| main | 1. Very or extremely strong. "That current with main fury ran." (Daniel) 2. Vast; huge. "The main abyss." 3. Unqualified; absolute; entire; sheer. "It's a man untruth." . 4. Principal; chief; first in size, rank, importance, etc. "Our main interest is to be happy as we can." (Tillotson) 5. Important; necessary. "That which thou aright Believest so main to our success, I bring." (Milton) By main force, by mere force or sheer force; by violent effort; as, to subdue insurrection by main force. "That Maine which by main force Warwick did win." (Shak) By main strength, by sheer strength; as, to lift a heavy weight by main strength. Main beam, the principal or true keel of a vessel, as distinguished from the false keel. Synonym: Principal, chief, leading, cardinal, capital. Origin: From Main strength, possibly influenced by OF. Maine, magne, great, L. Magnus. Cf. Magnate. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| main d'accoucheur | Position of the hand in tetany or in muscular dystrophy; the fingers are flexed at the metacarpophalangeal joints and extended at the phalangeal joints, with the thumb flexed and adducted into the palm; in resemblance to the position of the physician's hand in making a vaginal examination. Synonym: main d'accoucheur, obstetrical hand. (05 Mar 2000) |
| main en crochet | A permanent flexure of the fourth and fifth fingers, resembling the hand of a woman crocheting with three fingers bent to guide the thread. (05 Mar 2000) |
| main en griffe | Atrophy of the interosseous muscles of the hand with hyperextension of the metacarpophalangeal joints and flexion of the interphalangeal joints. Synonym: main en griffe. (05 Mar 2000) |
| main en lorgnette | A deformity of the hand seen in chronic absorptive arthritis, the fingers and wrists being shortened and the covering skin wrinkled into transverse folds; the phalanges appear to be retracted into one another like an opera glass or miniature telescope. Synonym: main en lorgnette. (05 Mar 2000) |
| main fourchee | A congenital deformity in which the division between the fingers, especially between the third and fourth, extends into the metacarpal region. See: lobster-claw deformity. Synonym: main fourchee, split hand. (05 Mar 2000) |
| main succulente | Oedema of the hand with coldness and lividity of the skin, observed in syringomyelia. Synonym: main succulente. (05 Mar 2000) |
| right main bronchus | It arises at the bifurcation of the trachea and enters the hilum of the right lung, giving off the superior lobe bronchus and continuing downward to give off the middle and inferior lobe bronchi. It is shorter, of greater caliber, and more nearly-vertical than the left main bronchus, thus, aspirated objects more frequently lodge on the right side. Synonym: bronchus principalis dexter. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left main bronchus | It arises at the bifurcation of the trachea, passes in front of the oesophagus and enters the hilum of the left lung where it divides into a superior lobe bronchus and an inferior lobe bronchus. It is longer, of narrower caliber, and more nearly-horizontal than the right main bronchus, hence, aspirated objects enter it less frequently. Synonym: bronchus principalis sinister. (05 Mar 2000) |
| affect memory | The emotional element recurring whenever a significant experience is recalled. (05 Mar 2000) |
| anterograde memory | Memory for that which occurred after an event such as a brain injury. (05 Mar 2000) |
| remote memory | Memory for events of long ago as opposed to recent events. (05 Mar 2000) |
| retrograde memory | Memory for that which occurred before an event such as a brain injury. (05 Mar 2000) |
| memory | Complex mental function having four distinct phases: (1) memorizing or learning, (2) retention, (3) recall, and (4) recognition. Clinically, it is usually subdivided into immediate, recent, and remote memory. (12 Dec 1998) |
| memory cell | <immunology> Cells of the immune system that do not respond immediately when it first encounters an antigen but facilitates the more rapid secondary response when the antigen is encountered on a subsequent occasion. The long lasting immune memory is humoral and resides in B-cells, although it appears that persistence of the antigen may be essential. T-cell memory is shorter. (14 Oct 1997) |