| ultrasound: an imaging method in which high-frequency sound waves are used to outline a part of the body. The sound wave echoes are picked up and displayed on a television screen. Also called ultrasonography. |
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| umbilical cord blood transplant: the use of stem cells in blood removed from the umbilical cords of newborns (a very rich source) to replace the blood-forming cells in patients whose own blood-forming cells have been destroyed by radiation or chemotherapy. |
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| unilateral: affecting one side of the body. For example, unilateral breast cancer occurs in one breast only. Compare to bilateral. |
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| unproven therapy: any therapy that has not been scientifically tested and approved. |
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| unstaged cancer: cancer that has been diagnosed but has not yet been staged, so that the full extent of the cancer is not yet known. See staging. |
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| urethra:
(yoo-ree-thruh):
the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside. In women, this tube is fairly short; in men it is longer, passing through the penis, and it also carries the semen. |
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| urine cytology:
(yur-in sy-tahl-uh-jee):
urine is examined under a microscope to look for cancerous and precancerous cells. Cytology can also be done on bladder washings. Bladder washing samples are taken by placing a salt solution into the bladder through a tube (catheter) and then removing the solution for testing. |
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| urologist:
(yur-ol-uh-jist):
a doctor who specializes in treating problems of the urinary tract in men and women, and of the genital area in men. |
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| urostomy:
(yur-os-tuh-me):
surgery to send urine through a new passage and then through an opening in the abdomen. In a continent urostomy, the urine is stored inside the body and drained a few times a day through a tube placed into an opening called a stoma. |
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| uterine fibroid tumor:
(yew-ter-in fi-broyd too-mer):
a non-cancerous tumor that is made of fibrous or connective tissue. It is the most common tumor found in women. It can be in the uterine wall or protrude into the lining of the uterus. Usually there are no symptoms but it can cause abnormal bleeding and other symptoms depending on its size and location in the uterus. It is also called fibroma. |
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| uterus: the womb; the pear-shaped organ in women that holds and nourishes the growing embryo and fetus. The uterus has 3 areas: the body or upper part; the isthmus or the narrowed central area; and the cervix, the lower portion. |
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