| oval | 1. Of or pertaining to eggs; done in the egg, or inception; as, oval conceptions. 2. Having the figure of an egg; oblong and curvilinear, with one end broader than the other, or with both ends of about the same breadth; in popular usage, elliptical. 3. Broadly elliptical. A body or figure in the shape of an egg, or popularly, of an ellipse. 4. <geometry> Cassinian oval, the locus of a point the product of whose distances from two fixed points is constant; so called from Cassini, who first investigated the curve. Thus, the locus may consist of a single closed line, or of two equal ovals about points A and B. Origin: F. Ovale, fr. L. Ovum egg. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| oval amputation | Amputation in which the flaps are obained by oval incisions through the skin and muscle, rarely used term for oblique amputation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| oval area of Flechsig | A compact bundle composed of descending branches of posterior root fibres located near the border between the fasciculi gracilis and cuneatus of the cervical and thoracic spinal cord; it corresponds to the septomarginal fasciculus, Hoche's tract, or oval area of Flechsig in the lumbar, and to the triangle of Philippe-Gombault in the sacral spinal segments; like these, it can be demonstrated only in cases of demyelination resulting from dorsal root lesions. Synonym: fasciculus semilunaris, fasciculus interfascicularis, comma bundle of Schultze, comma tract of Schultze, interfascicular fasciculus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| oval corpuscle | One of numerous oval bodies found in the papillae of the skin, especially those of the fingers and toes; they consist of a connective tissue capsule in which the axon fibrils terminate around and between a pile of wedge-shaped epithelioid cells. Synonym: corpusculum tactus, Meissner's corpuscle, oval corpuscle, touch corpuscle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| oval fasciculus | A compact bundle composed of descending branches of posterior root fibres located near the border between the fasciculi gracilis and cuneatus of the cervical and thoracic spinal cord; it corresponds to the septomarginal fasciculus, Hoche's tract, or oval area of Flechsig in the lumbar, and to the triangle of Philippe-Gombault in the sacral spinal segments; like these, it can be demonstrated only in cases of demyelination resulting from dorsal root lesions. Synonym: fasciculus semilunaris, fasciculus interfascicularis, comma bundle of Schultze, comma tract of Schultze, interfascicular fasciculus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| oval window | Fenestra of the vestibule; an oval opening in the medial wall of the middle ear leading into the vestibule. Normally it is covered by the base of the stapes. (12 Dec 1998) |
| ovalbumen | <physiology> The albumin from white of eggs; egg albumin; in distinction from serum albumin. See Albumin. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| ovalbumin | <protein> A major protein constituent of egg white. A phosphoprotein of 386 amino acids (44 kD) with one N linked oligosaccharide chain. Synthesis is stimulated by oestrogen. The gene, of which there is only one in the chicken genome, has eight exons and is of 7.8 kbase, it was one of the first genes to be studied in this sort of detail. (18 Nov 1997) |
| ovalocyte | Synonym: elliptocyte. Origin: L. Ovalis, oval, + G. Kytos, cell (05 Mar 2000) |
| ovalocytic anaemia | Anaemia characterised by elliptical erythrocytes (ovalocytes) resembling those observed normally in camels; 1 to 15% of erythrocytes in nonanaemic persons may be oval, but greater proportions are observed in certain patients with microcytic anaemia. See: elliptocytosis. Synonym: cameloid anaemia, ovalocytic anaemia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ovalocytosis | <haematology> Hereditary disorder of erythrocytes relatively common in areas where malaria is endemic. Not only are the erythrocytes more rigid, but there is a mutation in Band III protein, the anion transporter. (18 Nov 1997) |
| valve of oval foramen | A fold projecting into the left atrium from the margin of the foramen ovale in the foetus; when, with beginning inspiration, the blood pressure within the left atrium increases, the valve closes and its edges become adherent to the margin of the foramen ovale, occluding it. Synonym: valvula foraminis ovalis, falx septi, valve of oval foramen. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| transverse oval pelvis | A pelvis in which the transverse diameter is more than 1 cm longer but less than 3 cm longer than the anteroposterior diameter. Synonym: transverse oval pelvis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| longitudinal oval pelvis | A pelvis in which the anteroposterior diameter is longer than the transverse. Synonym: longitudinal oval pelvis. (05 Mar 2000) |