| decompensation | Failure of compensation, cardiac decompensation is marked by dyspnoea, venous engorgement and oedema. (18 Nov 1997) |
|---|---|
| decompose | To separate the constituent parts of; to resolve into original elements; to set free from previously existing forms of chemical combination; to bring to dissolution; to rot or decay. Origin: Cf. F. Decomposer. Cf. Discompose. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| decomposed | <ornithology, zoology> Separated or broken up; said of the crest of birds when the feathers are divergent. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| decomposite | 1. Compounded more than once; compounded with things already composite. 2. <botany> See Decompound. Origin: Pref. De- (intens) + composite. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| decomposition | 1. The act or process of resolving the constituent parts of a compound body or substance into its elementary parts; separation into constituent part; analysis; the decay or dissolution consequent on the removal or alteration of some of the ingredients of a compound; disintegration; as, the decomposition of wood, rocks, etc. 2. The state of being reduced into original elements. 3. Repeated composition; a combination of compounds. Decomposition of forces. Same as Resolution of forces, under Resolution. Decomposition of light, the division of light into the prismatic colours. Origin: Pref. De- (in sense 3 intensive) + composition: cf. F. Decomposition. Cf. Decomposition. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| decomposition of movement | A manifestation of cerebellar disease in which a muscular movement is not carried out smoothly but in a series of component motions. (05 Mar 2000) |
| decompound | More than once compound. (09 Oct 1997) |
| decompression | Decompression external to the body, most often the slow lessening of external pressure on the whole body (especially in caisson workers, deep sea divers, and persons who ascend to great heights) to prevent decompression sickness. It includes also sudden accidental decompression, but not surgical (local) decompression or decompression applied through body openings. (12 Dec 1998) |
| decompression chamber | <apparatus> A steel chamber that is used to apply oxygen under pressure to reverse the effects of the bends or to treat other forms of barotrauma. Synonym: hyperbaric chamber. (27 Sep 1997) |
| decompression disease | A disorder characterised by joint pains, respiratory manifestations, skin lesions, and neurologic signs, occurring in aviators flying at high altitudes and following rapid reduction of air pressure in persons who have been breathing compressed air in caissons and diving apparatus. (12 Dec 1998) |
| decompression illness | <physiology> Also called the bends, this multisystem disorder results when nitrogen bubbles form within the bloodstream and interrupt tissue oxygenation. (27 Sep 1997) |
| decompression operations | Decompression external to the body, most often the slow lessening of external pressure on the whole body (especially in caisson workers, deep sea divers, and persons who ascend to great heights) to prevent decompression sickness. It includes also sudden accidental decompression, but not surgical (local) decompression or decompression applied through body openings. (12 Dec 1998) |
| decompression sickness | A disorder characterised by joint pains, respiratory manifestations, skin lesions, and neurologic signs, occurring in aviators flying at high altitudes and following rapid reduction of air pressure in persons who have been breathing compressed air in caissons and diving apparatus. (12 Dec 1998) |
| decompression, explosive | A sudden loss of pressure in a pressurised cabin, cockpit, or the like, so rapid as to be explosive. (12 Dec 1998) |
| decompression, surgical | A surgical operation for the relief of pressure in a body compartment or on a body part. (12 Dec 1998) |