| half and half nail | Division of the nail by a transverse line into a proximal dull white part and a distal pink or brown part; seen in uraemia. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| biological half-life | <biochemistry, biology> This is the time required for one-half of the total amount of a particular substance in a biological system to be consumed or broken down by biological processes when the rate of removal is approximately exponential. Toxic chemicals with a long biological half-life (such as some pesticides) will tend to accumulate in the body and are, therefore, more likely to be harmful. A substance with a short biological half-life may still accumulate if a portion of it it becomes tightly bound to bone or other tissues, even if most of it is quickly cleared from the body. (21 Mar 1998) |
| red half-moon | <clinical sign> Irregular red discoloration of the usually pale demilune at the base of the fingernail; may be seen in congestive failure, malignant disease, or liver disease, but not specific for any of these. (05 Mar 2000) |
| physical half-life | The time required for half the atoms of a radionuclide to undergo disintegration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| half | In an equal part or degree; in some pa appromating a half; partially; imperfectly; as, half-coloured, half done, half-hearted, half persuaded, half conscious. "Half loth and half consenting." "Their children spoke halfin the speech of Ashdod." (Neh. Xiii. 24) 1. Consisting of a moiety, or half; as, a half bushel; a half hour; a half dollar; a half view. The adjective and noun are often united to form a compound. 2. Consisting of some indefinite portion resembling a half; approximately a half, whether more or less; partial; imperfect; as, a half dream; half knowledge. "Assumed from thence a half consent." (Tennyson) Half ape, a middle or intermediate tint, as in drawing or painting. See Demitint. Half truth, a statement only partially true, or which gives only a part of the truth. Half year, the space of six moths; one term of a school when there are two terms in a year. Origin: AS. Healf, half, half; as a noun, half, side, part; akin to OS, OFries, & D. Half, G. Halb, Sw. Half, Dan. Halv, Icel. Halfr, Goth. Halbs. Cf. Halve, Behalf. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| half-a-gram stain | <technique> A lab technique used to detect the presence of members from the bacterial family Legionellaceae in samples of sputum. (09 Oct 1997) |
| half amplitude pulse duration | The time, in milliseconds, required for a wave form to reach half of its full magnitude. (05 Mar 2000) |
| half-axial projection | Reverse tilted AP radiographic projection devised to permit demonstration of the entire occipital bone, foramen magnum, and dorsum sellae, as well as the petrous ridges. Synonym: half axial view, half-axial projection, Towne view. (05 Mar 2000) |
| half axial view | Reverse tilted AP radiographic projection devised to permit demonstration of the entire occipital bone, foramen magnum, and dorsum sellae, as well as the petrous ridges. Synonym: half axial view, half-axial projection, Towne view. (05 Mar 2000) |
| half blood | 1. The relation between persons born of the same father or of the same mother, but not of both; as, a brother or sister of the half blood. See Blood, 2 and 4. 2. A person so related to another. 3. A person whose father and mother are of different races; a half-breed. In the 2d and 3d senses usually with a hyphen. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| half-blooded | 1. Proceeding from a male and female of different breeds or races; having only one parent of good stock; as, a half-blooded sheep. 2. Degenerate; mean. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| half-bred | 1. Half-blooded. 2. Imperfectly acquainted with the rules of good-breeding; not well trained. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| half-breed | A person who is blooded; the offspring of parents of different races, especially of the American Indian and the white race. See: Half-blooded. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| half-chair form | See: Haworth conformational formulas of cyclic sugars. (05 Mar 2000) |
| half cystine | Refers to one-half of a cystine molecule or of a cystinyl residue in a protein or peptide. (05 Mar 2000) |