| past-pointing | A test of the integrity of the vestibular apparatus of the ear and of cerebellar function: the patient, seated in a revolving chair, is rotated to the right ten times with eyes closed; then with the arm held horizontal, the right index finger is brought in touch with the tip of the examiner's finger; the arm is then raised vertically and the patient is instructed to touch the examiner's finger on bringing the arm once more to the horizontal; if the vestibular apparatus is normal, the finger will be brought down several inches to the right of the examiner's finger because the patient is still responding to the sensation of rotation to the left; the reverse is true on rotation to the left. In cerebellar disease, a patient attempting to reach a point with the finger will overshoot it. The test is also used in connection with caloric stimulation. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| paste | 1. A soft composition, as of flour moistened with water or milk, or of earth moistened to the consistence of dough, as in making potter's ware. 2. Specifically, in cookery, a dough prepared for the crust of pies and the like; pastry dough. 3. A kind of cement made of flour and water, starch and water, or the like, used for uniting paper or other substances, as in bookbinding, etc, also used in calico printing as a vehicle for mordant or colour. 4. A highly refractive vitreous composition, variously coloured, used in making imitations of precious stones or gems. See Strass. 5. A soft confection made of the inspissated juice of fruit, licorice, or the like, with sugar, etc. 6. <chemical> The mineral substance in which other minerals are imbedded. <zoology> Paste eel, the vinegar eel. See Vinegar. Origin: OF. Paste, F. Pate, L. Pasta, fr. Gr. Barley broth; cf. Barley porridge, sprinkled with salt, to sprinkle. Cf. Pasty, Patty. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| pastel | 1. A crayon made of a paste composed of a colour ground with gum water. [Sometimes incorrectly written pastil] "Charming heads in pastel." 2. <botany> A plant affording a blue dye; the woad (Isatis tinctoria); also, the dye itself. 3. A drawing using pastel, or of a pastel shade. 4. The art or process of drawing with pastels. 5. Any of various light or pale colours. 6. A light literary work, as a sketch. Origin: F.; cf. It. Pastello. Cf. Pastil. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| paster | The segment forming the part for near vision in two-piece bifocal lenses. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pastern | The part of the leg of a horse and similar animals that lies between the fetlock joint and the hoof. Origin: O. Fr. Pasturon, pasture; because the shackle of a horse out at pasture is attached to this part of the leg (05 Mar 2000) |
| Pasteur | Louis, French chemist and bacteriologist. Lived: 1822-1895. See: Pasteur vaccine, Pasteur's effect, Pasteur pipette. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Pasteur effect | <biochemistry> Decrease in the rate of carbohydrate breakdown that occurs in yeast and other cells when switched from anaerobic to aerobic conditions. Results from a relatively slow flux of material through the biochemical pathways of respiration compared with those of fermentation. (18 Nov 1997) |
| Pasteur pipette | A cotton-plugged, glass tube drawn out to a fine tip, used for the sterile transfer of small volumes of fluid. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Pasteur vaccine | An inactivated virus vaccine, used for preexposure immunization to persons at high risk of exposure, e.g., veterinarians, and in conjunction with rabies immunoglobulin, for postexposure prophylaxis. The official preparation is human diploid cell vaccine produced from rabies virus grown in cultures of human diploid embryo lung cells and inactivated with propriolactone. It has a much lower incidence of adverse reactions than the previously used duck embryo vaccine. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Pasteur's effect | The inhibition of fermentation by oxygen, first observed by Pasteur; either not observed, or only slightly observed, in malignant tumours. Compare: Crabtree effect. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Pasteur, Louis | <person> A French chemist and biologist who founded the field of bacteriology and developed the germ theory. He also invented pasteurisation and created the first vaccines against anthrax and rabies. Lived: 1822-1895. (09 Oct 1997) |
| pasteurella | The oldest recognised genus of the family pasteurellaceae. It consists of several species. Its organisms occur most frequently as coccobacillus or rod-shaped and are gram-negative, nonmotile, facultative anaerobes. Species of this genus are found in both animals and humans. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Pasteurella anatipestifer | Former name for Moraxella anatipestifer. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pasteurella haemolytica | <bacteria> A species of gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria normally found in the flora of cattle and sheep. It causes mastitis in sheep and shipping fever (see pasteurellosis, pneumonic) in cattle. (12 Dec 1998) |
| pasteurella infections | Infections with bacteria of the genus pasteurella. (12 Dec 1998) |