| elasticity | 1. The quality of being elastic; the inherent property in bodies by which they recover their former figure or dimensions, after the removal of external pressure or altering force; springiness; tendency to rebound; as, the elasticity of caoutchouc; the elasticity of the air. 2. Power of resistance to, or recovery from, depression or overwork. Coefficient of elasticity, the quotient of a stress (of a given kind), by the strain (of a given kind) which it produces; called also coefficient of resistance. <geometry> Surface of elasticity, the pedal surface of an ellipsoid (see Pedal); a surface used in explaining the phenomena of double refraction and their relation to the elastic force of the luminous ether in crystalline media. Origin: Cf. F. Elasticite. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| physical elasticity of muscle | <anatomy> The quality of muscle that enables it to yield to passive physical stretch. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| physiologic elasticity of muscle | The biologic quality, unique for muscle, of being able to change and resume size under neuromuscular control. (05 Mar 2000) |
| modulus of elasticity | A coefficient expressing the ratio between stress per unit area acting to deform a body and the amount of deformation that results from it. Modulus of volume elasticity, a coefficient expressing the ratio between pressure acting to change the volume of a substance and the amount of change that results from it. Synonym: bulk modulus. Young's modulus, a type of modulus of elasticity which specifies the force applied to a body in one direction, per unit cross-sectional area of the body perpendicular to that direction, divided by the fractional change in length of the body in that direction. (05 Mar 2000) |
| total elasticity of muscle | The combined effect of physical and physiologic elasticity of muscle. (05 Mar 2000) |