Definition

A medicine used to treat certain types of cancer, particularly those affecting the skin, breast, and digestive system.

Example

The doctor prescribed fluorouracil to help treat her skin cancer.

Conversation

Have you heard about fluorouracil? I read it can be really effective for certain cancers.

Yeah, I think it's used a lot for skin cancer treatments, right?

Exactly! It’s interesting how specific medications like fluorouracil target different types of cancer.

Totally! It’s amazing what advancements they’re making in cancer treatment.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Fluorouracil is formed from "fluoro-" (from Latin "fluor", meaning to flow or a flowing substance, often used in chemistry to denote the presence of fluorine) and "uracil" (a pyrimidine nucleobase found in RNA, derived from the combination of "uracil" which comes from "uracil" itself, meaning a component of RNA). The word refers to a compound that includes fluorine and is related to uracil, used primarily in cancer treatment as a chemotherapy agent.

Memory Tip

Think of 'fluoro-' as relating to a 'flowing substance' and 'uracil' as a part of RNA — together, they form a compound that flows in the body to target cancer cells.

Visually Confused Words