| GCI | General Cognitive Index |
|---|---|
| GCRC | General Clinical Research Center [of NIH] |
| GCT | general care and treatment; germ-cell tumor; giant cell thyroiditis; giant cell tumor |
| GCWM | General Conference on Weights and Measures |
| GDC | giant dopamine-containing cell; General Dental Council |
| Freud's theory | A comprehensive theory of how personality is formed and develops in normal and emotionally disturbed individuals; e.g., that an attack of conversion hysteria is due to a psychic trauma which was not adequately reacted to at the time it was received, and persists as an affect memory. See: psychoanalysis. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| frontal zone contraction theory | Model proposed to account for the movement of giant amoebae in which cytoplasmic contraction at the front of the leading pseudopod (fountain zone) pulls viscoelastic cytoplasm forward in the centre of the cell and forms a tube of more rigid cytoplasm immediately below the plasma membrane behind the active region. The peripheral contracted cytoplasm relaxes into a weaker gel at the rear and is pulled forward in its turn. Contrasts with the ectoplasmic tube contraction model. (18 Nov 1997) |
| libido theory | Freud's theory that humans psychic life results mainly from instinctual or libidinal needs and the attempts to satisfy them. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Liebig's theory | That the hydrocarbons that oxidise readily and burn are aliments that produce the greatest quantity of animal heat. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lipoid theory of narcosis | That narcotic efficiency parallels the coefficient of partition between oil and water, and that lipoids in the cell and on the cell membrane absorb the drug because of this affinity. Synonym: Meyer-Overton theory of narcosis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| local circuit theory | <physiology> A generally accepted model for neuronal conduction, by which depolarisation of a small region of a neuronal plasma membrane produces transmembrane currents in the neighbouring regions, tending to depolarise them. As the sodium channels are voltage gated, the depolarisation causes further channels to open, thus propagating the action potential. (18 Nov 1997) |
| lymphatic dissemination theory of endometriosis | That endometrial tissue is transmitted by the lymphatic channels. (05 Mar 2000) |
| absolute system of units | A system based on absolute units accepted as being fundamental (length, mass, time) and from which other units (force, energy or work, power) are derived; such system's in common use are the foot-pound-second, centimeter-gram-second, and meter-kilogram-second system's. (05 Mar 2000) |
| absorbent system | <anatomy> The tissues and organs (including the bone marrow, spleen, thymus and lymph nodes) that produce and store cells that fight infection and the network of vessels that carry lymph. (12 May 1997) |
| alimentary system | The organs that are responsible for getting food into and out of the body and for making use of food to keep the body healthy. These include the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, small intestine, colon, and rectum. (12 Dec 1998) |
| anterolateral system | A composite bundle of fibres, located in the ventrolateral part of the lateral funiculus, containing spinothalamic, spinohypothalamic, spinoreticular, and spinomesencephalic (spinotectal, spinal to periaqueductal grey, etc.) fibres; occupies the combined areas of the spinal white matter historically divided into anterior and lateral spinothalamic tracts; located in white matter ventral to the denticulate ligament, hence the anatomical basis for the anterolateral cordotomy; concerned with the transmission of nociceptive and thermal information and with crude (nondiscriminative) touch. (05 Mar 2000) |
| anti-allergic and respiratory system agents | A collective term for drugs used to treat allergic reactions as well as those drugs that produce an effect on the respiratory system. (12 Dec 1998) |
| arch-loop-whorl system | See: Galton's system of classification of fingerprints. (05 Mar 2000) |
| association system | Groups or tracts of nerve fibres interconnecting different regions of one and the same major subdivision of the central nervous system, such as the various areas of the cerebral cortex or the various segments of the spinal cord. (05 Mar 2000) |
| 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) |