| vegetative nervous system | <anatomy> Neurons that are not under conscious control, comprising two antagonistic components, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The autonomic nervous system regulates key functions including the activity of the cardiac (heart) muscle, smooth muscles (e.g., of the gut), and glands. The autonomic nervous system has two divisions: 1. The sympathetic nervous system that accelerates the heart rate, constricts blood vessels, and raises blood pressure. 2. The parasympathetic nervous system slows the heart rate, increases intestinal and gland activity, and relaxes sphincter muscles. (03 Jul 1999) |
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| vegetative | 1. Concerned with growth and with nutrition. 2. Functioning involuntarily or unconsciously, as the vegetative nervous system. 3. Resting, denoting the portion of a cell cycle during which the cell is not involved in replication. 4. Of, pertaining to or characteristic of plants. (18 Nov 1997) |
| vegetative bacteriophage | The form of bacteriophage in which the bacteriophage nucleic acid (lacking its coat) multiplies freely within the host bacterium, independently of bacterial multiplication. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vegetative endocarditis | <cardiology, pathology> Endocarditis associated with the presence of fibrinous clots (vegetations) forming on the ulcerated surfaces of the valves. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vegetative fish cover | <ecology> Vegetation materials, such as algal mats and organic debris, capable of providing protection for fish and other aquatic organisms. (06 Mar 2000) |
| 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) |
| vegetative pole | The part of a telolecithal egg where the bulk of the yolk is situated. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vegetative propagation | Propagation without pollination by way of separating vegetative parts (i.e., branches, stolons, buds) from the mother plant and planting them so they take root and grow. (09 Oct 1997) |
| vegetative reproduction | <biology, microbiology> Reproduction in which an organism produces one or more clones of itself, such as by fission or budding. (09 Oct 1997) |
| vegetative stage | The quiescent stage of a cell or its nucleus in which no karyokinetic changes are taking place. Synonym: vegetative stage. (05 Mar 2000) |
| persistent vegetative state | A persistent loss of upper cortical function that may follow acute (e.g., infections, toxins, trauma or vascular) events or chronic (e.g., degenerative) events. The patient is bedridden and nutritional support is completely passive, either parenteral or via nasogastric tube. The patient does not require respiratory support or circulatory assistance for survival and is in a state of chronic wakefulness without awareness which may be accompanied by spontaneous eye opening, grunts or screams, brief smiles, sporadic movement of facial muscles and limbs. While the eyes blink upon stimulation, they do not do so in response to visual threats. Some patients chew or clamp their teeth. Urinary and faecal incontinence is universal. (12 Dec 1998) |
| autonomic nervous system | <anatomy> Neurons that are not under conscious control, comprising two antagonistic components, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The autonomic nervous system regulates key functions including the activity of the cardiac (heart) muscle, smooth muscles (e.g., of the gut), and glands. The autonomic nervous system has two divisions: 1. The sympathetic nervous system that accelerates the heart rate, constricts blood vessels, and raises blood pressure. 2. The parasympathetic nervous system slows the heart rate, increases intestinal and gland activity, and relaxes sphincter muscles. (03 Jul 1999) |
| autonomic nervous system diseases | Diseases that have their major effects on the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system may be seriously affected in many other disorders including other peripheral nervous system diseases, infectious diseases (e.g., tetanus, diphtheria), immunologic diseases (e.g., acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), and systemic disorders (e.g., diabetic neuropathy, amyloid neuropathy, thyroid diseases). Disorders of central autonomic control also contribute substantially to a wide variety of problems (e.g., eating disorders, panic disorder, water-electrolyte imbalance, cardiovascular diseases). (12 Dec 1998) |
| ventral nervous system defective | <molecular biology> A Drosophila gene encoding an integral membrane glycoprotein related to amyloidogenic glycoprotein. (12 Jan 1998) |
| parasympathetic nervous system | <anatomy, neurology> One of the two divisions of the vertebrate autonomic nervous sytem. Parasympathetic nerves emerge cranially as pre ganglionic fibres from oculomotor, facial, glossopharyngeal and vagus and from the sacral region of the spinal cord. most neurons are cholinergic and responses are mediated by muscarinic receptors. The parasympathetic system innervates, for example: salivary glands, thoracic and abdominal viscera, bladder and genitalia. Compare:. Sympathetic nervous system. (18 Nov 1997) |