Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

cryosurgery
Treatment performed with an instru-
ment that freezes and destroys abnormal tissue.
crypt
In anatomy, variously a blind alley, a tube
with no exit, a depression, or a pit in an otherwise
fairly flat surface. For example, the tonsillar crypts
are little pitlike depressions in the tonsils.
cryptorchidism
A condition in which one or
both testicles fail to move from the abdomen, where
they develop before birth, down into the scrotum.
Boys who have had cryptorchidism that was not cor-
rected in early childhood are at increased risk for
developing cancer of the testicles. Also known as
undescended testicles.
C-section
See 
caesarean section.
CSF 1
Cerebrospinal fluid.
2
Colony-stimulating
factor.
CT scan
See 
CAT scan.
CTL
Cytotoxic T lymphocytes. See 
T lymphocyte,
cytotoxic.
CTS
Carpal tunnel syndrome.
cuboid bone
The cube-shaped outer bone in the
instep of the foot. The cuboid bone has a joint in
back that allows it to articulate posteriorly with the
calcaneus (the heel bone). It also has a joint in the
front that permits it to articulate anteriorly with the
fourth and fifth metatarsals (the bones just behind
the fourth and fifth toes).
cul-de-sac
In anatomy, a blind pouch or cavity
that is closed at one end. The term cul-de-sac is
used specifically to refer to the rectouterine pouch
(the pouch of Douglas), an extension of the peri-
toneal cavity between the rectum and back wall of
the uterus.
culdocentesis
The puncture and aspiration
(withdrawal) of fluid from the rectouterine pouch
(the pouch of Douglas), an extension of the peri-
toneal cavity between the rectum and back wall of
the uterus.
culdoscope
The viewing tube (endoscope)
introduced through the end of the vagina into the
rectouterine pouch (the pouch of Douglas), an
extension of the peritoneal cavity between the rec-
tum and back wall of the uterus, in a culdoscopy.
culdoscopy
The introduction of a viewing tube
(called an endoscope or culdoscope) through the
end of the vagina into the rectouterine pouch (the
pouch of Douglas), an extension of the peritoneal
cavity between the rectum and back wall of the
uterus.