| goody | 1. A bonbon, cake, or the like; usually in the pl. 2. <zoology> An American fish; the lafayette or spot. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| relief | 1. The act of relieving, or the state of being relieved; the removal, or partial removal, of any evil, or of anything oppressive or burdensome, by which some ease is obtained; succor; alleviation; comfort; ease; redress. "He seec the dire contagion spread so fast, That, where it seizes, all relief is vain." (Dryden) 2. Release from a post, or from the performance of duty, by the intervention of others, by discharge, or by relay; as, a relief of a sentry. "For this relief much thanks;;tis bitter cold." (Shak) 3. That which removes or lessenc evil, pain, discomfort, uneasiness, etc.; that which gives succor, aid, or comfort; also, the person who relieves from performance of duty by taking the place of another; a relay. 4. A fine or composition which the heir of a deceased tenant paid to the lord for the privilege of taking up the estate, which, on strict feudal principles, had lapsed or fallen to the lord on the death of the tenant. 5. The projection of a figure above the ground or plane on wwhich it is formed. Relief is of three kinds, namely, high relief (altorilievo), low relief, (basso-rilievo), and demirelief (mezzo-rilievo). See these terms in the Vocabulary. 6. The appearance of projection given by shading, shadow, etc, to any figure. 7. The height to which works are raised above the bottom of the ditch. 8. <physics> The elevations and surface undulations of a country. Relief valve, a valve arranged for relieving pressure of steam, gas, or liquid; an escape valve. Synonym: Alleviation, mitigation, aid, help, succor, assistance, remedy, redress, indemnification. Origin: OE. Relef, F. Relief, properly, a lifting up, a standing out. See Relieve, and cf. Basrelief, Rilievi. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| relief area | In dentistry, the portion of the denture-bearing area over which the denture base is altered to reduce functional pressure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| relief chamber | A recess in the impression surface of a denture to reduce or eliminate pressure from that specific area of the mouth. (05 Mar 2000) |
| relief work | Assistance, such as money, food, or shelter, given to the needy, aged, or victims of disaster. It is usually granted on a temporary basis. (12 Dec 1998) |
| mucosal relief radiography | Radiographic technique showing fine detail of gastrointestinal mucosa after coating it with a barium suspension and distending the organ with air or gas released from an ingested powder. (05 Mar 2000) |
| acid-fast | <microbiology> A term used to denote bacteria that are not decolorised by acid-alcohol after having been stained with dyes such as basic fuchsin. The presence of acid fast organisms can be found in cultures that contain mycobacteria or some of the nocardiae. (12 Jul 2000) |
| acid-fast stain | <technique> A staining technique used to determine the cell wall property of a microorganism. After stained with dye such as hot carbolfuschin, an acid-fast organism, (for example Mycobacterium species) will retain the colour in its cell wall after being washed with acid-alcohol. (13 Nov 1997) |
| arsenic-fast | Resistant to the poisonous action of arsenic; denoting especially spirochetes and other protozoan parasites, which acquire resistance after repeated administration of the drug. (05 Mar 2000) |
| centrifugal fast analyzer | An automatic spectrophotometer that uses centrifugal force to mix samples and reagents, and propels the reactants at high speed about a detector that makes multiple absorbance readings. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Wassermann-fast | A term used to designate a case in which the Wassermann reaction remains positive despite all treatment. (05 Mar 2000) |
| histamine-fast | Indicating the absence of the normal response to histamine, especially in speaking of true gastric anacidity. (05 Mar 2000) |
| serum-fast | 1. Pertaining to a serum in which there is little or no change in the titre of antibody, even under conditions of treatment or immunologic stimulation. 2. Resistant to the destructive effect of sera. Synonym: serofast. (05 Mar 2000) |
| spectrometry, mass, fast atom bombardment | A mass spectrometric technique that is used for the analysis of a wide range of biomolecules, such as glycoalkaloids, glycoproteins, polysaccharides, and peptides. Positive and negative fast atom bombardment spectra are recorded on a mass spectrometer fitted with an atom gun with xenon as the customary beam. The mass spectra obtained contain molecular weight recognition as well as sequence information. (12 Dec 1998) |
| sputum for acid-fast organisms | A special microscopic slide that is prepared to detect the presence of acid-fast bacilli. The diagnosis of tuberculosis can be made using this test. If the sputum specimen shows the acid fast organism a sputum culture (for Mycobacterium) is then performed. (27 Sep 1997) |