| shifting dullness | A sign of free peritoneal fluid wherein the dullness of percussion shifts, generally from one to the other, as the patient is turned from side to side. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| area of cardiac dullness | A triangular area determined by percussion of the front of the chest; it corresponds to the part of the heart that is not covered by lung tissue. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| shifting cultivation | A farming method where land is extensively used to cultivate crops for a few years, then allowed to lie fallow for several years, then used again. (09 Oct 1997) |
| shifting pacemaker | A disturbance of the normal cardiac rhythm in which the site of the controlling pacemaker shifts from beat to beat, usually between the sinus and A-V nodes, often with gradual sequential changes in P waves between upright and inverted in a given ECG lead. Synonym: shifting pacemaker. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dullness | Dulness The character of the sound obtained by percussing over a solid part incapable of resonating; usually applied to an area containing less air than those which can resonate. (05 Mar 2000) |