| life span | The potential oldest age a person can reach.
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| life expectancy | The average length of life for a given group of people born in a specific year (such as this year).
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| reserve capacity | The extent to which an organ can preserve essentially normal function despite decreasing cell number or cell activity.
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| kidney nephrons | The units of kidney cells that filter wastes from the bloodstream and deposit them into the urine.
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| benign | Noncancerous; tumors that do not spread.
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| malignant | Malicious; in reference to a tumor, the property of spreading locally and to distant sites.
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| metastasize | The spreading of disease from one part of the body to another, even to parts of the body that are remote from the site of the original tumor. Cancer cells can spread via blood vessels, the lymphatic system, or direct growth of the tumor.
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| endometrium | The membrane that lines the inside of the uterus. It increases in thickness during the menstrual cycle until ovulation occurs. The surface layers are shed during menstruation if conception does not take place.
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| nitrosamine | A carcinogen formed from nitrates and breakdown products of amino acids; can lead to stomach cancer.
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| hospice units | A facility offering care that emphasizes comfort and dignity in death.
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