Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

caudal regression syndrome
A disorder char-
acterized by absence of all or part of the sacrum and
dysfunction of the bowels, bladder, and legs. About
20 percent of children with caudal regression are
born to mothers with diabetes. Treatment involves
surgery to correct these defects, when possible.
caul
Folk term for the membranes that surround
the fetus in the womb, particularly for the presence
of these membranes over the newborn infant’s face
or head at birth, a relatively common and usually
harmless occurrence. In some cultures, the pres-
ence of a caul at birth is considered spiritually sig-
nificant.
cauliflower ear
An acquired deformity of the
external ear to which wrestlers and boxers are par-
ticularly vulnerable, due to trauma. When a blood
clot (hematoma) forms under the skin of the ear,
the clot disrupts the connection of the skin to the
ear cartilage. The cartilage has no other blood sup-
ply except from the overlying skin, so if the skin is
separated from the cartilage, it is deprived of nutri-
ents and dies. The ear cartilage then shrivels up to
form the classic cauliflower ear, so named because
the tissue resembles that lumpy vegetable’s surface.
Treatment involves draining the blood clot through
an incision in the ear and then applying a compres-
sive dressing, to sandwich the two sides of the skin
against the cartilage.
causalgia
Intense burning pain and sensitivity to
the slightest vibration or touch, usually in the hand
or foot, at a site some distance removed from a
wound that has healed.
causes of cancer
See 
cancer, causes.
cauterization
The use of heat to destroy abnor-
mal cells. Also known as diathermy and electro-
diathermy.
cavernous hemangioma
See 
hemangioma,
cavernous.
cavernous sinus
A large channel of venous
blood that creates a cavity (sinus) bordered by the
sphenoid bone and the temporal bone of the skull.
The cavernous sinus is an important structure
because of its location and its contents, which
include the third cranial (oculomotor) nerve, the
fourth cranial (trochlear) nerve, parts