft bones (osteomalacia) and osteo-
porosis, and, in children, rickets and impaired
growth.
calcium excess
An elevated blood calcium level
(hypercalcemia), which can cause muscle weak-
ness and constipation, affect the conduction of elec-
trical impulses in the heart (heart block), lead to
calcium stones in the urinary tract, impair kidney
Caffey disease
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function through nephrocalcinosis, and interfere
with the absorption of iron, predisposing the person
to iron deficiency.
calculus
A stone, as in the urinary tract, or cal-
cium salt deposits on the teeth. In Latin, the word
calculus means “a pebble.” Pebbles were once used
for counting, from which came the mathematical
field of calculus.
calculus, renal
See 
kidney stones.
calf
The belly or fleshy hind part of the back of
the leg below the knee. The calf is made up mainly
of the gastrocnemius muscle. Pain in the calf is
commonly caused by muscle strain, but can be
caused by blood clots in veins of the legs.
caliper 1
A metal or plastic instrument used to
measure the diameter of an object. The skin-fold
thickness in several parts of the body can be meas-
ured with calipers, as can fat deposits. This meas-
urement is done in medicine, especially in the
diagnosis and treatment of obesity, and in physical
anthropology. Calipers are also used to measure the
diameter of the pelvis in pregnant women to ensure
that it is large enough to permit birth.