| caecum cupulare | The upper blind extremity of the cochlear duct. Synonym: caecum cupulare, cupular blind sac, lagena. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| caecum vestibulare | <anatomy> The lower extremity of the cochlear duct, occupying the cochlear recess in the vestibule. Synonym: caecum vestibulare, vestibular blind sac. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Caenorhabditis | A genus of small free-living nematodes. Two species, Caenorhabditis Elegans and Caenorhabditis Briggsae are much used in studies of genetics, development, aging, muscle chemistry, and neuroanatomy. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Caenorhabditis elegans | Nematode much used in lineage studies since the number of nuclei is determined and the nervous system is relatively simple. The organism can be maintained axenically and there are mutants in behaviour, in muscle proteins and in other features. Sperm are amoeboid and move by an unknown mechanism which does not seem to depend upon actin or tubulin. (18 Nov 1997) |
| caenorhabiditis elegans | <zoology> This is a free-living (non parasitic) species of nematode which makes a good model organism for biological study because it has a small genome of only six chromosomes. It also has a short generation time of about three days (at room temperature), and is easy to grow at high densities (up to 10,000 worms on one Petri dish). Caenorhabditis Elegans has been thoroughly studied by geneticists, developmental biologists and neurologists. The worms can be used to study genetic manipulation, gene therapy, and the molecular basis of differentiation during development. Much of the world's knowledge about aging, inheritance, and the factors which control gene expression during development comes from studying this and other nematodes. The full taxonomic classification of Caenorhabditis Elegans is: kingdom Animalia, phylum Nematoda, class Secernentea, subclass Rhabditia, order Rhabditida, family Rhabditidae. (21 Mar 1998) |
| caerulein | <chemical> A specific decapeptide obtained from the skin of hila caerulea, an Australian amphibian. Caerulein is similar in action and composition to cholecystokinin. It stimulates gastric, biliary, and pancreatic secretion and certain smooth muscle. It is used in paralytic ileus and as diagnostic aid in pancreatic malfunction. Pharmacological action: gastrointestinal agents. Chemical name: Caerulein (12 Dec 1998) |
| caerulin | <protein> Amphibian peptide hormone related to gastrin and cholecystokinin. (18 Nov 1997) |
| caesarian section | Procedure in which an infant, rather than being born vaginally, is surgically removed from the uterus. Also referred to as a C section. As the name Caesarian suggests, this is not exactly a new procedure. It was done in ancient civilizations upon the death of a near-full-term pregnant woman to salvage the baby. Julius Caesar (or one of his predecessors) was born by this procedure. Hence, the name Caesarian. The term section in surgery refers to the division of tissue. What is being divided here is the abdominal wall of the mother as well as the wall of the uterus in order to extract the baby. In Shakespeare's Macbeth the Witches' prophecy was that..none of woman born/ Shall harm Macbeth (IV.i). Unfortunately for Macbeth, the Scottish nobleman Macduff was from his mother's womb/ Untimely ripped. And thus not naturally born of woman (V.vii). Macduff was the only agent capable of destroying Macbeth. He killed Macbeth in battle. (12 Dec 1998) |
| caesium chloride | <chemical> Salt that yields aqueous solutions of high density. When equilibrium has been established between sedimentation and diffusion during ultracentrifugation, a linear density gradient is established in which macromolecules such as DNA band at a position corresponding to their own buoyant density. (18 Nov 1997) |
| caespitose | Growing in tufts. (09 Oct 1997) |
| cafe-au-lait spot | <dermatology> A pigmented cutaneous lesion, that can range from light to dark brown, and is due to an excess of melanosomes in the malpighian cells, rather than to an excess of melanocytes. Caf |
| caffearine | N-methylnicotinic acid;the methyl betaine of nicotinic acid; a product of the metabolism of nicotinic acid; excreted in the urine. Synonym: caffearine, trigenolline. (05 Mar 2000) |
| caffeate O-methyltransferase | <enzyme> Caffeic acid methylated to ferulic acid; a separate enzyme (EC 2.1.1.104) acts on caffeoyl-CoA; jrg5 isolated from barley Registry number: EC 2.1.1.68 Synonym: sam-ca-methyltransferase, s-adenosylmethionine caffeic acid o-methyltransferase, caffeic acid o-methyltransferase, 5-hydroxyferulic acid o-methyltransferase, bispecific o-methyltransferase, lignin o-methyltransferase, caffeic acid 3-o-methyltransferase, caomt protein, jrg5 gene product, omt1 protein (26 Jun 1999) |
| caffeate peroxidase | <enzyme> Catalyses dimerization of ferulic acid or caffeic acid via oxidative coupling and formation of beta,beta-linkage to lignan-type cpds 8,8'-bis(caffeic acid) or 8,8'-bis(ferulic acid) Registry number: EC 1.11.1.- (26 Jun 1999) |
| caffeic acids | 3,4-dihydroxycinnamic acids. A class of phenolic acids related to chlorogenic acid,p-coumaric acid, vanillic acid, etc., which are found in plant tissues. It is involved in plant growth regulation. (12 Dec 1998) |