Health Literacy Thesaurus: Medical terms, phrases, references,
and their Plain English equivalents or definitions

T (taper - tumor)

Step 1: Click "Next" to show the term, phrase, or reference. Step 2: Click "Next" again
to show the Plain English equivalent or definition; Repeat Steps 1 and 2. (Best viewed on Firefox or Chrome)
taperreduce, slow, lower, shrink, decrease
teleworkwork from home
temporal associationwhen two things happen at the same time but aren’t actually related to each other
temporaryshort, brief
teratogenicsomething that can hurt your baby before he is born
terminaldeadly, fatal
terminatestop, end
tetanusdisease affecting muscles
therapeutichealing, improving, getting better
therapytreatment
thereforeso
thimerosaldrug or vaccine preservative
time periodtime
titerblood test
titrateto change the dose/level of a medicine
topicalon the surface, on the skin, on the body
toxicologystudy of harmful materials
transformchange, alter
transparentclear, see-through
transpirehappen, take place
transverse myelitisof the spine, back disease
traumaticshocking, upsetting
treatgive care, take care of, cure, heal
treatmentaction, medicine, therapy
tremorshaking, trembling
triggercause, starts, something that can bring on symptoms of a disease
tuberculosisTB, a disease of the lungs that can make you cough mucus
tumorgrowth, lump

Source: CDC Plain Language Thesaurus for Health Communications. Other related materials: Vaccines & Immunizations Glossary; Harvard School of Public Health "Plain Language Glossaries" for asthma, arthritis, and lupus; Medical Library Association "Deciphering Medspeak" for diabetes, stroke, and HIV-AIDS


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