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

attenuated viral vaccine
attenuated virus vaccine modified live virus vaccine.

attenuated virus
one whose pathogenicity has been reduced by serial animal passage or other means.

attenuation
(ә-ten″u-a´shәn) the act of thinning or weakening. the change in the virulence of a pathogenic microorganism induced by passage through another host species, decreasing its virulence for the native host and increasing it for the new host. This is the basis for the development of live vacc...

attic
(at´ik) a small upper space of the middle ear, containing the head of the malleus and the body of the incus.

atticoantrotomy
(at″ĭ-ko-an-trot´ә-me) surgical exposure of the epitympanic recess (attic) and mastoid antrum.

atticotomy
(at″ĭ-kot´ә-me) incision into the epitympanic recess (attic).

attitude
(at´ĭ-tldbomacd) a posture or position of the body; in obstetrics, the relation of the various parts of the fetal body to one another. a pattern of mental views established by cumulative prior experience.

attitudinal reflexes
those reflexes having to do with the position of the body, primarily controlled by input from receptors in the utriculus; called also statotonic reflexes.

ATTR amyloidosis
the most common form of familial amyloidosis, in which any of numerous mutations of the gene encoding transthyretin cause systemic autosomal dominant disorders characterized by polyneuropathies, cardiomyopathies, and variable organ involvement. See also familial amyloid polyneuropathy.

attraction
(ә-trak´shәn) the force or influence by which one object is drawn toward another. capillary attraction the force that causes a liquid to rise in a fine-caliber tube.

attrition
(ә-trish´әn) the wearing away of a substance or structure (such as the teeth) in the course of normal use.

atypia
(a-tip´e-ә) deviation from the normal or typical state.

atypical
(a-tip´ĭ-kәl) irregular; not conformable to the type.

atypical bronchial pneumonia
primary atypical pneumonia.

atypical mole syndrome
dysplastic nevus syndrome.

atypical nevus
dysplastic nevus.

atypical nevus syndrome
dysplastic nevus syndrome.

atypical pneumonia
primary atypical pneumonia.

atypical tuberculosis
any of various types of mycobacteriosis not caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis; the incidence is sharply increased in immunocompromised persons.

atypical verrucous endocarditis
nonbacterial endocarditis found in association with systemic lupus erythematosus; called also Libman-Sacks disease or endocarditis.

Au
gold (L. au´rum).

AUA
American Urological Association.

Aubert phenomenon
an optical illusion in which a bright vertical line in a dark room tilts to one side when an observer tilts his head to the opposite side.

audioanalgesia
(aw″de-o-an″al-je´ze-ә) reduction or abolition of the perception of pain by listening to recorded music to which has been added a background of “white noise.”

audiogenic
(aw″de-o-jen´ik) produced by sound.

audiogenic epilepsy
reflex epilepsy brought on by sound.

audiogram
(aw´de-o-gram″) a graphic record of the findings by audiometry. the hearing test done by audiometry; it tests the ability to hear pure tones in each ear. A careful and complete audiogram will test both bone conduction and air conduction. A comparison between these two types of conduction can be useful in l...

audiologist
(aw″de-ol´ә-jist) an allied health professional specializing in audiology, who provides services that include evaluation of hearing function to detect hearing impairment and, if there is a hearing disorder, to determine the anatomical site involved and its cause; selection of appropriate hearing aids; and tr...

audiology
(aw″de-ol´ә-je) the science concerned with the sense of hearing, especially in the evaluation and measurement of hearing loss and the rehabilitation of those with impaired hearing. See also audiologist.

audiometer
(aw″de-om´ә-tәr) an apparatus used in audiometry for testing the hearing.

audiometry
(aw″de-om´ә-tre) measurement of the acuity of hearing through generation of tones of known frequencies and amplitudes. See also audiogram (def. 2). adj., audiomet´ric., adj. electrocochleographic audiometry measurement of electrical potentials from the middle ear or e...

audition
(aw-dish´әn) hearing. chromatic audition chromesthesia.

audito-oculogyric reflex
a turning of both eyes in the direction of a sudden sound.

auditory
(aw´dĭ-tor″e) pertaining to the ear; called also aural and otic. pertaining to the sense of hearing.

auditory aphasia
loss of ability to comprehend spoken language. Called also word deafness.

auditory areas
two contiguous areas of the temporal lobe in the region of the anterior transverse temporal gyrus, known as the primary and secondary auditory areas.

auditory brainstem response
(ABR) a hearing test that tracks the nerve signals arising in the inner ear as they travel along the auditory nerve to the brain region responsible for hearing. A small speaker placed near the ear makes a clicking sound, and electrodes record the nerve signal as it travels. The test can determine where along...

auditory cell
auditory hair cell one of the cells provided with cilia that serve as sensory receptors in the organ of Corti; called also acoustic hair cell.

auditory evoked potential
in electroencephalography, changes in waves in response to sound; see also brainstem auditory evoked potential.

auditory field
the space or range within which stimuli will be perceived as sound.

auditory hallucination
a hallucination of hearing; the most common type.

auditory meatus
acoustic meatus.

auditory nerve
vestibulocochlear nerve.

auditory pit
a depression on the auditory placode, marking the beginning of embryonic development of the internal ear. Called also otic pit.

auditory reflex
any reflex caused by stimulation of the vestibulocochlear nerve; especially momentary closure of both eyes produced by a sudden sound.

auditory system
the series of structures by which sounds are received from the environment and conveyed as signals to the central nervous system; it consists of the outer, middle, and inner ear as well as the tracts in the auditory pathways.

auditory threshold
the slightest perceptible sound.

auditory tube
eustachian tube.

auditory vesicle
a detached ovoid sac formed by closure of the auditory pit in the early embryo, from which the percipient parts of the inner ear develop.

auditory word center
Wernicke area.

Auenbrugger sign
a bulging of the epigastrium, due to extensive pericardial effusion.

Auer bodies
Auer rods finely granular lamellar bodies having acid phosphatase activity; they are found in the cytoplasm of myeloblasts, myelocytes, monoblasts, granular histiocytes, and occasionally plasma cells, but never lymphoblasts or lymphocytes; their presence is virtually pathognomonic of leukemia.

augmentation
(awg″men-ta´shәn) an adding on, or the resulting condition. bladder augmentation augmentation cystoplasty. breast augmentation popular name for augmentation mammaplasty.

augmented histamine test
( for gastric function) after a 12-hour fast, residual gastric contents are aspirated. Basal gastric secretion is then collected every 15 minutes for 1 hour; at the 30-minute point, antihistamine is given intramuscularly. At the end of the hour, histamine acid phosphate (0.04 mg per kg of body weight) is given subcutaneously, ...

augnathus
(awg-na´thәs) a malformed fetus with a double lower jaw.

aura
(aw´rә) pl. auras, au´rae a peculiar sensation preceding the appearance of more definite symptoms. An epileptic aura precedes an epileptic seizure and may involve visual disturbances, dizziness, numbness, or any of a number of sensations which the patient may find difficult to describe exactly. In epilepsy the aura...

aural
(aw´rәl) auditory (def. 1). pertaining to an aura.

aural atresia
absence of closure of the auditory canal.

aural nystagmus
labyrinthine nystagmus.

auranofin
(aw-ran´ә-fin) a gold-containing compound that is a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug used to treat active rheumatoid arthritis, usually that not adequately controlled by nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, or nondrug therapy such as physical therapy; administered orally.

auric
(aw´rik) pertaining to gold.

auricle
(aw´rĭ-kәl) the projecting part of the ear lying outside the head; called also pinna. the ear-shaped appendage of either atrium of the heart; formerly used to designate the entire atrium.

auricle reflex
involuntary movement of the auricle of the ear produced by auditory stimuli (more pronounced in some other animals than in humans).

auricula
(aw-rik´u-lә) pl. auri´culae Latin word meaning auricle.

auricular
(aw-rik´u-lәr) pertaining to an auricle or ear.

auricular muscles
the extrinsic auricular muscles, including the anterior, posterior, and superior auricular muscles. the intrinsic auricular muscles that extend from one part of the auricle to another, including the helicis major, helicis minor, tragicus, antitragicus, transverse auricular, and oblique auricular muscles.

auricularis
(aw-rik″u-lar´is) Latin word meaning pertaining to the ear.

auriculocervical nerve reflex
Snellen reflex.

auriculopalpebral reflex
Kisch reflex.

auriculotemporal
(aw-rik″u-lo-tem´pә-rәl) pertaining to the ear and the temporal region.

auriculotemporal nerve
origin, by two roots from the mandibular nerve; branches, anterior auricular nerve, nerve of external acoustic meatus, parotid branches, branch to tympanic membrane, and branches communicating with facial nerve; its terminal branches are superficial temporal branches to the scalp; distribution, parotid gland, scalp in temporal ...

auriculotemporal syndrome
redness and sweating on the cheek in connection with eating. In many people the symptoms are mild and occur especially after eating spicy or sharp-tasting foods. In some, it is more severe and may occur after damage to the parotid gland or auriculotemporal nerve. It may also accompany diseases such as syringomyelia or some type...

auris
(aw´ris) Latin word meaning ear.

auriscope
(aw´rĭ-skōp) otoscope.

aurotherapy
(aw″ro-ther´ә-pe) chrysotherapy.

aurothioglucose
(aw″ro-thi″o-gloo´kōs) a gold preparation used in the treatment of early active rheumatoid arthritis (both adult and juvenile types) not controlled by nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, rest, and physical therapy; administered intramuscularly.

auscultate
(aws´kәl-tāt) to examine by auscultation.

auscultation
(aws″kәl-ta´shәn) listening for sounds produced within the body, chiefly to assess the condition of the thoracic or abdominal organs and vessels such as the heart, lungs, aorta, and intestines. Fetal heart tones can also be monitored during pregnancy by auscultation with a specialized stethoscope...

auscultatory
(aws-kul´tә-tor″e) pertaining to auscultation.

auscultatory sounds
sounds heard on auscultation, such as heart sounds, breath sounds, adventitious sounds, and Korotkoff sounds.

Auspitz sign
the appearance of multiple fine bleeding points when a scale is removed from a psoriatic plaque, caused by thinning of the epidermis over the dermal papillae.

Austin Flint murmur
Austin Flint phenomenon a loud presystolic murmur at the apex heard when aortic regurgitation is preventing the mitral valve from closing; called also Flint murmur.

Austin Moore prosthesis
a metallic implant used in hip arthroplasty.

Australian Q fever
Q fever.

Australian X disease
Murray Valley encephalitis.

Australian X disease virus
Murray Valley encephalitis virus.

autacoid
(aw´tә-koid) local hormone.

autism
(aw´tiz-әm) autistic disorder. adj., autis´tic., adj. infantile autism autistic disorder.

autistic
(aw-tis´tik) pertaining to or exhibiting autism.

autistic disorder
a pervasive developmental disorder beginning in infancy, characterized by a spectrum of behaviors that indicate difficulty in reciprocal social interaction (such as lack of awareness of the existence of feelings in others), in verbal and nonverbal communication, and in capacity for symbolic play. Children generally have a...

autoagglutination
(aw″to-ә-gloo″tĭ-na´shәn) clumping or agglutination of an individual's cells by his or her own serum (containing autoantibody), as in autohemagglutination. Autoagglutination occurring at low temperatures is called cold agglutination. nonspecific clumping or agglutination of particula...

autoagglutinin
(aw″to-ә-gloo´tĭ-nin) a factor in serum capable of causing clumping together of the subject's own cellular elements.

autoamputation
(aw″to-am″pu-ta´shәn) spontaneous detachment from the body and elimination of an appendage or an abnormal growth, such as a polyp. ainhum.

autoantibody
(aw″to-an´tĭ-bod″e) an antibody formed in response to, and reacting against, an antigenic constituent of the individual's own tissues.

autoantigen
(aw″to-an´tĭ-jen) an antigen that, despite being a normal tissue constituent, is the target of a humoral or cell-mediated immune response, such as in autoimmune disease.

autocatalysis
(aw″to-kә-tal´ә-sis) an increase in the rate of a chemical reaction in which a product of the reaction itself hastens or intensifies the rate.

autochthonous
(aw-tok´thә-nәs) originating in the same area in which it is found; said of pathological processes. denoting a tissue graft to a new site on the same individual.

autochthonous idea
a persistent idea, originating within the mind, usually from the unconscious, but seeming to have come from an outside source and often therefore felt to be of malevolent origin.

autoclasis
(aw-tok´lә-sis) destruction of a part by influences within itself.

autoclave
(aw´to-klāv) a self-locking apparatus for the sterilization of materials by steam under pressure. The autoclave allows steam to flow around each article placed in the chamber. The vapor penetrates cloth or paper used to package the articles being sterilized. Autoclaving is one of the most effective methods fo...