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

nodulocystic acne
a severe type of cystic acne, usually seen in young men, with subcutaneous nodules that may become inflamed and leave scars.

nodulus
(nodu-lәs) Latin word meaning nodule; a term used in anatomy.

nodus
(no´dәs) Latin word meaning node; a term used in anatomy.

NOEL
no observed effect level.

noise
(noiz) unwanted variations in a signal that result from imperfections in transmission; see also signal-to-noise ratio. any disturbance in a visual signal being recorded in radiography; see also mottle. quantum noise in radiology, randomness of image or projection measurement...

noise-induced hearing loss
sensorineural hearing loss caused either by a single very loud noise or by prolonged exposure to high levels of noise.

Nolvadex
(nol´vә-deks″) trademark for a preparation of tamoxifen, an antiestrogen used for breast cancer.

noma
(no´mә) gangrenous processes of the mouth or genitalia. In the mouth (cancrum oris, gangrenous stomatitis), it begins as a small gingival ulcer and results in gangrenous necrosis of surrounding facial tissues. The condition on the genitalia is called erosive balanitis in males and erosive vulvitis in females.

nomenclature
(no´mәn-kla´chәr) terminology; a classified system of technical names, such as of anatomical structures or organisms. binomial nomenclature the nomenclature used in scientific classification of living organisms in which each organism is designated by two latinized nam...

Nomina Anatomica
(NA) (no´mĭ-nә an″ә-tom´ĭ-kә) a former official body of anatomical nomenclature; it has been superseded by Terminologia Anatomica [TA] (1998).

nominal aphasia
anomic aphasia.

nomogram
(nom´o-gram) a graph with several scales arranged so that a straightedge laid on the graph intersects the scales at related values of the variables; the values of any two variables can be used to find the values of the others.

nomotopic
(no″mo-top´ik) occurring at a normal place.

non compos mentis
(non kom´pos men´tis) Latin phrase meaning not of sound mind, and so not legally responsible.

non-A, non-B hepatitis
former name for types of acute viral hepatitis that lacked the serologic markers of hepatitis A or B, now identified as hepatitis C and hepatitis E.

non-A, non-B hepatitis virus
a hepatitis virus other than hepatitis A virus or hepatitis B virus, usually referring to hepatitis C virus.

non-Hodgkin lymphomas
a diverse group of malignant lymphomas whose common feature is absence of the giant Reed-Sternberg cells characteristic of Hodgkin disease. They arise from the lymphoid components of the immune system, and present a clinical picture broadly similar to that of Hodgkin disease except that these diseases are initially more widespread an...

non-oncogenic virus
a virus that does not induce cell transformation or malignancy.

non–rapid eye movement sleep
NREM sleep the dreamless period of sleep, consisting of four stages of succeeding depth, during which the brain waves are slow and of high voltage, and autonomic activities, such as heart rate and blood pressure, are low and regular. Brief episodes of REM sleep occur at intervals during this type of sleep; in adults, about 80 pe...

non–small cell carcinoma
a large group of lung cancers comprising all the carcinomas except small cell carcinoma, and including adenocarcinoma of the lung, large cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma.

nonabsorbable surgical suture
a strand of material resistant to the action of living mammalian tissue, available in various diameters and tensile strengths. There are three types: Class I is composed of monofilament, twisted, or braided silk or synthetic fibers; if there is a coating, it does not significantly affect the thickness. Class II is compose...

nonabsorbable suture
material for closing wounds which is not absorbed in the body, e.g., silk, cotton, and stainless steel, or synthetic material such as nylon.

noncleaved cell
see small noncleaved follicular center cell and large noncleaved follicular center cell.

noncomitant strabismus
nonconcomitant strabismus that in which the amount of deviation of the squinting eye varies according to the direction in which the eyes are turned.

noncompliance
(non″kom-pli´ans) failure or refusal to follow rules, regulations, or advice, such as of a health care provider or facility.

nonconductor
(non″kәn-duk´tәr) a substance that does not readily transmit electricity, light, or heat.

noncontained disk
a herniated disk with rupture of the anulus fibrosus.

nondisjunction
(non″dis-junk´shәn) failure either of two homologous chromosomes to pass to separate cells during the first meiotic division, or of the two chromatids of a chromosome to pass to separate cells during mitosis or during the second meiotic division. As a result, one daughter cell has two chromosomes or two chromatids...

nondrying oil
a type of fixed oil that does not harden but rather remains sticky to the touch indefinitely when exposed in a thin film to air.

nonelectrolyte
(non″e-lek´tro-līt) a compound which, dissolved in water, does not separate into charged particles and is incapable of conducting an electric current.

nonenveloped virus
naked virus.

nonfluent aphasia
motor aphasia.

nonfunctional adenoma
nonfunctioning adenoma a pituitary adenoma that does not secrete excessive amounts of any hormone; many null-cell adenomas are of this type. Called also endocrine-inactive adenoma.

nonfunctional tumor
nonfunctioning tumor a tumor that is in an endocrine gland but does not secrete hormones, such as a nonfunctioning adenoma

nongranular leukocyte
a type that does not have specific granules in the cytoplasm, such as a lymphocyte or monocyte. Called also agranular leukocyte.

nonhemolytic jaundice
jaundice caused by an abnormality in metabolism of bilirubin by the liver cells, so that there is excessive unconjugated bilirubin in the blood. The various forms include Crigler-Najjar syndrome, Dubin-Johnson syndrome, Gilbert syndrome, and physiologic jaundice.

noninfiltrating carcinoma
c. in situ.

noninvasive
(non″in-va´siv) not involving puncture of the skin or other entry into the body; said of diagnostic studies and procedures.

nonlamellated bone
woven bone.

nonmedullated fibers
unmyelinated fibers.

Nonne-Milroy disease
(non´ә mil´roi) lymphedema praecox.

Nonne-Milroy-Meige syndrome
(non´ә mil´roi māzh) primary lymphedema.

nonneuronal
(non″ndbobr-ro´nәl) pertaining to or composed of nonconducting cells of the nervous system, such as neuroglial cells.

nonorganic hearing loss
functional hearing loss.

nonossifying fibroma
nonosteogenic fibroma a degenerative, proliferative lesion of the medullary and cortical tissues of bone.

nonoxynol
(non-ok´sĭ-nol) any of a group of compounds of the general composition, C15H24O(C2H4O)n, which are assigned a number according to the value of n. Nonoxynol 4, 15, and 30 are nonionic surfactants; nonoxynol 9 is a spermicide.

nonpacemaker cell
a cardiac cell that is incapable of self-excitation and must wait in a state of equilibrium for an outside stimulus.

nonparalytic poliomyelitis
the major illness of poliomyelitis when it does not involve paralysis.

nonparametric test
one using nonparametric statistics, such as the rank sum test or signed rank test; nonparametric tests are often less powerful than parametric tests but are valid in cases where parametric tests are not.

nonpitting edema
edema in which pressure does not leave a depression in the tissues, such as in cellular edema. See also pitting edema.

nonpolar
(non-po´lәr) not having poles; not exhibiting dipole characteristics.

nonprescription drugs
drugs that can be obtained without a medical prescription; this is the Canadian term for what in the United States are called over the counter medications.

nonprobability sample
one in which not every element of the population has an equal chance of being selected, so that the sample is not representative and generalizations cannot be made to the entire population.

nonproprietary name
a short name coined for a drug or chemical not subject to proprietary (trademark) rights and recommended or recognized by an official body.

nonprotein nitrogen
(NPN) the nitrogenous constituents of the blood exclusive of the protein bodies, consisting of the nitrogen of urea, uric acid, creatine, creatinine, amino acids, polypeptides, and an undetermined part known as rest nitrogen. Measurement of this is used as a test of renal function, but has been largely repla...

nonresponder
(non″re-spon´dәr) an individual who after vaccination against a given virus does not show any immune response when challenged with the virus.

nonseasonal allergic rhinitis
allergic rhinitis occurring continuously or intermittently all year round, due to exposure to a more or less ever-present allergen, marked by sudden attacks of sneezing, swelling of the nasal mucosa with profuse watery discharge, itching of the eyes, and lacrimation. Called also nonseasonal or perennial hay fever.

nonsecreting adenoma
nonsecretory adenoma nonfunctioning adenoma.

nonsecretor
(non″se-kre´tәr) a person with A or B type blood whose body secretions do not contain the particular (A or B) substance.

nonself
(non´self″) in immunology, pertaining to foreign antigens; see also self.

nonsense mutation
a mutation in which one of the three termination codons in the mRNA (those that signal the end of the polypeptide) appears in the middle of a genetic message, thus causing premature ending of transcription and production of an incomplete, generally nonfunctional polypeptide. See also missense mutation.

nonsense syndrome
Ganser syndrome.

nonspecific
(non″spә-sif´ik) not due to any single known cause. not specific or definite; not having a specific cause or target.

nonspherocytic hemolytic anemia
see congenital nonspherocytic hemolytic anemia.

nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agent
nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug.

nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug
(NSAID) any in a large group of drugs that are analgesic (pain-reducing), antipyretic (fever-reducing), and antiinflammatory (inflammation-reducing). Aspirin is the oldest and most common member of the group. Called also nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agent.

nonstress test
(NST) (non-stres´) evaluation of fetal well being during the intrauterine period. Observations of fetal heart rate response to fetal movements are made: a reactive pattern of more than 15 beats per minute above the baseline heart rate twice in 10 minutes is indicative of well being; a nonrea...

nonstriated muscle
nonstriated involuntary muscle smooth muscle.

nonthrombocytopenic purpura
purpura without any decrease in the platelet count of the blood. In such cases the cause is either abnormal capillary fragility or deficiency of one of the clotting factors.

nontoxic goiter
that occurring sporadically and not associated with hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism.

nontreponemal antigen test
any of various tests detecting serum antibodies to reagin (cardiolipin and lecithin) derived from host tissues in the diagnosis of the Treponema pallidum infection of syphilis.

nonunion
(non-ūn´yәn) failure of the ends of a fractured bone to unite.

nonvenereal syphilis
endemic syphilis.

nonviable
(non-vi´ә-bәl) not capable of living.

Noonan syndrome
(noo´nәn) the male phenotype of Turner syndrome, with short stature, webbed neck, low nuchal hairline, low-set ears, and the elbow deformity cubitus valgus; some patients also have valvular pulmonary stenosis.

noradrenaline
(nor″ә-dren´ә-lin) norepinephrine.

noradrenergic
(nor″ә-drәn-ur´jik) activated by or secreting norepinephrine.

norethindrone
(nor-eth´in-drōn) a progestational agent having some anabolic, estrogenic, and androgenic properties; used as the base or the acetate ester in the treatment of amenorrhea, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, and endometriosis, and as an oral contraceptive.

norethynodrel
(nor″ә-thi´no-drәl) a progestin used in treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding, amenorrhea, and endometriosis and, in combination with an estrogen, as an oral contraceptive.

norfloxacin
(nor-flok´sә-sin) a broad-spectrum quinolone antibacterial agent effective against penicillin-resistant gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.

norgestimate
(nor-jes´tĭ-māt) a synthetic progestational agent used in combination with an estrogen component as an oral contraceptive.

norgestrel
(nor-jes´trәl) a potent synthetic progestational agent used, alone or in combination with an estrogen component, as an oral contraceptive.

Norinyl
(nor´ә-nәl) trademark for oral contraceptive preparations containing norethindrone as the progestational agent and either ethinyl estradiol or mestranol as the estrogenic agent.

normal
(nor´mәl) agreeing with the regular and established type. When said of a solution, it denotes one containing one chemical equivalent of solute per liter of solution; for example, a 0.5 normal (0.5 N) solution has a concentration of 0.5 Eq/l. The use of standard units (Eq/l) is now preferred.

normal boiling point
the boiling point at 1 atmosphere pressure.

normal cell
any cell found naturally in any part or organ free from disease.

normal dwarf
an individual who is undersized but perfectly formed.

normal human serum albumin
albumin human.

normal saline solution
normal salt solution physiologic salt solution.

normal solution
a solution in which each liter contains 1 equivalent weight of the dissolved substance: designated 1 N.

normal temperature
the body temperature usually registered by a healthy person, averaging 37°C (98.6°F).

normetanephrine
(nor-met″ә-nef´rin) metabolite of norepinephrine excreted in the urine and found in certain tissues.

normoblast
(nor´mo-blast) a nucleated precursor cell in the erythrocytic series, specifically one in a normal course of erythrocyte maturation, as opposed to a megaloblast. The four developmental stages of the series are called pronormoblasts or proerythroblasts, basophilic normoblasts or erythroblasts, polychromatophilic (or polychroma...

normoblastosis
(nor″mo-blas-to´sis) excessive production of normoblasts by the bone marrow.

normocalcemia
(nor″mo-kal-se´me-ә) a normal level of calcium in the blood. adj., normocalce´mic., adj.

normochromia
(nor″mo-kro´me-ә) normal color; indicating the color of erythrocytes having a normal hemoglobin content.

normochromic anemia
that in which the hemoglobin content of the red blood cells is in the normal range.

normocyte
(nor´mo-sīt) an erythrocyte that is normal in size, shape, and color.

normocytic anemia
anemia characterized by proportionate decrease in hemoglobin, packed red cell volume, and number of erythrocytes per cubic millimeter of blood.

normocytosis
(nor″mo-si-to´sis) a normal state of the blood in respect to erythrocytes.