| LANC | long-arm navicular cast |
|---|---|
| LAR | laryngology; late asthmatic response; late reaction; left arm recumbent; leukocyte antigen-related |
| lar | larynx; left arm reclining |
| LAS | laboratory automation system; lateral amyotrophic sclerosis; laxative abuse syndrome; left anterior-... |
| MAMC | mean arm muscle circumference |
| sclerosis, multiple | The National Multiple Sclerosis Society says of ms that it is a disease that randomly attacks your central nervous system, wearing away the control you have over your body. Symptoms may range from numbness to paralysis and blindness. The progress, severity and specific symptoms cannot be foreseen. You never know when attacks will occur, how long they will last, or how severe they will be. most people are diagnosed with ms between the ages of 20 and 40. In medical terms, ms involves demyelinization of the white matter sometimes extending into the gray matter. Demyelinization is loss of myelin, the coating of nerve fibres composed of lipids (fats) and protein that serves as insulation and permits efficient nerve fibre conduction. The white matter is the part of the brain which contains myelinated nerve fibres and appears white, whereas the gray matter is the cortex of the brain which contains nerve cell bodies and appears gray. When myelin is damaged in ms, nerve fibre conduction is faulty or absent. Impaired bodily functions or altered sensations associated with those demyelinated nerve fibres give rise to the symptoms of ms. Recent research (1998) has also identified nerve cell death as part of the nervous system injury in ms. (12 Dec 1998) |
|---|---|
| psychotherapy, multiple | The use of more than one therapist at one time in individual or group psychotherapy. (12 Dec 1998) |
| neoplasms, multiple primary | Two or more abnormal growths of tissue occurring simultaneously. The neoplasms are histologically different and may be found in the same or different sites. (12 Dec 1998) |
| drug resistance, multiple | Simultaneous resistance to a broad spectrum of structurally and functionally distinct drugs following exposure to a single agent. It is thought to result from the overexpression of genes encoding an integral plasma membrane protein, p-glycoprotein. (12 Dec 1998) |
| exostoses, multiple hereditary | Hereditary disorder transmitted by an autosomal dominant gene and characterised by multiple exostoses (multiple osteochondromas) near the ends of long bones. The genetic abnormality results in a defect in the osteoclastic activity at the metaphyseal ends of the bone during the remodeling process in childhood or early adolescence. The metaphyses develop benign, bony outgrowths often capped by cartilage. A small number undergo neoplastic transformation. (12 Dec 1998) |
| familial multiple endocrine adenomatosis | The presence of functioning tumours in more than one endocrine gland, commonly the pancreatic islets and parathyroid glands, which may be associated with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome; dominant inheritance. Synonym: multiple endocrine adenomatosis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| law of multiple proportions | The relative weights in which two substances form a chemical union singly with a third are the same as, or simple multiples of, those in which they unite with each other; a corollary of the law of definite proportions. Synonym: law of multiple proportions. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lipomatosis, multiple symmetrical | Multiple circumscribed or encapsulated lipomas which may be distributed symmetrically or haphazardly or which may form a collar around the neck. (12 Dec 1998) |
| abstracting and indexing | Shortening or summarizing of documents; assigning of descriptors for referencing documents. (12 Dec 1998) |
| academies and institutes | Organizations representing specialised fields which are accepted as authoritative; may be non-governmental, university or an independent research organization, e.g., national academy of sciences, brookings institution, etc. (12 Dec 1998) |
| accounts payable and receivable | Short-term debt obligations and assets occurring in the regular course of operational transactions. (12 Dec 1998) |
| aged, 80 and over | A person 80 years of age and older. (12 Dec 1998) |
| algae and fungi | Algae represent a group of spore-propagating plants, unicellular or undifferentiated into root, stem, and leaf. They include seaweed and many unicellular fresh water plants, most of which contain chlorophyll. They account for about 90% of the earth's photosynthetic activity. Fungi are eukaryotic, heterotrophic organisms that live as saprobes or parasites and include mushrooms, yeasts, smuts, molds, etc. They lack chlorophyll. (12 Dec 1998) |
| alkyl and aryl transferases | <enzyme> A somewhat heterogeneous class of enzymes that catalyze the transfer of alkyl or related groups (excluding methyl groups). Registry number: EC 2.5 (12 Dec 1998) |
| allergy and immunology | A medical specialty concerned with the hypersensitivity of the individual to foreign substances and protection from the resultant infection or disorder. (12 Dec 1998) |