| vital tripod | The brain, the heart, and the lungs, regarded as the three organs essential to life. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| Haller's tripod | Origin, abdominal aorta just below diaphragm; branches, left gastric, common hepatic, splenic. Synonym: truncus coeliacus, arteria coeliaca, coeliac artery, coeliac axis, Haller's tripod. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tripod | 1. Any utensil or vessel, as a stool, table, altar, caldron, etc, supported on three feet. On such, a stool, in the temple of Apollo at Delphi, the Pythian priestess sat while giving responses to those consulting the Delphic oracle. 2. A three-legged frame or stand, usually jointed at top, for supporting a theodolite, compass, telescope, camera, or other instrument. <physiology> Tripod of life, or Vital tripod, the three organs, the heart, lungs, and brain; so called because their united action is necessary to the maintenance of life. Origin: L. Tripus, -odis, Gr.; (see Tri-) +, foot. See Foot, and cf. Tripos, Trivet. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| tripod fracture | <radiology> Malar fracture, trimalar fracture, inferior orbital rim, lateral orbital wall, fracture/dislocation of zygomatic arch (12 Dec 1998) |
| advanced life support | Definitive emergency medical care that includes defibrillation, airway management, and use of drugs and medications. Compare: basic life support. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial life | Artificial life (AL, alife) is a scientific discipline in whichresearchers study life by creating computer programs that recreatebiological systems from scratch. (09 Oct 1997) |
| basic life support | Emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation, control of bleeding, treatment of shock, acidosis, and poisoning, stabilization of injuries and wounds, and basic first aid. (05 Mar 2000) |
| biological half-life | <biochemistry, biology> This is the time required for one-half of the total amount of a particular substance in a biological system to be consumed or broken down by biological processes when the rate of removal is approximately exponential. Toxic chemicals with a long biological half-life (such as some pesticides) will tend to accumulate in the body and are, therefore, more likely to be harmful. A substance with a short biological half-life may still accumulate if a portion of it it becomes tightly bound to bone or other tissues, even if most of it is quickly cleared from the body. (21 Mar 1998) |
| vegetative life | The simple metabolic and reproductive activity of humans or animals, apart from the exercise of conscious mental or psychic processes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| germ-free life | Animals not contaminated by or associated with any foreign organisms. (12 Dec 1998) |
| change of life | Colloquialism for menopause, climacteric. (05 Mar 2000) |
| RNA life | <biology, molecular biology> A hypothetical life form lacking DNA and protein which may have existed on early earth and in which RNA served both a genetic coding and a catalytic function. (23 Aug 1998) |
| physical half-life | The time required for half the atoms of a radionuclide to undergo disintegration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| wrongful life | In civil law a cause of action which alleges that a defendant has wrongfully caused a child to be born. (12 Dec 1998) |
| postnatal life | That interval of life after birth; in man, usually divided into periods: neonatal, infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. (05 Mar 2000) |