| soc | 1. The lord's power or privilege of holding a court in a district, as in manor or lordship; jurisdiction of causes, and the limits of that jurisdiction. Liberty or privilege of tenants excused from customary burdens. 2. An exclusive privilege formerly claimed by millers of grrinding all the corn used within the manor or township which the mill stands. Soc and sac, the full right of administering justice in a manor or lordship. Origin: AS. Soc the power of holding court, sway, domain, properly, the right of investigating or seeking; akin to E. Sake, seek. Sake, Seek, and cf. Sac, and Soke Alternative forms: sock, and soke. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| pH-stat | A device for continuously sensing the pH of a solution and automatically adding acid or alkali as necessary to keep the pH constant; used to follow the time course of reactions that liberate an acid or alkali. (05 Mar 2000) |
| STAT | A common medical abbreviation which is used to imply urgent or rush. It is derived from a latin word statim which means immediately. (12 Dec 1998) |
| assist | To give support or aid, to be present as a spectator. (18 Nov 1997) |
| assist-control ventilation | Artificial respiration in which inspiration is produced automatically after a set interval if the person has not already begun to inspire. Compare: assisted ventilation, controlled ventilation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ventricular assist device | A device that supports or replaces the function of a ventricle (LVAD or RVAD indicates which ventricle). The patient's heart remains in place when this device or system is used. The device is used in patients with potentially salvageable myocardium, where centrifugal or pneumatic devices can be placed in either heterotopic or orthotopic positions (the latter is termed a total artificial heart). The function of either the left, right, or both ventricles can thus be supported for days to weeks. Either recovery of heart function or need for transplantation then becomes apparent. (05 Mar 2000) |
| heart-assist devices | Small pumps, often implantable, designed for temporarily assisting the heart, usually the left ventricle, to pump blood; they consist of a pumping chamber and a power source, which may be partially or totally external to the body and activated by electromagnetic motors; the devices are used after myocardial infarction or to wean the repaired heart from the heart-lung machine after open-heart surgery. (12 Dec 1998) |
| left-ventricular assist device | Mechanical pump inserted at some point in the circulation to parallel the activity of the left ventricle and thereby reduce its load. (05 Mar 2000) |