Glossary Terms
Occupational therapist
Occupational therapists will evaluate the impact of the cancer or its treatment on your activities at home or at work. They can help you learn to manage your daily activities and incorporate any physical changes caused by cancer into your home and work life.
Oncologist
A physician who treats cancer. A clinical oncologist or radiotherapist is a doctor who treats cancer with radiation. A medical oncologist treats cancer with drugs.
Oocyte
An egg cell that contains 23 chromosomes (one X chromosome and 22 autosomes), which are considered immature. At birth, a woman's ovaries contain all the oocytes she will ever have. Each month about 50 oocytes start to grow and mature, but only one or two normally reach the fully, mature stage. A follicle (bubble of fluid on the surface of the ovary) releases the mature oocyte, which is gathered in by the fringy end of the fallopian tube. During the next two days of the woman's midcycle, the oocyte will travel through the tube. This is the time when the egg can be fertilized if it meets a sperm cell.
Organelles
Organelles are small, specialized organs inside a cell that perform specific functions such as metabolizing energy or manufacturing protein.
Orgasm
An orgasm is caused by a series of involuntary contractions of the genital muscles. It is the physical peak of sexual excitement. It can involve strong feelings of pleasure. For men, it usually causes an ejaculation of semen from the penis.
Osteoclasts
Cells in your body that break down bone.
Ostomy
Surgically-created opening to the outside of the body.
Overactive bladder
Overactive bladder is characterized by involuntary bladder contractions that occur as your bladder is filling with urine. A person will have a sudden, intense desire to urinate.
