| penduline | <zoology> A European titmouse (Parus, or aegithalus, pendulinus). It is noted for its elegant pendulous purselike nest, made of the down of willow trees and lined with feathers. Origin: F. See Pendulum. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| pendulous | Drooping, of ovules, attached at the top of the ovary and hanging downwards from an apical placenta. (09 Oct 1997) |
| pendulous abdomen | An abdomen with greatly relaxed walls that sag down over the pubic region. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pendulous heart | An extreme form of cor mobile in which the heart appears to be suspended by the great vessels. Synonym: pendulous heart. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pendulous palate | A conical projection from the posterior edge of the middle of the soft palate, composed of connective tissue containing a number of racemose glands, and some muscular fibres (uvulae muscle). Synonym: uvula palatina, pendulous palate. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pendulum | Origin: NL, fr. L. Pendulus hanging, swinging. See Pendulous. A body so suspended from a fixed point as to swing freely to and fro by the alternate action of gravity and momentum. It is used to regulate the movements of clockwork and other machinery. The time of oscillation of a pendulum is independent of the arc of vibration, provided this arc be small. Ballistic pendulum. See Ballistic. Compensation pendulum, a clock pendulum in which the effect of changes of temperature of the length of the rod is so counteracted, usually by the opposite expansion of differene metals, that the distance of the center of oscillation from the center of suspension remains invariable; as, the mercurial compensation pendulum, in which the expansion of the rod is compensated by the opposite expansion of mercury in a jar constituting the bob; the gridiron pendulum, in which compensation is effected by the opposite expansion of sets of rodsof different metals. Compound pendulum, an ordinary pendulum; so called, as being made up of different parts, and contrasted with simple pendulum. Conical or Revolving, pendulum, a weight connected by a rod with a fixed point; and revolving in a horizontal cyrcle about the vertical from that point. Pendulum bob, the weight at the lower end of a pendulum. Pendulum level, a plumb level. See Level. Pendulum wheel, the balance of a watch. Simple or Theoretical, pendulum, an imaginary pendulum having no dimensions except length, and no weight except at the center of oscillation; in other words, a material point suspended by an ideal line. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| pendulum rhythm | A condition in which the cadence of the heart sounds resembles that of the foetus, the first and second sounds becoming alike and evenly spaced; a sign of serious myocardial disease. Synonym: pendulum rhythm, tic-tac rhythm, tic-tac sounds. Origin: embryo-+ G. Kardia, heart (05 Mar 2000) |
| penectomy | Synonym: phallectomy. Origin: L. Penis + G. Ektome, excision (05 Mar 2000) |
| penelope | <zoology> A genus of curassows, including the guans. Origin: From. L. Penelope, the wife of Ulysses, the hero of the Odyssey, Gr. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| penes | Plural of penis, as in diphallus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| penetrance | The proportion of individuals with a specific genotype who express that character in the phenotype. (18 Nov 1997) |
| penetrant trait | A trait that in the appropriate genotypes is phenotypically manifest; strictly, it is the trait that is penetrant, not the gene. See: penetrance. (05 Mar 2000) |
| penetrate | 1. To enter into; to make way into the interior of; to effect an entrance into; to pierce; as, light penetrates darkness. 2. To affect profoundly through the senses or feelings; to touch with feeling; to make sensible; to move deeply; as, to penetrate one's heart with pity. "The translator of Homer should penetrate himself with a sense of the plainness and directness of Homer's style." (M. Arnold) 3. To pierce into by the mind; to arrive at the inner contents or meaning of, as of a mysterious or difficult subject; to comprehend; to understand. "Things which here were too subtile for us to penetrate." (Ray) Origin: L. Penetratus, p.p. Of penetrare to penetrate; akin to penitus inward, inwardly, and perh. To pens with, in the power of, penus store of food, innermost part of a temple. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| penetrating keratoplasty | Corneal transplant with replacement of all layers of the cornea, but retaining the peripheral cornea. Synonym: perforating keratoplasty. (05 Mar 2000) |
| penetrating ulcer | An ulcer extending into deeper tissues of an organ. (05 Mar 2000) |