Copy of `Dorland's Medical Dictionary`

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Dorland's Medical Dictionary Category: Health and Medicine > Medical Dictionary Date & country: 31/12/2010, USA Words: 39128

anotia
(an-o´shә) congenital absence of one or both external ears.

anovaginal
(a″no-vaj´ĭ-nәl) pertaining to or communicating with the anus and vagina.

anovarism
(an-o´vәr-iz-әm) absence of the ovaries; see also hypogonadism and Turner syndrome.

anovesical
(a″no-ves´ĭ-kәl) pertaining to the anus and bladder.

anovular
(an-ov´u-lәr) not accompanied by ovulation.

anovulation
(an″ov-u-la´shәn) absence of ovulation.

anovulatory
(an-ov´u-lә-tor″e) anovular.

anoxia
(ә-nok´se-ә) absence of oxygen in the tissues; formerly used interchangeably with hypoxia to mean a reduction of oxygen in body tissues below physiologic levels. adj., anox´ic., adj.

anoxic encephalopathy
hypoxic encephalopathy.

ansa
(an´sә) pl. an´sae Latin word meaning a looplike structure. ansa cervicalis a nerve loop in the neck attached in front and above to the hypoglossal nerve and behind to the upper cervical spinal nerves. Its hypoglossal attachment is misleading since this part of the loop ulti...

anserine bursa
a bursa between the tendons of the sartorius, gracilis, and semitendinosus muscles, and the tibial collateral ligaments.

anserine bursitis
inflammation of the anserine bursa with pain on the medial side of the knee, sometimes seen after jogging or other heavy knee exercise and in heavy individuals with genu valgum.

Antabuse
(an´tә-būs″) trademark for a preparation of disulfiram, used in the treatment of alcoholism; it causes nausea and other distressing symptoms in persons who ingest alcohol while taking it.

antacid
(ant-as´id) counteracting acidity. an agent that counteracts acidity, most.often used in treatment of peptic ulcer and other conditions of excessive stomach acid.

antagonist
(an-tag´ә-nist) antagonistic muscle. a substance that tends to nullify the action of another, as a drug that binds to a cellular receptor for a hormone, neurotransmitter, or another drug blocking the action of that substance without producing any physiologic effect itself. See also blocking agent.&nb...

antagonistic muscle
one that counteracts the action of another muscle (the agonistic muscle). Called also antagonist. Antagonistic muscle. The triceps brachii extends the forearm at the elbow while the biceps brachii, its antagonist, flexes the elbow.

antagonistic reflexes
reflex movements occurring not in the muscle which has been stretched but in its antagonist.

antalgic
(ant-al´jik) counteracting or avoiding pain, as a posture or gait assumed so as to lessen pain. analgesic.

antalgic gait
a limp adopted so as to avoid pain on weight-bearing structures, characterized by a very short stance phase.

antarthritic
(ant″ahr-thrit´ik) antiarthritic.

antazoline
(an-taz´o-lēn) a derivative of ethylenediamine, used as an antihistamine; the phosphate salt is applied topically to the eyes in treatment of allergic conjunctivitis.

ante
(an´te) Latin word meaning before.

ante cibum
(a.c., AC) (an´te si´bәm) before meals.

ante mortem
(an´te mor´tәm) Latin phrase meaning before death.

antebrachium
(an″te-bra´ke-әm) the forearm. adj., antebra´chial., adj.

antecedent
(an″tә-se´dәnt) a precursor. plasma thromboplastin antecedent(PTA) factor XI.

antecedent sign
any precursory indication of an attack of disease.

antecubital
(an″te-ku´bĭ-tәl) pertaining to the surface of the arm in front of the elbow.

antecubital fossa
the depression in the anterior region of the elbow.

antecurvature
(an″te-kur´vә-chәr) a slight anteflexion.

anteflexion
(an-te-flek´shәn) abnormal bending of an organ so that its top is thrust forward. anterior displacement of a tooth or teeth or of the mandible. the normal forward curvature of the uterus. Anteflexion of uterus.

antemortem
(an″te-mor´tәm) performed or occurring before death.

antenna
(an-ten´ә) pl. anten´nae one of the appendages on the head of arthropods.

Antepar
(an´te-pahr) trademark for preparations of piperazine citrate and piperazine phosphate, anthelmintics.

antepartal
(an″te-pahr´tәl) antepartum.

antepartum
(an″te-pahr´tәm) occurring before childbirth, with reference to the mother. Spelled also ante partum. Called also antepartal and prepartal.

anterior
(an-tēr´e-әr) situated at or directed toward the front; opposite of posterior.

anterior abdominal wall syndrome
continuous pain in the anterior abdominal wall, affecting either the left or right lower quadrant or the superior margins of the upper quadrant area; etiology unknown.

anterior ampullary nerve
the branch of the vestibular nerve that innervates the ampulla of the anterior semicircular duct, ending around the hair cells of the ampullary crest.

anterior auricular arteries
the anterior auricular branches of the superfi

anterior auricular muscle
origin, superficial temporal fascia; insertion, cartilage of ear; innervation, facial nerve; action, draws the auricle forward.

anterior auricular nerves
origin, auriculotemporal nerve; distribution, skin of front upper part of external ear; modality, general sensory.

anterior auricular veins
venous branches from the anterior part of the pinna that enter the superficial temporal vein.

anterior basal vein
either of two veins, left and right, each draining the anterior basal segment of the inferior lobe of a lung and emptying into the corresponding (left or right) superior basal vein.

anterior cardiac veins
anterior veins of right ventricle.

anterior cecal artery
origin, ileocolic artery; branches, none; distribution, cecum.

anterior central gyrus
precentral gyrus.

anterior cerebral artery
origin, internal carotid artery; branches, (first or precommunical part) anteromedial central arteries; (second or postcommunical part) distal medial striate, medial frontobasal, polar frontal, callosomarginal (and its branches), and pericallosal (and its branches) arteries; distribution, orbital, frontal, and parietal cortex, corpus...

anterior cerebral veins
veins that follow the path of the anterior cerebral artery and drain into the basal vein.

anterior chamber cleavage syndrome
a term for several types of mesenchymal dysgenesis affecting neural crest derivatives in the iris, trabecula, and cornea. In ascending severity these disorders are: Axenfeld anomaly, Axenfeld syndrome, Rieger anomaly, and Rieger syndrome.

anterior chamber of eye
the part of the aqueous humor-containing space of the eyeball between the cornea and iris.

anterior choroidal artery
origin,internal carotid or sometimes middle cerebral artery; branches, many small branches; distribution, interior of brain, including choroid plexus of lateral ventricle and adjacent parts.

anterior ciliary arteries
origin,muscular arteries; branches,episcleral and anterior conjunctival arteries; distribution, iris, conjunctiva.

anterior circumflex humeral artery
origin, axillary artery; branches, none; distribution, shoulder joint and head of humerus, long tendon of biceps, tendon of pectoralis major muscle.

anterior column of spinal cord
the anterior portion of the gray matter of the spinal cord; in transverse section it is seen as a horn.

anterior communicating artery
origin, anterior cerebral artery; branches,anteromedial central arteries; distribution, establishes connection between the right and left anterior cerebral arteries.

anterior condyloid foramen
hypoglossal canal.

anterior conjunctival arteries
origin, anterior ciliary arteries; branches, none; distribution, conjunctiva.

anterior cord syndrome
localized injury to the anterior portion of the spinal cord, characterized by complete paralysis and hypalgesia and hypesthesia to the level of the lesion, but with relative preservation of posterior column sensations of position and vibration.

anterior cornual syndrome
muscular atrophy due to lesions of the anterior horns of the spinal cord. Cf. spinal muscular atrophy.

anterior cruciate ligament
(ACL) see cruciate ligaments of knee.

anterior deep temporal artery
origin, maxillary artery; branches, to zygomatic bone and greater wing of sphenoid bone; distribution, temporalis muscle, and also joins with middle temporal artery.

anterior drawer sign
anterior drawer test see drawer tests.

anterior ethmoidal artery
origin,ophthalmic artery; branches, anterior meningeal, anterior septal, and anterior lateral nasal branches; distribution, dura mater, nose, frontal sinus, anterior ethmoidal air cells.

anterior ethmoidal nerve
origin, continuation of nasociliary nerve, from ophthalmic nerve; branches, internal, external, lateral, and medial nasal branches; distribution, mucosa of upper and anterior nasal septum, lateral wall of nasal cavity, skin of lower bridge and tip of nose; modality, general sensory.

anterior fascicular block
left anterior hemiblock; see hemiblock.

anterior fontanelle
a diamond-shaped fontanelle at the junction of the frontal and parietal bones; it usually fills in and closes between the eighth and fifteenth months of life. Called also bregmatic, frontal, or quadrangular fontanelle.

anterior funiculus of spinal cord
the white substance of the spinal cord lying on either side between the ventral median fissure and the ventral roots of the spinal nerves. Called also ventral funiculus.

anterior horn cells
motoneurons whose cell bodies are in the anterior horn of the spinal cord.

anterior horn of spinal cord
the horn-shaped configuration presented by the anterior column of the spinal cord in transverse section; called also ventral horn of spinal cord.

anterior inferior cerebellar artery
origin,basilar artery; branches,labyrinthine artery (usually); distribution, front outside inferior part of cerebellum, lower and outside parts of pons, and sometimes upper part of medulla oblongata.

anterior intercostal arteries
the twelve anterior intercostal branches of the internal thoracic artery, two in each of the upper six intercostal spaces, which supply the intercostal spaces and the pectoralis major muscle. Within each space both branches run laterally, the upper joining with the posterior intercostal artery, the lower joining with the ...

anterior intercostal veins
the twelve paired veins that accompany the anterior thoracic arteries; they drain into the internal thoracic veins.

anterior interosseous artery
origin, posterior or common interosseous artery; branches, median artery; distribution, deep parts of front of forearm.

anterior interosseous syndrome
a complex of symptoms caused by a lesion of the anterior interosseous nerve, usually resulting from fracture or laceration but sometimes resulting from compression, with pain in the proximal forearm and weakness of the muscles innervated by the nerve.

anterior interosseous veins
the veins accompanying the anterior interosseous artery, which join the ulnar veins near the elbow.

anterior interventricular artery
left anterior descending coronary artery.

anterior interventricular vein
the portion of the great cardiac vein ascending in the anterior interventricular sulcus and emptying into the left coronary vein.

anterior jugular vein
a vein that arises under the chin, passes down the neck, and opens into the external jugular or the subclavian vein or into the jugular venous arch.

anterior labial nerves
origin, ilioinguinal nerve; distribution, skin of anterior labial region of labia majora, and adjacent part of thigh; modality, general sensory.

anterior labial veins
veins that collect blood from the anterior part of the labia and drain into the external pudendal vein; they are counterparts of the anterior scrotal veins in the male.

anterior lacerate foramen
an elongated cleft between the wings of the sphenoid bone, transmitting nerves and vessels.

anterior lingual glands
seromucous glands near the apex of the tongue.

anterior lobe of hypophysis
anterior lobe of pituitary gland adenohypophysis.

anterior median fissure
a longitudinal furrow along the midline of the ventral surface of the spinal cord and medulla oblongata.

anterior meningeal artery
the anterior meningeal branch of the anterior ethmoidal artery, supplying the dura mater.

anterior parietal artery
origin, superior terminal branch of middle cerebral artery; branches, none; distribution, anterior parietal lobe.

anterior perforating arteries
origin, anterior cerebral artery; branches, none; distribution, enter anterior perforated substance.

anterior pituitary hormones
the hormones secreted by the adenohypophysis (anterior pituitary), including corticotropin, follicle-stimulating hormone, growth hormone, luteinizing hormone, prolactin, and thyrotropin. Most of these hormones are tropic hormones, which regulate the growth, development, and proper functioning of other endocrine glands and are of vita...

anterior poliomyelitis
acute anterior poliomyelitis.

anterior pontomesencephalic vein
a vein lying on the upper and front parts of the pons in the midline of the interpeduncular fossa, communicating above with the basal vein and below with the petrosal vein.

anterior radicular artery
one of the spinal branches of the dorsal branch of a posterior intercostal artery; it is the branch supplying the anterior root of a particular spinal nerve.

anterior root of spinal nerve
the anterior, or motor, division of each spinal nerve, attached centrally to the spinal cord and joining peripherally with the posterior root to form the nerve before it emerges from the intervertebral foramen; it conveys motor fibers to skeletal muscle and contains preganglionic autonomic fibers at the thoracolumbar and ...

anterior sacral foramina
eight passages (four on each side) on the pelvic surface of the sacrum for the anterior branches of the sacral nerves.

anterior scalene muscle
origin, transverse processes of third to sixth cervical vertebrae; insertion, scalene tubercle of first rib; innervation, fourth to sixth cervical nerves; action, raises first rib, flexes cervical vertebrae forward and laterally and rotates to opposite side.

anterior scalene syndrome
scalenus anterior syndrome.

anterior scrotal nerves
origin, ilioinguinal nerve; distribution, skin of anterior scrotal region; modality, general sensory.

anterior scrotal veins
veins that collect blood from the front part of the scrotum and drain into the external pudendal vein. They are the counterparts of the anterior labial veins in the female.

anterior segmental vein
either of two veins (left or right), each draining the anterior segment of the superior lobe of a (left or right) lung and emptying into the corresponding superior pulmonary vein.

anterior septal arteries
branches of the anterior interventricular branch of the left coronary artery that supply about the anterior two-thirds of the interventricular septum.