| radioactive contamination | <radiobiology> Radioactive substance dispersed in material or places where it is undesirable. (16 Dec 1997) |
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| contamination | The soiling or pollution by inferior material, as by the introduction of organisms into a wound or sewage into a stream. Origin: L. Contaminatio from con =together + tangere = to touch (18 Nov 1997) |
| cross contamination | <dentistry> Passing bacteria or viruses indirectly from one patient to another through the use of improper sterilisation procedures, unclean instruments, or recycling of products. (08 Jan 1998) |
| specimen contamination | <microscopy> A change in the specimen caused by the condensation upon it of residual vapours in the microscope under the influence of electron bombardment. (05 Aug 1998) |
| direct contamination | <dentistry> Direct contact with impurities or germs. (for example by a patient sneezing on the assistant.) (08 Jan 1998) |
| equipment contamination | The presence of an infectious agent on instruments, prostheses, or other inanimate articles. (12 Dec 1998) |
| food contamination | The presence in food of harmful, unpalatable, or otherwise objectionable foreign substances, e.g. Chemicals, microorganisms or diluents, before, during, or after processing or storage. (12 Dec 1998) |
| absorbancy index | Absorbance (of light) per unit path length (usually the centimeter) and per unit of mass concentration. Compare: molar absorption coefficient. Synonym: absorbancy index, absorptivity, extinction coefficient, specific extinction. (05 Mar 2000) |
| alveolar index | Relation between the basialveolar (basion to alveolar point) and basinasal (basion to nasion) lengths: (basialveolar length × 100)/basinasal length; the result indicates the degree of projection of the maxilla or upper jaw. Synonym: alveolar index. (05 Mar 2000) |
| anaesthetic index | Ratio of the number of units of anaesthetic required for anaesthesia to the number of units of anaesthetic required to produce respiratory or cardiovascular failure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| antitryptic index | An obsolete term for the relative retardation in loss of viscosity of a solution of casein incubated with trypsin, to which a drop of abnormal blood serum (as from a cancerous patient) has been added, compared with that in a similar solution to which normal serum has been added; if the former drips through the tube of the viscosimeter in 100 seconds, and the latter in 104 seconds, the antitryptic index is 4. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Arneth index | An expression based on adding the percentages of polymorphonuclear neutrophils with 1 or 2 lobes in their nuclei, plus one-half the percentage with 3 lobes; the normal value is 60%. See: Arneth formula, Arneth count. (05 Mar 2000) |
| auricular index | Relation of the width to the height of the auricle or pinna: (width of pinna × 100)/length of pinna. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Ayala's index | The cerebrospinal index when 10 ml of cerebrospinal fluid have been removed. Synonym: Ayala's quotient, spinal quotient. (05 Mar 2000) |
| basilar index | Ratio between the basialveolar line and the maximum length of the cranium, according to the formula: (basialveolar line × 100)/length of cranium. Synonym: alveolar index. (05 Mar 2000) |