| sentinel | 1. One who watches or guards; specifically, a soldier set to guard an army, camp, or other place, from surprise, to observe the approach of danger, and give notice of it; a sentry. "The sentinels who paced the ramparts." (Macaulay) 2. Watch; guard. "That princes do keep due sentinel." 3. <zoology> A marine crab (Podophthalmus vigil) native of the Indian Ocean, remarkable for the great length of its eyestalks. Synonym: sentinel crab. Origin: F. Sentinelle (cf. It. Sentinella); probably originally, a litle path, the sentinel's beat, and a dim. Of a word meaning, path; cf. F. Sente path. L. Semita; and OF. Sentine, sentele, senteret, diminutive words. Cf. Sentry. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| sentinel animal | An animal deliberately placed in a particular environment to detect the presence of an infectious agent, such as a virus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| sentinel gland | A single enlarged lymph node in the omentum that may be an indication of an ulcer opposite to it in the greater or lesser curvature of the stomach. (05 Mar 2000) |
| sentinel loop sign | In gastrointestinal radiology, dilatation of a segment of large or small intestine, indicative of localised ileus from nearby inflammation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| sentinel pile | A circumscribed thickening of the mucous membrane at the lower end of a fissure of the anus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| sentinel spinous process fracture | Fracture of the spinous process with undetected deeper fracture's of the vertebral arch. (05 Mar 2000) |
| sentinel surveillance | Monitoring of rate of occurrence of specific conditions to assess the stability or change in health levels of a population. It is also the study of disease rates in a specific cohort, geographic area, population subgroup, etc. To estimate trends in larger population. (12 Dec 1998) |
| sentinel tag | Projecting edematous skin at the lower end of an anal fissure. (05 Mar 2000) |