Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

2
A type of
leg splint.
callus 1
A localized, firm thickening of the super-
ficial layer of skin as a result of repetitive friction. A
callus on the skin of the foot may have become thick
and hard from rubbing against an ill-fitting shoe.
Calluses of the feet may lead to other problems,
such as serious infections. Shoes that fit well can
keep calluses from forming on the feet. Also known
as keratoma.
2
Hard new bone substance that
forms in an area of a bone fracture. It is part of the
natural process of bone repair.
calor
Heat, one of the four classic signs of inflam-
mation together with dolor, rubor, and tumor (pain,
redness, and swelling, respectively).
calorie
A unit of food energy. The word calorie is
ordinarily used instead of the more precise, scien-
tific term kilocalorie. A kilocalorie represents the
amount of energy required to raise the temperature
of a liter of water 1° centigrade at sea level.
Technically, a kilocalorie represents 1,000 true
calories of energy.
Campylobacter jejuni
A bacterium that typically
infects the bowels. Now the leading cause of bacter-
ial food poisoning, Campylobacter jejuni is most
often spread by contact with raw or undercooked
poultry. A single drop of juice from a contaminated
chicken is enough to make someone sick.
Symptoms tend to start 2 to 5 days after exposure
and typically last a week. They resemble the symp-
toms of viral gastroenteritis—diarrhea, fever,
abdominal pain, cramping, nausea, and vomiting—
but with campylobacter, fever is typical and the diar-
rhea is often bloody. Antibiotics can be helpful
treatment. Most people recover completely.
However, some suffer long-term consequences,
such as arthritis or Guillain-Barré syndrome. Both
are thought to occur when a person’s immune sys-
tem is activated by the Campylobacter jejuni and
misdirected to attack the person’s own body.