| all-or-nothing phenomenon | <physiology> Refers to the phenomenon where the strength of a nerve impulse is not dependent on the strength of the stimulus. Instead, there is a threshold level of stimulus strength that must be reached before the nerve will fire an impulse (at full capacity). Below the threshold, the nerve will not fire at all. <cardiology> It also refers to the same phenomenon observed in the heart muscle, which will either contract fully or not at all. <psychology> In studies of behaviour, it refers to the same phenomenon where a behavioural stimulus will either produce a complete response or no response at all. Also called all-or-nothing principle, all-or-none law, all-or-none responsiveness, etc. (15 Nov 1997) |
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| all-trans-retinal | The orange retinaldehyde resulting from the action of light on the rhodopsin of the retina, which converts the 11-cis-retinal component of the rhodopsin to all-trans-retinal plus opsin. Synonym: trans-retinal, visual yellow. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ALL | <haematology> A rapidly progressing cancer of the blood affecting the type of white blood cell known as lymphocytes. Approximately 650 new cases are diagnosed every year in the UK and it is the most common form of childhood leukaemia. Acronym: ALL Origin: Gr. Haima = blood (11 Nov 1997) |
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| all or none | Consistently total response to any effective stimulus. Synonym: all or none law. (05 Mar 2000) |
| all or none law | Consistently total response to any effective stimulus. Synonym: all or none law. (05 Mar 2000) |
| all souls' day | The second day of November; a feast day of the Roman Catholic church, on which supplications are made for the souls of the faithful dead. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| stains-all | 4,5,4',5'-Dibenzo-3,3'-diethyl-9-methylthiocarbocyanine bromide;a dye that stains phosphoproteins blue, proteins red, nucleic acids purple, and mucoproteins and mucopolysaccharides various colours on acrylamide gels; also used on tissue sections. (05 Mar 2000) |