| exercise tolerance | The exercise capacity of an individual as measured by endurance (maximal exercise duration and/or maximal attained work load) during an exercise test. (12 Dec 1998) |
|---|---|
| exercise treadmill | A continuous EKG recording of the heart as the patient performs increasing levels of exercise. The exercise treadmill permits the detection of abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) and provides a screening test for the presence of narrowed arteries to the heart (coronary arteries). Narrowing of these arteries can limit the supply of oxygenated blood to the heart muscle during exercise. (12 Dec 1998) |
| assisted cephalic delivery | Extraction of a foetus that presents by the head. (05 Mar 2000) |
| assisted circulation | Pumping that aids the natural activity of the heart. (12 Dec 1998) |
| assisted mechanical ventilation | <anaesthetics> The use of a mechanical device to fill the lungs with oxygenated air then allow time for passive exhalation. (27 Sep 1997) |
| assisted reproductive technology | Originally, a range of techniques for manipulating eggs and sperm in order to overcome infertility. Encompasses drug treatments to stimulate ovulation; surgical methods for removing eggs (e.g., laparoscopy and ultrasound-guided transvaginal aspiration) and for reimplanting embryos (e.g., zygot intrafallopian transfer (or ZIFT); in vitro and in vivo fertilization (e.g., artificial insemination and gamete intrafallopian transfer (or GIFT); ex utero and in utero foetal surgery; as well as laboratory regimes for freezing and screening sperm and embryos, and micromanipulating and cloning embryos. The field's first major success came in 1978 with the birth of "test-tube baby" Louise Brown, engineered by Steptoe, Edwards, et al., of England. As the technologies spread, they increasingly are being employed for purposes beyond infertility, i.e., to reduce the risk of, or avoid passing on, hereditary disease and to select for infant sex. Further uses that would aim at improving the "quality" of offspring have been widely discussed and raise profound legal and ethical questions. See: eugenics. (05 Mar 2000) |
| assisted respiration | Application of mechanically or manually generated positive pressure to gas(es) in or about the airway during inhalation as a means of augmenting movement of gases into the lungs. Synonym: assisted respiration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| assisted ventilation | Application of mechanically or manually generated positive pressure to gas(es) in or about the airway during inhalation as a means of augmenting movement of gases into the lungs. Synonym: assisted respiration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| radiographic image interpretation, computer-assisted | Computer systems or networks designed to provide radiographic interpretive information. (12 Dec 1998) |
| radiotherapy, computer-assisted | Computer systems or programs used in accurate computations for providing radiation dosage treatment to patients. (12 Dec 1998) |
| radiotherapy planning, computer-assisted | Computer-assisted mathematical calculations of beam angles, intensities of radiation, and duration of irradiation in radiotherapy. (12 Dec 1998) |
| video-assisted thoracic surgery | A less morbid alternative to "open" thoracotomy that employs cameras, optic systems, percutaneous stapling devices, and assorted endoscopic graspers, retractors, and forceps. Also called video thoracoscopic surgery, it can be selectively applied to various pulmonary, pleural, and pericardial lesions. (05 Mar 2000) |
| computer-assisted instruction | A self-learning technique, usually online, involving interaction of the student with programmed instructional materials. (12 Dec 1998) |
| signal processing, computer-assisted | Computer-assisted processing of electric, ultrasonic, or electronic signals to interpret function and activity. (12 Dec 1998) |
| spectrometry, mass, matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization | A mass spectrometric technique that is used for the analysis of large biomolecules. Analyte molecules are embedded in an excess matrix of small organic molecules that show a high resonant absorption at the laser wavelength used. The matrix absorbs the laser energy, thus inducing a soft disintegration of the sample-matrix mixture into free (gas phase) matrix and analyte molecules and molecular ions. In general, only molecular ions of the analyte molecules are produced, and almost no fragmentation occurs. This makes the method well suited for molecular weight determinations and mixture analysis. (12 Dec 1998) |