| obstetrics | A branch of medicine dealing with the care of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the period during which they recover from childbirth. Origin: L. Obstetricius (09 Oct 1997) |
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| obstetrics and gynecology department, hospital | Hospital department responsible for the administration and management of services provided for obstetric and gynecologic patients. (12 Dec 1998) |
| obstinacy | 1. A fixedness in will, opinion, or resolution that can not be shaken at all, or only with great difficulty; firm and usually unreasonable adherence to an opinion, purpose, or system; unyielding disposition; stubborness; pertinacity; persistency; contumacy. "You do not well in obstinacy To cavil in the course of this contract." (Shak) "To shelter their ignorance, or obstinacy, under the obscurity of their terms." (Locke) 2. The quality or state of being difficult to remedy, relieve, or subdue; as, the obstinacy of a disease or evil. Synonym: Pertinacity, firmness, resoluteness, inflexibility, persistency, stubbornness, perverseness, contumacy. Obstinacy, Pertinacity. Pertinacity denotes great firmness in holding to a thing, aim, etc. Obstinacy is great firmness in holding out against persuasion, attack, etc. The former consists in adherence, the latter in resistance. An opinion is advocated with pertinacity or defended with obstinacy. Pertinacity is often used in a good sense; obstinacy generally in a bad one. "In this reply was included a very gross mistake, and if with pertinacity maintained, a capital error." . "Every degree of obstinacy in youth is one step to rebellion." . See: Obstinate. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| obstinate | 1. Firmly adhering to one's own purpose, opinion, etc. Even when wrong; not yielding to argument, persuasion, or entreaty. Synonym: intractable, refractory. Synonym: refractory. Origin: L. Obstinatus, determined (05 Mar 2000) |
| obstipation | Intractable constipation. Origin: L. Obstipatio (18 Nov 1997) |
| obstruction | 1. The act of blocking or clogging. 2. The state or condition of being clogged. Origin: L. Obstructio (18 Nov 1997) |
| obstructive apnea | Peripheral apnea, apnea either as the result of obstruction of the air passages or inadequate respiratory muscle activity. (05 Mar 2000) |
| obstructive appendicitis | Acute appendicitis due to infection of retained secretion behind an obstruction of the lumen by a fecalith or some other cause, including carcinoma of the caecum. (05 Mar 2000) |
| obstructive dysmenorrhoea | Dysmenorrhoea due to obstruction of discharge of menstrual blood, as in cervical stenosis. Synonym: obstructive dysmenorrhoea. (05 Mar 2000) |
| obstructive hydrocephalus | Hydrocephalus secondary to a block in cerebrospinal fluid flow in the ventricular system or between the ventricular system and spinal canal. Synonym: noncommunicating hydrocephalus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| obstructive jaundice | Jaundice resulting from obstruction to the flow of bile into the duodenum, whether intra-or extrahepatic. Synonym: mechanical jaundice. (05 Mar 2000) |
| obstructive lung disease | <chest medicine> A form of lung disease that manifests as acute or chronic, narrowing or blockage of the smaller airways in the lungs, causing increased resistance to airflow in the bronchial tubes (for example asthma, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from smoking). (27 Sep 1997) |
| obstructive murmur | A murmur caused by narrowing of one of the valvular orifices. (05 Mar 2000) |
| obstructive pneumonia | Infection of lung resulting from obstruction of airway, by narrowing resulting from previous disease process, persistent bronchospasm, thick secretions or by aspiration of a foreign body. (05 Mar 2000) |
| obstructive pulmonary overinflation | Emphysema caused by obstruction of airways that has greater effect on expiration than inspiration; occurs reversibly with bronchospasm of asthma; localised process can be due to aspiration of a foreign body. (05 Mar 2000) |