Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

cocci
The plural of coccus.
coccus
A bacterial cell that has the shape of a
sphere. Coccus is part of the name of a number of
bacteria, such as enterococcus, meningococcus,
pneumococcus, staphylococcus, and streptococcus.
coccygeal vertebrae
The three to five (the aver-
age number is four) rudimentary vertebrae that
make up the coccyx.
coccyx
The small tail-like bone at the bottom of
the spine, very near the anus. It is the lowest part of
the spinal column. Also known as tailbone.
89
coccyx
04_189283 ch03.qxp 4/18/08 10:14 PM Page 89
http://www.rashidislamiccenter.com
http://www.allofislam.com/

---

cochlear implant
A device that is surgically
placed (implanted) within the inner ear to help a
person with a certain form of deafness to hear.
Cochlear implants rarely cure severe or profound
deafness, but they can help some hearing-impaired
people to distinguish the sounds of language clearly
enough to participate in a verbal environment. For
children who are congenitally deaf (born deaf), a
cochlear implant can markedly increase a pre-
school child’s chances of being able to function
effectively in mainstream school classes.
cockroach allergy
A condition that manifests as
an allergic reaction when one is exposed to cock-
roach allergens, tiny protein particles shed or
excreted by cockroaches. Asthma can be triggered
by exposure to these cockroach allergens. See also
allergy.
code, genetic
The instructions in a gene that tell
the cell how to make a specific protein. A, T, G, and
C are the “letters” of the DNA code and represent
the chemicals adenine, thymine, guanine, and cyto-
sine, respectively. These make up the nucleotide
bases of DNA. Each gene’s code combines these four
chemicals in various ways to spell out three-letter
“words” that specify which amino acid is needed at
every step in making a protein. The discovery of the
genetic code ranks as one of the premiere events of
biology and medicine.
code blue
An emergency situation announced in
a hospital or institution in which a patient is in car-
diopulmonary arrest, requiring a team of providers
(sometimes called a “code team”) to rush to the
specific location and begin immediate resuscitative
efforts.