Cystic duct Health Dictionary

This is the most common serious genetic disease in Caucasian children, with an incidence of about one per 2,500 births, and more than 6,000 patients in the UK (30,000 in the USA). It is an autosomal recessive disorder of the mucus-secreting glands of the lungs, the pancreas, the mouth, and the gastrointestinal tract, as well as the sweat glands of the skin. The defective gene is sited on chromosome 7 which encodes for a protein, cystic ?brosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Individuals who inherit the gene only on one set of chromosomes can, however, carry the defect into successive generations. Where parents have a child with cystic ?brosis, they have a one-infour chance of subsequent children having the disease. They should seek GENETIC COUNSELLING.

The disorder is characterised by failure to gain weight in spite of a good appetite, by repeated attacks of bronchitis (with BRONCHIECTASIS developing at a young age), and by the passage of loose, foul-smelling and slimy stools (faeces). AMNIOCENTESIS, which yields amniotic ?uid along with cells shed from the fetus’s skin, can be used to diagnose cystic ?brosis prenatally. The levels of various enzymes can be measured in the ?uid and are abnormal when the fetus is affected by cystic ?brosis. Neonatal screening is possible using a test on blood spots – immunoreactive trypsin (IRT).

In children with symptoms or a positive family history, the disease can be tested for by measuring sweat chloride and sodium. This detects the abnormal amount of salt that is excreted via the sweat glands when cystic ?brosis is present. Con?rmation is by genetic testing.

Treatment This consists basically of regular physiotherapy and postural drainage, antibiotics and the taking of pancreatic enzyme tablets and vitamins. Some children need STEROID treatment and all require nutritional support. The earlier treatment is started, the better the results. Whereas two decades ago, only 12 per cent of affected children survived beyond adolescence, today 75 per cent survive into adult life, and an increasing number are surviving into their 40s. Patients with end-stage disease can be treated by heart-lung transplantation (with their own heart going to another recipient). Research is underway on the possible use of GENE THERAPY to control the disorder. Parents of children with cystic ?brosis, seeking help and advice, can obtain this from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.... cystic fibrosis

The name applied to a passage leading from a gland into some hollow organ, or on to the surface of the body, by which the secretion of the gland is discharged: for example, the pancreatic duct and the bile duct opening into the duodenum, and the sweat ducts opening on the skin surface.... duct

A duct that goes through the nasolacrimal canal in the palatine bone of the SKULL. The duct drains the tears from the lacrimal (tear) glands into the NOSE.... nasolacrimal duct

See DUCTUS ARTERIOSUS.... patent ductus arteriosus

This is the bodies’ main lymph collecting vessel. It starts in the little collecting bladder in the abdomen (the cisterna chyli), moves up the center of the body in front of the spinal chord, alongside the esophagus and aorta to the neck, where it drains into the left subclavian vein. It drains the lymph from the entire body, except the head, right thorax and arm, which collects lymph separately and drains into the right subclavian vein. Lacking the ability to contract and expand, the thoracic duct relies on its valves and the kinetic energy of breathing and nearby arterial pumping to drain lymph upwards.... thoracic duct

The channel running from the gall-bladder (see LIVER) to the DUODENUM; carries BILE.... bile duct

Any one of certain glands in the body the secretion of which goes directly into the bloodstream and so is carried to di?erent parts of the body. These glands – the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal and reproductive – are also known as the ENDOCRINE GLANDS. Some glands may be both duct glands and ductless glands. For example, the PANCREAS manufactures a digestive juice which passes by a duct into the small intestine. It also manufactures, by means of special cells, a substance called INSULIN which passes straight into the blood.... ductless gland

The blood vessel in the fetus through which blood passes from the pulmonary artery to the aorta, thereby bypassing the lungs, which do not function during intra-uterine life. (See CIRCULATORY SYSTEM OF THE BLOOD.) The ductus normally ceases to function soon after birth and within a few weeks is converted into a ?brous cord. Occasionally this obliteration does not occur: a condition known as patent ductus arteriosus. This is one of the more common congenital defects of the heart, and one which responds particularly well to surgical treatment. Closure of the duct can also be achieved in some cases by the administration of indomethacin. (See HEART, DISEASES OF.)... ductus arteriosus

Ductus deferens, or VAS DEFERENS, is the tube which carries spermatozoa from the epidydimis to the seminal vesicles. (See TESTICLE.)... ductus deferens

The Mullerian and the Wol?an ducts are separate sets of primordia that transiently co-exist in embryos of both sexes (see EMBRYO). In female embryos the Mullerian ducts grow and fuse in the mid line, producing the FALLOPIAN TUBES, the UTERUS and the upper third of the VAGINA, whereas the Wol?an ducts regress. In the male the Wol?an ducts give rise to the VAS DEFERENS, the seminal vesicles and the EPIDIDYMIS, and the Mullerian ducts disappear. This phase of development requires a functioning testis (see TESTICLE) from which an inducer substance di?uses locally over the primordia to bring about the suppression of the Mullerian duct and the development of the Wol?an duct. In the absence of this substance, development proceeds along female lines regardless of the genetic sex.... mullerian ducts

A lymphangioma that occurs around the head and neck, the armpits, or the groin and contains clear fluid. Cystic hygromas are usually present from birth and disappear naturally from the age of about 2.... hygroma, cystic

(scala media) see cochlea.... cochlear duct

adj. 1. of, relating to, or characterized by cysts. 2. of or relating to the gall bladder or urinary bladder.... cystic

a collection of fluid behind the neck of a fetus, occasionally extending laterally to involve the sides of the neck (see hydrops fetalis). In its mildest form it is evidenced by an increased nuchal translucency (see nuchal translucency scanning). Cystic hygroma may be a diagnostic feature of chromosomal abnormality (e.g. Down’s syndrome, Turner’s syndrome).... cystic hygroma

(DCIS) the earliest stage of breast cancer, detectable by mammography, which is confined to the lactiferous (milk) ducts of the breast. See carcinoma in situ.... ductal carcinoma in situ

pl. n. movements of one eye, i.e. adduction (rotation towards the nose), abduction (rotation towards the temple), elevation, depression, intorsion, and extorsion.... ductions

n. a small duct or channel.... ductule

n. a duct. The ductus deferens is the *vas deferens.... ductus

a blood vessel in the fetus that conveys oxygenated blood from the umbilical vein to the inferior vena cava and right atrium, where it passes through the *foramen ovale to the left atrium and left ventricle.... ductus venosus

a blind-ended duct that leads from the sacculus and joins a duct from the utriculus of the membranous *labyrinth of the ear.... endolymphatic duct

vaginal cysts, usually small, that arise from Gartner’s duct – remnants of the Wolffian duct (see mesonephros) in females. No treatment is necessary if the cysts are small and not symptomatic, but surgical *marsupialization or excision may be required if they are large and cause obstruction. [H. T. Gartner (1785–1827), Danish surgeon and anatomist]... gartner’s duct cysts

see bile duct.... hepatic duct

(paramesonephric duct) either of the paired ducts that form adjacent to the Wolffian ducts (see mesonephros) in the embryo. In the female these ducts develop into the Fallopian tubes, uterus, and part of the vagina. In the male anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), produced by the fetal testis, arrests their development and by the tenth week of fetal life they have degenerated almost completely. In females AMH is produced by the ovary and levels are used as a measure of certain aspects of ovarian function, such as response to in vitro fertilization and assessing such conditions as polycystic ovary syndrome, premature ovarian failure, and intersex conditions in infants. [J. P. Müller (1801–58), German physiologist]... müllerian duct

see Müllerian duct.... paramesonephric duct

the long secretory duct of the *parotid salivary gland. [N. Stensen (1838–86), Danish physician]... stensen’s duct

the secretory duct of the submandibular *salivary gland. [T. Wharton (1614–73), English physician]... wharton’s duct

see mesonephros.... wolffian duct