| refractive errors | Deviations from the average or standard indices of refraction of the eye through its dioptric or refractive apparatus. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| refractive | Serving or having power to refract, or turn from a direct course; pertaining to refraction; as, refractive surfaces; refractive powers. Refractive index. <medicine> The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction for a ray passing out of one of the media into the other. Origin: Cf. F. Refractif. See Refract. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| refractive accommodative esotropia | That type of esotropia eliminated by correction of hypermetropic refractive error. (05 Mar 2000) |
| refractive amblyopia | A suppression of central vision due to an unequal refractive error (anisometropia) of at least two diopters. This induces a sufficient difference in image size (aniseikonia) that the two images cannot be fused. In order to avoid confusion, the blurrier image is suppressed. Synonym: refractive amblyopia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| refractive index | <microscopy> The ratio of the velocity of light in a vacuum to the velocity in some medium. Refractive index generally increases with the atomic number of the constituent atoms. (05 Aug 1998) |
| refractive keratoplasty | Any procedure in which the shape of the cornea is modified, with the intent of changing the refractive error of the eye; for example, if the cornea is flattened, the eye becomes less myopic. See: photorefractive keratectomy, keratophakia, lamellar keratoplasty, thermokeratoplasty, keratomileusis, radial keratotomy. Synonym: keratorefractive surgery. (05 Mar 2000) |
| refractive keratotomy | Modification of corneal curvature by means of corneal incisions to minimise hyperopia, myopia, or astigmatism.In this type of radial keratotomy surgery, performed by excimer laser, pie-shaped pieces of cornea are removed under local anaesthetic. The resulting scar tissue formation reshapes the cornea. This class of surgery is somewhat unpredictable, and its long-term effects are still unknown. (05 Mar 2000) |
| renal tubular transport, inborn errors | Genetically determined disorders of the reabsorptive functions of the kidney with regard to specific nephron segments responsible for specific transport functions, classifiable by proximal nephron function, loop of henle function, and distal nephron function. The transport defects can be selective or nonselective. (12 Dec 1998) |
| medical errors | Errors or mistakes committed by health professionals which result in harm to the patient. They include errors in diagnosis (diagnostic errors), errors in the administration of drugs and other medications (medication errors), errors in the performance of surgical procedures, in the use of other types of therapy, in the use of equipment, and in the interpretation of laboratory findings. Medical errors are differentiated from malpractice in that the former are regarded as honest mistakes or accidents while the latter is the result of negligence, reprehensible ignorance, or criminal intent. (12 Dec 1998) |
| medication errors | Errors in prescribing, dispensing, or administering medication with the result that the patient fails to receive the correct drug or the proper dose of the drug in the treatment of his disease. (12 Dec 1998) |
| pyruvate metabolism, inborn errors | Hereditary disorders of pyruvate metabolism. They are difficult to diagnose and describe because pyruvate is a key intermediate in glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Some inherited metabolic disorders may alter pyruvate metabolism indirectly. Disorders in pyruvate metabolism appear to lead to deficiencies in neurotransmitter synthesis and, consequently, to nervous system disorders. (12 Dec 1998) |
| diagnostic errors | Incorrect diagnoses after clinical examination or technical diagnostic procedures. (12 Dec 1998) |
| inborn errors of metabolism | Term coined by A. Garrod in 1908 applying to heritable disorders of biochemistry. Examples include albinism, cystinuria (a cause of kidney stones) and phenylketonuria (pku) are a few of the hundreds of inborn errors of metabolism. (12 Dec 1998) |
| fructose metabolism, inborn errors | Inherited abnormalities of fructose metabolism, which include three known autosomal recessive types: hepatic fructokinase deficiency (essential fructosuria), hereditary fructose intolerance, and hereditary fructose-1,6-diphosphatase deficiency. Essential fructosuria is a benign asymptomatic metabolic disorder caused by deficiency in fructokinase, leading to decreased conversion of fructose to fructose-1-phosphate and alimentary hyperfructosaemia, but with no clinical dysfunction; may produce a false-positive diabetes test. (12 Dec 1998) |