| vital node | A circumscript region in the lower part of the medulla oblongata, near the apex of the calamus scriptorius, interpreted by M. Flourens (1858) as a nerve centre controlling respiration. Synonym: vital knot, vital node. Origin: Fr. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| brilliant vital red | Trisodium salt of a sulfonated diazo dye (a ditolyl group diazotised to sulfonated aminonaphthalene residues), used as a vital stain. Synonym: brilliant vital red. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| vital | 1. Belonging or relating to life, either animal or vegetable; as, vital energies; vital functions; vital actions. 2. Contributing to life; necessary to, or supporting, life; as, vital blood. "Do the heavens afford him vital food?" (Spenser) "And vital virtue infused, and vital warmth." (Milton) 3. Containing life; living. "Spirits that live throughout, vital in every part." 4. Being the seat of life; being that on which life depends; mortal. "The dart flew on, and pierced a vital part." (Pope) 5. Very necessary; highly important; essential. "A competence is vital to content." (Young) 6. Capable of living; in a state to live; viable. "Pythagoras and Hippocrates . . . Affirm the birth of the seventh month to be vital." (Sir T. Browne) Vital air, oxygen gas; so called because essential to animal life. <physiology> Vital capacity, the breathing capacity of the lungs; expressed by the number of cubic inches of air which can be forcibly exhaled after a full inspiration. Vital force. <biology> See Tripod. <botany> Vital vessels, a name for latex tubes, now disused. See Latex. Origin: F, fr. L. Vitalis, fr. Vita life; akin to vivere to live. See Vivid. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| vital capacity | <chest medicine, physiology> The volume of gas that can be expelled from the lungs from a position of full inspiration, with no limit to the duration of expiration, it is equal to the inspiratory capacity plus the expiratory reserve volume. (11 Nov 1997) |
| vital centre | Centre essential to life; usually refers to the centres located in the medulla oblongata which are necessary for the maintenance of respiration and circulation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital index | The ratio of births to deaths within a population during a given time. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital knot | A circumscript region in the lower part of the medulla oblongata, near the apex of the calamus scriptorius, interpreted by M. Flourens (1858) as a nerve centre controlling respiration. Synonym: vital knot, vital node. Origin: Fr. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital pulp | A pulp composed of viable tissue, either normal or diseased, that responds to electric stimuli and to heat and cold. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital red | Trisodium salt of a sulfonated diazo dye (a ditolyl group diazotised to sulfonated aminonaphthalene residues), used as a vital stain. Synonym: brilliant vital red. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital signs | Manifestation of breathing, heartbeat, and sustained blood pressure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital spirits | In the galenical teachings, a vital essence or principle supposed to be generated from the air or pneuma in the left ventricle of the heart; carried in the blood to the brain, it was converted to animal spirit's which then flowed along the nerves to all parts of the body. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital stain | <technique> A stain that is taken up by live cells and that can be used to stain, for example: a group of cells in a developing embryo in order to try to determine a fate map. (18 Nov 1997) |
| vital statistics | Used for general articles concerning statistics of births, deaths, marriages, etc. (12 Dec 1998) |
| vital tooth | A tooth with a living pulp. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital tripod | The brain, the heart, and the lungs, regarded as the three organs essential to life. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital ultraviolet | Rays necessary or helpful to normal growth; they promote calcium metabolism, are antirachitic in action, and have wavelengths between 3200 and 2900 A |