| ladder | 1. A frame usually portable, of wood, metal, or rope, for ascent and descent, consisting of two side pieces to which are fastened cross strips or rounds forming steps. "Some the engines play, And some, more bold, mount ladders to the fire." (Dryden) 2. That which resembles a ladder in form or use; hence, that by means of which one attains to eminence. "Lowliness is young ambition's ladder." (Shak) Fish ladder. See Fish. Ladder beetle, a spiral marine shell of the genus Scalaria. See Scalaria. Origin: OE. Laddre, AS. Hlder, hldder; akin to OFries. Hladder, OHG.leitara, G. Leiter, and from the root of E. Lean, v. See Lean, and cf. Climax. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| ladder splint | A flexible splint consisting of two stout parallel wires with finer cross wires. Synonym: Cramer wire splint. (05 Mar 2000) |
| laddering | Apoptotic cells show a regular pattern of oligonucleotide sizes on electrophoretic gels, the ladder like arrangement is a consequence of the cleavage of the DNA strand between nucleosome beads by endonucleases as part of the process by which cell death occurs. See: apoptosis. (18 Nov 1997) |
| sequence ladder | The array of bands, made conspicuous by labeling, when DNA fragmented by endonucleases is subject to gel electrophoresis; corresponds to the nucleotide sequence. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| fish ladder | A series of descending weirs which carry water around a dam or waterfall to facilitate the upstream migration of fish. (09 Oct 1997) |