| pivot | 1. A fixed pin or short axis, on the end of which a wheel or other body turns. 2. The end of a shaft or arbor which rests and turns in a support; as, the pivot of an arbor in a watch. 3. Hence, figuratively: A turning point or condition; that on which important results depend; as, the pivot of an enterprise. 4. The officer or soldier who simply turns in his place whike the company or line moves around him in wheeling; called also pivot man. Pivot bridge, a form of drawbridge in which one span, called the pivot span, turns about a central vertical axis. Pivot gun, a gun mounted on a pivot or revolving carriage, so as to turn in any direction. <dentistry> Pivot tooth, an artificial crown attached to the root of a natural tooth by a pin or peg. Origin: F.; prob. Akin to It. Piva pipe, F. Pipe. See Pipe. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| pivot joint | A synovial joint in which a section of a cylinder of one bone fits into a corresponding cavity on the other, as in the proximal radioulnar joint. Synonym: articulatio trochoidea, helicoid ginglymus, lateral ginglymus, rotary joint, rotatory joint, trochoid articulation, trochoid joint. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pivot shift test | A manoeuvre to detect a deficiency of the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee; when the knee is extended, a sudden subluxation of the lateral tibial condyle upon the distal femur is positive. (05 Mar 2000) |
| blade | The expanded part of a leaf or petal. (09 Oct 1997) |
| blade bone | A large, flat, triangular bone that forms the posterior portion of the shoulder. It articulates with the clavicle (at the acromion process) and the humerus (at the glenoid). (27 Sep 1997) |
| blade implantation | Insertion of an endosseous implant with a narrow wedge-shaped infrastructure extending through the oral mucosa into the mouth and bearing openings or vents through which tissue grows to obtain retention. (12 Dec 1998) |
| plus | 1. <mathematics> More, required to be added; positive, as distinguished from negative; opposed to minus. 2. Hence, in a literary sense, additional; real; actual. "Success goes invariably with a certain plus or positive power." (Emerson) 3. <mathematics> Plus sign, the sign (+) which denotes addition, or a positive quantity. Origin: L, more; akin to Gr, and cf. Piu, Pleonasm. (11 Mar 1998) |
| plus lens | A converging lens. Synonym: plus lens. (05 Mar 2000) |
| plus strand | See: replicative form. (05 Mar 2000) |
| shoulder blade | A large, flat, triangular bone that forms the posterior portion of the shoulder. It articulates with the clavicle (at the acromion process) and the humerus (at the glenoid). (27 Sep 1997) |
| fluorescence plus Giemsa stain | <technique> A stain used to demonstrate sister chromatid exchange; cells are grown in 5-bromodeoxyuridine, followed by chromosome preparation, staining in Hoechst 33258, exposure to light, and staining in Giemsa; chromosomes exhibit a "harlequin" appearance. (05 Mar 2000) |