| PFU | plaque-forming unit; pock-forming unit |
|---|---|
| PI | first meiotic prophase; isoelectric point; pacing impulse; package insert; pancreatic insufficiency;... |
| PN | papillary necrosis; parenteral nutrition; penicillin; perceived noise; percussion note; periarteriti... |
| PrA-HPA | protein A hemolytic plaque assay |
| PRNT | plaque reduction neutralization test |
| dental plaque | <dentistry> A soft, thin film of food debris, mucin and dead epithelial cells deposited on the teeth, providing the medium for the growth of various bacteria. The main inorganic components are calcium and phosphorus with small amounts of magnesium, potassium and sodium, the organic matrix consists of polysaccharides, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and other components. Plaque plays an important aetiological role in the development of dental caries and periodontal and gingival diseases and provides the base for the development of materia alba, calcified plaque forms dental calculus. (19 Mar 1998) |
|---|---|
| dental plaque index | An index which scores the degree of dental plaque accumulation. (12 Dec 1998) |
| fibrous plaque | Thickened area of arterial intima with accumulation of smooth muscle cells and fibrous tissue (collagen etc.) produced by the fat laden smooth muscle cells. Below the thickening may be free extracellular lipid and debris that, if much necrosis is also present, is referred to as an atheroma. (18 Nov 1997) |
| amyloid | Glycoprotein deposited extracellularly in tissues in amyloidosis. The glycoprotein may either derive from light chain of immunoglobulin (AIO (amyloid of immune origin): 5-18 kD glycoprotein, product of a single clone of plasma cells, the N terminal part of lambda or kappa light chain) or, in what used to be referred to as AUO, amyloid of unknown origin, from serum amyloid A (SAA), one of the acute phase proteins that increases many fold in inflammation. The polypeptides are organised as a _ pleated sheet making the material rather inert and insoluble. Minor protein components are also found. Should be distinguished from _ amyloid deposited in the brain and that is derived from amyloid precursor protein (see amyloidogenic glycoprotein. (18 Nov 1997) |
| amyloid A-degrading serine protease | <enzyme> Reduced in amyloidosis associated with rheumatoid arthritis Registry number: EC 3.4.21.- Synonym: amyloid a-degrading activity, aad-protease (26 Jun 1999) |
| amyloid angiopathy | Deposition of acellular hyaline material in small arteries and arterioles of the leptomeninges and cerebral cortex in the elderly with resulting predilection for recurrent lobar intraparenchymal haematomas. (05 Mar 2000) |
| amyloid beta-protein | A 4 kD protein, 39-43 amino acids long, expressed by a gene located on chromosome 21. It is the major protein subunit of the vascular and plaque amyloid filaments in individuals with alzheimer's disease and in aged individuals with trisomy 21 (down syndrome). The protein is found predominantly in the nervous system, but there have been reports of its presence in non-neural tissue. (12 Dec 1998) |
| amyloid beta-protein precursor | A precursor to the amyloid-beta protein (beta/a4). Alterations in the expression of the amyloid beta-protein precursor (abpp) gene, located on chromosome 21, plays a role in the development of the neuropathology common to both alzheimer disease and down syndrome. Abpp is associated with the extensive extracellular matrix secreted by neuronal cells. Upon cleavage, this precursor produces three proteins of varying amino acid lengths: 695, 751, and 770. The beta/a4 (695 amino acids) or beta-amyloid protein is the principal component of the extracellular amyloid in senile plaques found in alzheimer disease, down syndrome and, to a limited extent, in normal aging. (12 Dec 1998) |
| amyloid bodies of the prostate | An obsolete term for small masses of colloid material often present in the tubules of the gland. See: corpus amylaceum. (05 Mar 2000) |
| amyloid corpuscle | One of a number of small ovoid or rounded, sometimes laminated, bodies resembling a grain of starch and found in nervous tissue, in the prostate, and in pulmonary alveoli; of little pathological significance, and apparently derived from degenerated cells or proteinaceous secretions. Synonym: amniotic corpuscle, amylaceous corpuscle, amyloid corpuscle, colloid corpuscle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| amyloid degeneration | Infiltration of amyloid between cells and fibres of tissues and organs. Synonym: waxy degeneration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| amyloid kidney | A kidney in which amyloidosis has occurred, usually in association with some chronic illness such as multiple myeloma, tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, or other chronic suppurative inflammation; such kidney's are moderately enlarged and grossly manifest a waxy appearance, with amyloid deposited beneath the endothelium in the glomerular loops and in the arterioles, apparently beginning as foci of thickening of the basement membranes. Synonym: waxy kidney. (05 Mar 2000) |
| amyloid nephrosis | The nephrotic syndrome due to deposition of amyloid in the kidney. See: renal amyloidosis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| amyloid neuropathies | Disorders of the peripheral nervous system associated with deposition of amyloid. Amyloid neuropathies may result from non-hereditary or hereditary amyloidosis. Several different forms of familial amyloid neuropathies have been described, most of which have specific mutations in the prealbumin gene. (12 Dec 1998) |
| amyloid p component | Amyloid p component is a small, non-fibrillar glycoprotein found in normal serum and in all amyloid deposits. It has a pentagonal (pentaxin) structure. It acts as an acute phase protein in the mouse, modulates immunologic responses in man, inhibits elastase, and has been suggested as an indicator of liver disease. (12 Dec 1998) |