| pneumoperitoneum, artificial | Deliberate introduction of air into the peritoneal cavity. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| pneumoperitoneum | <radiology> Aetiology, iatrogenic, surgery, dialysis, spontaneous, peptic perforation, bowel obstruction, toxic megacolon, trauma, penetrating or blunt injury, miscellaneous, female genital tract (intercourse, douching, insufflation), pneumatosis intestinalis or coli duration, typically 4-5 days (up to 4 weeks), persists longer in adults than kids, and in thin people X-ray, upright chest or left lateral decubitus can detect 1 cc, gas under diaphragm or lateral liver margin, football sign, Rigler sign (12 Dec 1998) |
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| pneumoperitoneum in kids | <radiology> Premature infant: NEC most likely to be perforation, air-block most likely to be dissection of air from mediastinum, full-term infant: idiopathic gastric perforation, older kids: perforated peptic ulcer, rupture of Meckel diver, diseased bowel (12 Dec 1998) |
| artificial | Made by art, not natural or pathological. Origin: L. Ars = art, facere = to make (18 Nov 1997) |
| artificial active immunity | See: acquired immunity. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial anatomy | The manufacture of models of anatomic structures, or the study of anatomy from such models. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial ankylosis | <orthopaedics> The surgical immobilisation of a joint (joint fusion). (27 Sep 1997) |
| artificial anus | An opening into the bowel, usually in the right or left flank, as a result of a colostomy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial Carlsbad salt | A mixture of potassium sulfate, sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and dried sodium sulfate; a laxative. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial classification | <zoology> Classification based on convenient or conspicuous diagnostic characters without attention to characters indicating relationship, often a classification based on a single arbitrarily chosen character, rather than an evaluation of the totality of characters. (09 Jan 1998) |
| artificial crown | A fixed restoration of the major part of the entire coronal part of a natural tooth; usually of gold, porcelain, or acrylic resin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial dentition | <dentistry> A synthetic replacement for all of your teeth in either your upper or your lower jaw. (08 Jan 1998) |
| artificial eye | A curved disk of opaque glass or plastic, containing an imitation iris and pupil in the centre, inserted beneath the eyelids and supported by the orbital contents after evisceration or enucleation; it may be ready-made (stock) or custom-made. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial fever | 1. Obsolete synonym for pyrotherapy. 2. Treatment of fever. Synonym: artificial fever, induced fever. Origin: pyreto-+ G. Therapeia, treatment (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial heart | A mechanical pump used to replace the function of a damaged heart, either temporarily or as a permanent prosthesis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial heart valve | <cardiology> A synthetic or porcine (pigskin) valve surgically placed into the heart to replace a defective or malfunctioning valve. The aortic and mitral valves are the most frequently replaced with artificial valves. (27 Sep 1997) |