| fix | 1. To make firm, stable, or fast; to set or place permanently; to fasten immovably; to establish; to implant; to secure; to make efinite. "An ass's nole I fixed on his head." (Shak) "O, fix thy chair of grace, that all my powers May also fix their reverence." (Herbert) "His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord." (Ps. Cxii. 7) "And fix far deeper in his head their stings." (Milton) 2. To hold steadily; to direct unwaveringly; to fasten, as the eye on an object, the attention on a speaker. "Sat fixed in thought the mighty Stagirite." (Pope) "One eye on death, and one full fix'd on heaven." (Young) 3. To transfix; to pierce. 4. <photography> To render (an impression) permanent by treating with such applications a will make it insensible to the action of light. 5. To put in prder; to arrange; to dispose of; to adjust; to set to rights; to set or place in the manner desired or most suitable; hence, to repair; as, to fix the clothes; to fix the furniture of a room. 6. To line the hearth of (a puddling furnace) with fettling. Synonym: To arrange, prepare, adjust, place, establis, settle, determine. Origin: Cf. F. Fixer. (01 Mar 1998) |
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| fixation | 1. <orthopaedics> The act or operation of holding, suturing or fastening in a fixed position. The condition of being held in a fixed position. 2. <psychiatry> A term with two related but distinct meanings: 1. Arrest of development at a particular stage, which like regression (return to an earlier stage), if temporary is a normal reaction to setbacks and difficulties but if protracted or frequent is a cause of developmental failures and emotional problems. 3. <psychology> A close and suffocating attachment to another person, especially a childhood figure, such as one's mother or father. Both meanings are derived from psychoanalytic theory and refer to fixation of libidinal energy either in a specific erogenous zone, hence fixation at the oral, anal or phallic stage or in a specific object, hence mother or father fixation. 4. <technique> The use of a fixative to preserve histological or cytological specimens. 5. <chemistry> The process whereby a substance is removed from the gaseous or solution phase and localised, as in carbon dioxide fixation or nitrogen fixation. 6. <ophthalmology> The direction of the gaze so that the visual image of the object falls on the fovea centralis. 7. <chemistry> In film processing, the chemical removal of all undeveloped salts of the film emulsion, leaving only the developed silver to form a permanent image. 8. <zoology> A general term for determination of type, whether by designation, or indication. Origin: L. Fixatio (09 Jan 1998) |
| fixation disparity | The amount of heterophoria possible with fusion present. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fixation nystagmus | Nystagmus aggravated or induced by ocular fixation, arising as optokinetic nystagmus, or resulting from midbrain lesions. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fixation reaction | <immunology> Binding of complement as a result of its interaction with immune complexes (the classical pathway) or particular surfaces (alternative pathway). (18 Nov 1997) |
| fixation, ocular | The direction of the gaze so that the visual image of the object falls on the fovea centralis of the retina, the area of the most acute vision. (12 Dec 1998) |
| fixational ocular movement | Rotation of the eyes during voluntary fixation on an object; tremors, flicks, and drifts occur. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fixative | 1. Serving to fix, bind, or make firm or stable. 2. A substance used for the preservation of gross and histologic specimens of tissue, or individual cells, usually by denaturing and precipitating or cross-linking the protein constituents. See: fluid, solution. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fixatives | Agents employed in the preparation of histologic or pathologic specimens for the purpose of maintaining the existing form and structure of all of the constituent elements. Great numbers of different agents are used; some are also decalcifying and hardening agents. They must quickly kill and coagulate living tissue. (12 Dec 1998) |
| fixator | A device providing rigid immobilization through external skeletal fixation by means of rods (f.'s) attached to pins which are placed in or through the bone. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fixator muscle | <anatomy> A muscle that acts as a stabiliser of one part of the body during movement of another part. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fixed | 1. Securely placed or fastened; settled; established; firm; imovable; unalterable. 2. <chemistry> Stable; non-volatile. <chemistry> Fixed air, the fixed point about which any line of troops wheels. <astronomy> Fixed stars, such stars as always retain nearly the same apparent position and distance with respect to each other, thus distinguished from planets and comets. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| fixed alkali | Any alkali other than a weakly ionised one, like ammonia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fixed alkaloid | A nonvolatile alkaloid. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fixed appliance | <dentistry> Any orthodontic component that is cemented or bonded to the teeth. (08 Jan 1998) |