| laser-assisted balloon angioplasty | <cardiology, procedure> Techniques using laser energy in combination with a balloon catheter to perform angioplasty. These procedures can take several forms including: 1. Laser fibre delivering the energy while the inflated balloon centres the fibre and occludes the blood flow. 2. Balloon angioplasty immediately following laser angioplasty. 3. Laser energy transmitted through angioplasty balloons that contain an internal fibre. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| laser-doppler flowmetry | A method of non-invasive, continuous measurement of microcirculation. The technique is based on the values of the doppler effect of low-power laser light scattered randomly by static structures and moving tissue particulates. (12 Dec 1998) |
| lasering | The use of a laser beam to cut, divide, or dissolve a substance, or to treat an anatomical structure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lasers | Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. This phenomenon is brought about using devices that transform light of varying frequencies into a single intense, nearly nondivergent beam of monochromatic radiation in the visible region. Lasers operate in the visible, infrared, or ultraviolet regions of the spectrum. They are capable of producing immense heat and power when focused at close range and are used in surgical procedures, in diagnosis, and in physiologic studies. (12 Dec 1998) |
| laserwort | <botany> Any plant of the umbelliferous genus Laserpitium, of several species (as L. Glabrum, and L. Siler), the root of which yields a resinous substance of a bitter taste. The genus is mostly European. Origin: L.laser the juice of the laserwort. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| lash | An eyelash. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Lash's operation | Removal of a wedge of the internal cervical os with suturing of the internal os into a tighter canal structure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Lash, Abraham Fae | <person> U.S. Obstetrician-gynecologist, *1898. See: Lash's operation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Lasiohelea | A genus of small bloodsucking gnats. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lass | A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. Origin: OE. Lasse; prob. Of Celtic origin; cf. W. Llodes girl, fem. Of llawd lad. See Lad a youth. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| lassa fever | A severe form of epidemic fever first identified in Lassa, Nigeria. It is caused by the Lassa virus, a member of Arenaviridae. The illness is characterised by high fever, sore throat, muscle aches, skin rash (with haemorrhages), headache, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. A rat serves as a reservoir for the illness, but person to person transmission is also reported. (27 Sep 1997) |
| lassa haemorrhagic fever | A severe form of epidemic fever first identified in Lassa, Nigeria. It is caused by the Lassa virus, a member of Arenaviridae. The illness is characterised by high fever, sore throat, muscle aches, skin rash (with haemorrhages), headache, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. A rat serves as a reservoir for the illness, but person to person transmission is also reported. (27 Sep 1997) |
| Lassa virus | <virology> Virulent and highly transmissible arenavirus whose normal host is a rodent Mastomys natalensis), first recorded from Nigeria. (18 Nov 1997) |
| lassitude | Weakness, exhaustion. Origin: L. Lassitudo = weariness (18 Nov 1997) |
| lasso | Origin: Sp. Lazo, L. Laqueus. See Lace. A rope or long thong of leather with, a running noose, used for catching horses, cattle, etc. <zoology> Lasso cell, one of a peculiar kind of defensive and offensive stinging cells, found in great numbers in all coelenterates, and in a few animals of other groups. They are most highly developed in the tentacles of jellyfishes, hydroids, and Actiniae. Each of these cells is filled with, fluid, and contains a long, slender, often barbed, hollow thread coiled up within it. When the cell contracts the thread is quickly ejected, being at the same time turned inside out. The thread is able to penetrate the flesh of various small, soft-bodied animals, and carries a subtle poison by which they are speedily paralysed and killed. The threads, at the same time, hold the prey in position, attached to the tentacles. Some of the jellyfishes, as the Portuguese man-of-war, and Cyanea, are able to penetrate the human skin, and inflict painful stings in the same way. Synonym: nettling cell, cnida, cnidocell. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |