| artificial heart | A mechanical pump used to replace the function of a damaged heart, either temporarily or as a permanent prosthesis. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| artificial heart valve | <cardiology> A synthetic or porcine (pigskin) valve surgically placed into the heart to replace a defective or malfunctioning valve. The aortic and mitral valves are the most frequently replaced with artificial valves. (27 Sep 1997) |
| artificial insemination | <gynaecology> The placement of a sperm sample inside the female reproductive tract to improve the female's chances of getting pregnant. (See also intracervical insemination, intrauterine insemination, intratubal insemination). (09 Oct 1997) |
| artificial intelligence | In a nutshell, artificial intellence (AI) is the study of how to create acomputer that can think like a human being. See also expert systems and machine learning. (09 Oct 1997) |
| artificial kidney | A machine for haemodialysis in acute or chronic renal failure; toxic substances in the blood are removed by exposure to dialyzing fluid across a semipermeable membrane. Synonym: artificial kidney. Ultrafiltration haemodialyzer, a haemodialyzer that uses fluid pressure differentials to bring about loss (usually) of protein-free fluid from the blood to the bath, as in certain edematous conditions. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial Kissingen salt | A mixture of potassium chloride, sodium chloride, anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and sodium bicarbonate; an antacid and laxative. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial life | Artificial life (AL, alife) is a scientific discipline in whichresearchers study life by creating computer programs that recreatebiological systems from scratch. (09 Oct 1997) |
| artificial limbs | Prosthetic replacements for arms, legs, and parts therof. (12 Dec 1998) |
| artificial melanin | A dark pigment, resembling melanin, formed from glucosamines in chitin. Synonym: artificial melanin, factitious melanin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial neural net | Artificial Neural Nets (ANN) are computer models of biological nerve cell networks. (09 Oct 1997) |
| artificial organs | Devices intended to replace non-functioning organs. They may be temporary or permanent. Since they are intended always to function as the natural organs they are replacing, they should be differentiated from prostheses and implants and specific types of prostheses which, though also replacements for body parts, are frequently cosmetic (eye, artificial) as well as functional (artificial limbs). (12 Dec 1998) |
| artificial pacemaker | Any device that substitutes for the normal pacemaker and controls the rhythm of the organ; especially an electronic cardiac pacemaker, which may be implanted in the chest, with electrodes attached to the external cardiac surface, or passed through the venous circulation into the right side of the heart (pervenous pacemaker). (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial passive immunity | See: acquired immunity. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial pneumothorax | Pneumothorax produced by the injection of air, or a more slowly absorbed gas such as nitrogen, into the pleural space to collapse the lung. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial pupil | An opening made by excision of a portion of the iris in order to improve the vision in cases of central opacity of the cornea or lens. (05 Mar 2000) |