| saturation | 1. The act of saturating, or the state of being saturating; complete penetration or impregnation. 2. <chemistry> The act, process, or result of saturating a substance, or of combining it to its fullest extent. 3. <optics> Freedom from mixture or dilution with white; purity; said of colours. The degree of saturation of a colour is its relative purity, or freedom from admixture with white. Origin: L. Saturatio: cf. F. Saturation. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
|---|---|
| saturation analysis | General term for an assay in which a binder competes for labelled versus unlabelled ligand; following separation of free and bound ligand, the ligand (the analyte assayed) is quantitated by relating bound and unbound ratios to known standards. See: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, radioreceptor assay, immunoassay, enzyme-multiplied immunoassay technique, radioimmunoassay. Synonym: displacement analysis, saturation analysis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| saturation index | An indication of the relative concentration of haemoglobin in the red blood cells, calculated as: grams of haemoglobin per 100 ml (expressed as percent of normal) ÷ haematocrit value (expressed as percent of normal) = saturation index The normal index for adults and infants is 0.97 to 1.02; in primary and secondary anaemia, the index is usually considerably less than 0.97. (05 Mar 2000) |
| saturation of receptors | Saturation, the state in which all receptors are effectively occupied all the time, can be said to occur in a simple binding equilibrium when the concentration of ligand is more than 5 times the Kd value, although strictly this will only be true at infinite ligand concentration. (18 Nov 1997) |
| secondary saturation | A technique of nitrous oxide anaesthesia consisting of an abrupt curtailment of the oxygen in the inhaled mixture to produce a deep plane of anaesthesia, following which oxygen is administered to correct hypoxia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| activated partial thromboplastin time | The time needed for plasma to form a fibrin clot following the addition of calcium and a phospholipid reagent; used to evaluate the intrinsic clotting system. (05 Mar 2000) |
| reaction of partial identity | See: gel diffusion precipitin tests in two dimensions. (05 Mar 2000) |
| partial | 1. Of, pertaining to, or affecting, a part only; not general or universal; not total or entire; as, a partial eclipse of the moon. "Partial dissolutions of the earth." 2. Inclined to favor one party in a cause, or one side of a question, more then the other; baised; not indifferent; as, a judge should not be partial. "Ye have been partial in the law." (Mal. Ii. 9) 3. Having a predelection for; inclined to favor unreasonably; foolishly fond. "A partial parent." "Not partial to an ostentatious display." (Sir W. Scott) 4. <botany> Pertaining to a subordinate portion; as, a compound umbel is made up of a several partial umbels; a leaflet is often supported by a partial petiole. Partial differentials, Partial differential coefficients, Partial differentiation, etc. (of a function of two or more variables), the differentials, differential coefficients, differentiation etc, of the function, upon the hypothesis that some of the variables are for the time constant. <mathematics> Partial fractions, the simple tones which in combination form an ordinary tone; the overtones, or harmonics, which, blending with a fundamental tone, cause its special quality of sound, or timbre, or tone colour. See, also, Tone. Origin: F, fr. LL. Partials, fr. L. Pars, gen. Partis, a part; cf. (for sense 1) F. Partiel. See Part. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| partial adrenocortical insufficiency | Normal basal adrenocortical function with failure of adrenocortical reserve to respond to ACTH stimulation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| partial agglutinin | Immune agglutinin present in an antiserum in lesser concentration than the major agglutinin. Synonym: partial agglutinin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| partial anencephaly | Congenital failure of the cerebrum to develop normally; usually the cerebellum and basal ganglia are represented at least in rudimentary form. Synonym: partial anencephaly. Origin: hemi-+ G. Kephale, head (05 Mar 2000) |
| partial aneuploidy | A type of mosaicism in which some cells have a normal number of chromosomes and some have an abnormal number. (05 Mar 2000) |
| partial anodontia | A condition of having fewer than the normal complement of teeth, either congenital or acquired. Synonym: oligodontia, partial anodontia. Origin: hypo-+ G. Odous, tooth (05 Mar 2000) |
| partial antigen | <immunology, molecular biology> Could be considered an isolated epitope: although a hapten (by definition) has an antibody directed against it, the hapten alone will not induce an immune response if injected into an animal, it must be conjugated to a carrier (usually a protein). The hapten constitutes a single antigenic determinant, perhaps the best known example is dinitro phenol (DNP) that can be conjugated to BSA and against which antiDNP antibodies are produced (antibodies to the BSA can be adsorbed out). Because the hapten is monovalent, immune complex formation will be blocked if the soluble hapten is present as well as the hapten carrier conjugate (assuming there is more than one hapten per carrier then an immune precipitate can be formed). Competitive inhibition by the soluble small molecule is sometimes referred to as haptenic inhibition and this term has carried over into lectin mediated haemagglutination where monosaccharides are added to try to block haemagglutination: the blocking sugar defines the specificity of the lectin. (18 Nov 1997) |
| partial breech extraction | Assisted breech delivery by the obstetrician with spontaneous delivery of the foetus to the level of the umbilicus. (05 Mar 2000) |