| ram | 1. The male of the sheep and allied animals. In some parts of England a ram is called a tup. 2. <astronomy> Aries, the sign of the zodiac which the sun enters about the 21st of March. The constellation Aries, which does not now, as formerly, occupy the sign of the same name. 3. An engine of war used for butting or battering. Specifically: In ancient warfare, a long beam suspended by slings in a framework, and used for battering the walls of cities; a battering-ram. A heavy steel or iron beak attached to the prow of a steam war vessel for piercing or cutting down the vessel of an enemy; also, a vessel carrying such a beak. 4. A hydraulic ram. See Hydraulic. 5. The weight which strikes the blow, in a pile driver, steam hammer, stamp mill, or the like. 6. The plunger of a hydraulic press. Ram's horn. A low semicircular work situated in and commanding a ditch. Alternative forms: ramshorn] . <paleontology> An ammonite. Origin: AS. Ramm, ram; akin to OHG. & D. Ram, Prov. G. Ramm, and perh. To Icel. Ramr strong. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| Ramachandran plot | A graphical representation in which the dihedral angle of rotation about the alpha-carbon to carbonyl-carbon bond in polypeptides is plotted against the dihedral angle of rotation about the alpha-carbon to nitrogen bond. Synonym: conformational map. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ramage | 1. Boughs or branches. 2. Warbling of birds in trees. Origin: F, fr. L. Ramus a branch. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| ramal | Relating to a ramus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| raman effect | <radiobiology> A phenomenon observed in the scattering of light as it passes through a transparent medium, the light undergoes a change in frequency and a random alteration in phase due to a change in rotational or vibrational energy of the scattering molecules. (09 Oct 1997) |
| Raman spectrum | The characteristic array of light produced by the Raman effect. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Raman, Sir Chandrasekhara | <person> Indian physicist and Nobel laureate, 1888-1970. See: Raman effect, Raman spectrum. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ramble | 1. A going or moving from place to place without any determinate business or object; an excursion or stroll merely for recreation. "Coming home, after a short Christians ramble." (Swift) 2. [Cf. Rammel] A bed of shale over the seam. 3. A section of woods suitable for liesurely walking. Muskrat ramble a dance Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| Rambourg's chromic acid-phosphotungstic acid stain | <technique> A stain for glycoproteins, used with an electron microscope, with which ultrathin tissue sections reveal complex carbohydrates in the same locations as shown by Rambourg's periodic acid-chromic methenamine-silver stain. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Rambourg's periodic acid-chromic methenamine-silver stain | <technique> A stain for glycoproteins, used with an electron microscope, adapted from the Gomori-Jones periodic acid-methenamine-silver stain; it produces silver deposits in mature saccules of the Golgi apparatus, lysosomal vesicles, cell coat, and basement membranes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Rambourg's stains | See: Rambourg's chromic acid-phosphotungstic acid stain, Rambourg's periodic acid-chromic methenamine-silver stain. (05 Mar 2000) |
| rambutan | <botany> A Malayan fruit produced by the tree Nephelium lappaceum, and closely related to the litchi nut. It is bright red, oval in shape, covered with coarse hairs (whence the name), and contains a pleasant acid pulp. Synonym: ramboostan. Origin: Malay rambutan, fr. Rambut hair of the head. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| ramee | <botany> See Ramie. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| ramenta | <botany> Thin brownish chaffy scales upon the leaves or young shoots of some plants, especially upon the petioles and leaves of ferns. Origin: L, scrapings. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| ramentaceous | <botany> Covered with ramenta. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |