| SDU | standard deviation unit; step-down unit |
|---|---|
| SICU | spinal intensive care unit; surgical intensive care unit |
| SPU | short procedure unit; Society of Pediatric Urology; standardized photometric unit |
| SSU | self-service unit; sterile supply unit |
| TCU | trauma care unit; treatment control unit |
| Sherman unit | Unit of vitamin C, minimum protective dose; the minimum amount of vitamin C which, fed daily, will protect a 300-g guinea pig from scurvy for 90 days; equivalent to 0.5 to 0.6 mg of ascorbic acid. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| SI unit | <chemistry, physics> An International System of Units of measurement in which the fundamental units are standardised. Examples include: metre, kilometre, ampere, gray, joule, Sievert, Becquerel. Origin: Fr. Le Systeme International d'Unites (18 Nov 1997) |
| Somogyi unit | A measure of the level of activity of amylase in blood serum, as analyzed by means of the Somogyi method (the most frequently used procedure); one unit is equivalent to 1 mg of reducing sugar liberated as glucose per 100 ml of serum, when an aliquot of the latter is mixed with a standard starch substrate (plus sodium chloride for maximal activation) and incubated for a standard time; normal range is 80 to 150 unit's, but values are usually not regarded as clinically significant unless they are greater than 200. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Steenbock unit | A unit of vitamin D; the total amount of vitamin D which will produce within 10 days a narrow line of calcium deposit in the rachitic metaphyses of the distal ends of the radii and ulnae of standard rachitic rats. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nephelometric turbidity unit | A measurement unit of the clarity of water, dependent on the amount of suspended matter. (05 Dec 1998) |
| Dam unit | A unit of activity of vitamin K; the smallest amount of vitamin K, per gram of chick per day, capable of producing normal coagulability in the blood of K-avitaminotic chicks after 3 days of oral administration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Svedberg unit | A sedimentation constant of 1 × 10-13 seconds. (05 Mar 2000) |
| digitalis unit | The activity of 0.1 g of the international standard powdered digitalis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| diphtheria antitoxin unit | The antitoxin activity of 0.0628 mg standard diphtheria antitoxin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dog unit | The amount of adrenal cortical extract per kilogram of body weight which, given daily, will maintain an adrenalectomised dog in good condition for 7 to 10 days. (05 Mar 2000) |
| insulin unit | The activity contained in 1/22 mg of the international standard of zinc-insulin crystals. (05 Mar 2000) |
| intensive care unit | A hospital facility for provision of intensive nursing and medical care of critically ill patients, characterised by high quality and quantity of continuous nursing and medical supervision and by use of sophisticated monitoring and resuscitative equipment; may be organised for the care of specific patient groups, e.g., neonatal or newborn ICU, neurological ICU, pulmonary ICU. Synonym: critical care unit. (05 Mar 2000) |
| international unit | The amount of a substance, such as a drug, hormone, vitamin, enzyme, etc., that produces a specific effect as defined by an international body and accepted internationally; e.g., for an enzyme it is umole of product formed (or substrate consumed) per minute. Synonym: unit. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ostiomeatal unit | Point where the frontal and maxillary sinuses normally drain into the nasal cavity; obstruction produces inflammation of affected sinus cavities. Synonym: ostiomeatal unit. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Oxford unit | <microbiology> The minimum amount of penicillin which will prevent the growth of Staphylococcus aureus over an area 26 mm in diameter in a standard culture medium; 1 unit equals 0.6 ug of crystalline sodium salt of penicillin. Synonym: Florey unit. (05 Mar 2000) |