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


normoglycemia
(nor″mo-gli-se´me-ә) normal glucose content of the blood. adj., normoglyce´mic., adj.

normokalemia
(nor″mo-kә-le´me-ә) a normal level of potassium in the blood. adj., normokale´mic., adj.

normokalemic periodic paralysis
see familial periodic paralysis.

normospermic
(nor″mo-spur´mik) producing spermatozoa normal in number, morphology, and motility.

normotensive
(nor″mo-ten´siv) characterized by normal tension, tone, or pressure, as by normal blood pressure. a person with normal blood pressure.

normothermia
(nor″mo-thur´me-ә) a normal state of temperature. adj., normother´mic., adj.

normotonia
(nor″mo-to´ne-ә) normal tone or tension. adj., normoton´ic., adj.

normovolemia
(nor″mo-vo-le´me-ә) normal blood volume.

Norovirus
(nor´o-vi″rәs) a genus of the family Caliciviridae that includes Norwalk virus and others that cause self-limited acute gastroenteritis.

Norpace
(nor´pās) trademark for a preparation of disopyramide, an antiarrhythmic agent.

Norplant
(nor´plant) trademark for a preparation of levonorgestrel for use as a subdermal contraceptive implant.

Norpramin
(nor´prәm-in) trademark for a preparation of desipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant.

Norrie disease
(nor´e) an inherited disorder in which malformation of the retina causes blindness in both eyes; mental retardation and deafness may also develop later. It is present at birth and is caused by a gene located on the X chromosome.

nortriptyline
(nor-trip´tә-lēn) a tricyclic antidepressant, administered orally as the hydrochloride salt; it is also used to treat panic disorder and chronic severe pain.

Norum-Gjone disease
(nor´um yo´nә) lecithin–cholesterol acyltransferase deficiency.

Norwalk gastroenteritis
(nor´wawk) Norwalk virus gastroenteritis gastroenteritis caused by the Norwalk virus.

Norwalk virus
a calicivirus of the genus Norovirus that causes Norwalk gastroenteritis.

Norwalk-like virus
Norovirus.

noscapine
(nos´kә-pēn) an alkaloid present in opium; used as a nonaddictive antitussive.

nose
(nōz) the specialized structure of the face that serves both as the organ of smell and as a means of bringing air into the lungs. The nostrils, which form the external entrance of the nose, lead into the two nasal cavities, which are separated from each other by the nasal septum, a partition formed of cartilage and bone....

nosebleed
(nōz´blēd″) epistaxis.

nosocomial
(nos″o-ko´me-әl) pertaining to or originating in a hospital.

nosocomial fever of unknown origin
a fever of at least 38.3°C occurring on several occasions in a hospitalized patient in whom neither fever nor infection was present on admission, and for which a cause cannot be determined after three days of investigation, including two days of incubation of cultures.

nosocomial infection
an infection acquired during hospitalization.

nosocomial pneumonia
pneumonia acquired by the patient in the hospital, which the patient did not have at the time of admission.

nosogeny
(no-soj´ә-ne) pathogenesis.

nosophobia
(nos″o-fo´be-ә) irrational fear of sickness or of a specific disease.

nostril
(nos´tril) either aperture of the nose; see nares.

nostrum
(nos´trәm) a quack, patent, or secret remedy.

not-self
(not´self) nonself.

notalgia
(no-tal´jә) pain in the back.

notch
(noch) an indentation, especially one on the edge of a bone or other organ; called also incisure.

notencephalocele
(no″ten-sef´ә-lo-sēl″) occipital encephalocele.

notencephalus
(no″ten-sef´ә-lәs) a fetus with an occipital encephalocele.

Nothnagel syndrome
(not´nah-gәl) unilateral oculomotor paralysis combined with cerebellar ataxia, in lesions of the cerebral peduncles.

notifiable
(no″tĭ-fi´ә-bәl) necessary to be reported to a government health agency.

notifiable disease
one required to be reported to federal, state, or local health officials when diagnosed, because of infectiousness, severity, or frequency of occurrence.

notochord
(no´to-kord) a cylindrical cord of cells on the dorsal aspect of an embryo, marking its longitudinal axis and serving as the center of development of the axial skeleton; it is the common factor of all chordates.

Nott retinoscopy
a type of dynamic retinoscopy in which the fixation target is 40 cm from the eye; the test is first done with the object farther away than the target distance, and then continued while moving it towards the patient until neutrality is observed.

Novantrone
(no-van´trōn) trademark for a preparation of mitoxantrone, an antitumor antibiotic.

novobiocin
(no″vo-bi´o-sin) an antibacterial produced by Streptomyces niveus, used in the treatment of infections caused by staphylococci and other gram-positive organisms. It should be kept in reserve to be used only when necessary, that is, when resistance to other agents has developed. It is effective against infections ...

Novocain
(no´vә-kān) trademark for preparations of procaine, a local anesthetic.

Novy rat disease
(no´ve) a viral disease discovered by Novy in his stock of experimental rats.

noxious
(nok´shәs) hurtful; injurious; pernicious.

Np
neptunium.

NPA
National Perinatal Association.

NPH insulin
[Neutral Protamine Hagedorn] isophane insulin suspension.

NPN
nonprotein nitrogen.

NPO
abbreviation for Latin nil per os (nothing by mouth).

NPT test
nocturnal penile tumescence test.

NREM
non–rapid eye movement; see sleep.

ns
nanosecond.

NSAIA
nonsteroidal antiinflammatory analgesic (or agent); see nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug.

NSAID
nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug.

NSAID ulcer
a peptic ulcer occurring as a side effect of therapy with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), usually either a gastric ulcer or a duodenal ulcer.

NSPB
National Society for the Prevention of Blindness.

Nubain
(nu´bān) trademark for a preparation of nalbuphine hydrochloride, an opioid analgesic.

nucha
(noo´kә) nape. adj., nu´chal., adj.

nuchal ligament
a broad, fibrous, roughly triangular sagittal septum in the back of the neck, separating the right and left sides.

nuchal lines
three lines (inferior, superior, and highest) on the outer surface of the occipital bone.

nuclear antigens
the components of cell nuclei with which antinuclear antibodies react.

nuclear cataract
embryonal nuclear cataract. senile nuclear sclerotic cataract.

nuclear DNA
(nDNA) the DNA of the chromosomes found in the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell.

nuclear jaundice
kernicterus.

nuclear magnetic resonance
a phenomenon exhibited by many atomic nuclei: when placed in a constant magnetic field, the nuclei absorb electromagnetic radiation at a few characteristic frequencies. By applying an external magnetic field to a solution in a constant radio frequency field, it is possible to determine the structure of an unknown compound...

nuclear medicine
the branch of medicine concerned with the use of radionuclides in diagnosis and treatment of disease.

nuclear membrane
either of the membranes, inner and outer, comprising the nuclear envelope. nuclear envelope.

nuclear ophthalmoplegia
that due to a lesion of nuclei of motor nerves of eye.

nuclear paralysis
any paralysis due to a lesion in a nucleus of origin.

nuclear receptor
a receptor in the nucleus of a cell that responds to substances that can cross the cell membrane without passing through the transducing systems of the membrane; steroid hormones, thyroid hormones, and vitamin metabolites such as retinoids and calcitriol bind to nuclear receptors.

nuclear stain
one that selectively stains cell nuclei, generally a basic stain.

nuclease
(noo´kle-ās) any of a group of enzymes that split nucleic acids into nucleotides and other products.

nucleated
(noo´kle-āt″әd) having a nucleus or nuclei.

nucleated cell
any cell having a nucleus.

nuclei
(noo´kle-i) plural of nucleus.

nuclei arcuati medullae oblongatae
(noo´kle-i ahr″ku-a´ti mә-dul´e ob″long-ga´te) arcuate nuclei of medulla oblongata.

nuclei basales
(noo´kle-i ba-sa´lēz) basal nuclei.

nuclei of origin
groups of nerve cells in the central nervous system from which arise the motor, or efferent, fibers of the cranial nerves.

nuclei pontis
(noo´kle-i pon´tis) pontine nuclei.

nuclei vestibulares
(noo´kle-i ves-tib″u-lar´ēz) vestibular nuclei.

nucleic acid amplification test
(NAAT) any nucleic acid test that uses nucleic acid amplification techniques in a direct test for the presence of a specific pathogen in a sample; such tests do not depend on the production of antibody by the pathogen, and can be rapid, highly sensitive, and very specific.

nucleic acid test
any of various tests that use molecular biology techniques to detect and identify microorganisms, including viruses, on the basis of their nucleic acids. It includes culture confirmation tests, which identify organisms grown in culture, and direct tests, which can identify the organisms directly in a specimen. Direct test...

nucleic acids
(noo-kle´ik) extremely complex, long-chain compounds of high molecular weight that occur naturally in the cells of all living organisms and constitute the non–amino acid components of nucleoproteins. They form the genetic material of the cell and direct the synthesis of protein within the cell. Nucleic acids are compose...

nucleocapsid
(noo″kle-o-kap´sid) a unit of viral structure, consisting of a capsid with the enclosed nucleic acid; it is generally inside the cytoplasm. Nucleocapsid in a schematic diagram of HIV-1.

nucleofugal
(noo″kle-of´u-gәl) moving away from a nucleus.

nucleoid
(noo´kle-oid) resembling a nucleus. a DNA-containing region lacking a surrounding nuclear membrane, occurring in prokaryotes, mitochondria, and chloroplasts; it is analagous to the eukaryotic cell nucleus. the core of nucleic acid surrounded by the protein capsid in some viruses.

nucleolonema
(noo″kle-o″lo-ne´mә) a network of strands formed by organization of a finely granular substance, perhaps containing RNA, in the nucleolus of a cell.

nucleolus
(noo-kle´ә-lәs″) a rounded refractile body in the nucleus of most cells, which is the site of synthesis of ribosomal RNA, becoming enlarged during periods of synthesis and smaller during quiescent periods; multiple nucleoli occur in some cells.

nucleon
(noo´kle-on) a proton or neutron; one of the particles of an atomic nucleus.

nucleonics
(noo″kle-on´iks) nuclear physics.

nucleopetal
(noo″kle-op´ә-tәl) moving toward a nucleus.

nucleophile
(noo´kle-o-fīl″) an electron donor in chemical reactions involving covalent catalysis in which the donated electrons bond other chemical groups (electrophiles). adj., nucleophil´ic., adj.

nucleoplasm
(noo´kle-o-plaz″әm) the protoplasm of the nucleus of a cell.

nucleoprotein
(noo″kle-o-pro´tēn) any of a class of conjugated proteins that consist of nucleic acids and simple proteins, such as the histones.

nucleosidase
(noo″kle-o-si´dās) an intracellular enzyme that is capable of causing the decomposition of nucleosides.

nucleoside
(noo´kle-o-sīd″) any of a class of compounds produced by hydrolysis of nucleotides, consisting of a sugar (a pentose or a hexose) and a purine or pyrimidine base.

nucleosome
(noo´kle-o-sōm) the primary structural unit of eukaryotic chromatin, seen with the electron microscope as one of the characteristic “beads on a string”; it is composed of a segment of DNA wrapped twice around a core of histones, and is connected to each adjacent nucleosome by a short DNA segment.

nucleotidase
(noo″kle-o-ti´dās) an enzyme that splits nucleotides into nucleosides and phosphoric acid.

nucleotide
(noo´kle-o-tīd) any of a group of compounds obtained by hydrolysis of nucleic acids, consisting of a purine or pyrimidine base linked to a sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), which in turn is esterified with phosphoric acid. cyclic nucleotides those in which the phosphate group bonds to t...

nucleotidyl
(noo″kle-o-tid´әl) a nucleotide residue.