| closed reading frame | A sequence of DNA that cannot be translated into a viable protein; usually due to the interruption by one or more termination codons. Synonym: closed reading frame. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| closed reduction | The physical manipulation of a joint or bone externally (without making a surgical incision) to affect a joint relocation or more proper anatomic alignment of broken bone fragments. Closed reductions are often performed using intravenous analgesics, local anaesthetic nerve blocks or regional anaesthesia. (27 Sep 1997) |
| closed reduction of fractures | Reduction by manipulation of bone, without incision in the skin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| closed skull fracture | Fracture with intact overlying scalp and/or mucous membranes. Synonym: simple skull fracture. (05 Mar 2000) |
| closed surgery | Surgery without incision into skin, e.g., reduction of a fracture or dislocation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| closed system | <biology, ecology> A chemical or biological system that exchanges no matter or energy with the ouside environment. (12 Mar 1998) |
| covalently closed circular DNA | <molecular biology> A circular molecule of double-stranded DNA which is supercoiled, or coiled up on itself due to internal tensions, because there are no breaks in the phosphate backbone (upon which the nucleotide bases are mounted) to relieve the tensions and allow it to form an open circle. (09 Oct 1997) |
| head injuries, closed | Organic or functional damage resulting from trauma to the head where continuity of the scalp and mucous membranes is maintained. When brain injury results from closed head injuries, the primary cause is mechanical stretching and shearing of nerve fibres. Also common are focal intracranial lesions including haematomas and contusions. (12 Dec 1998) |
| semi-closed anaesthesia | Inhalation anaesthesia using a circuit in which a portion of the exhaled air is exhausted from the circuit and a portion is rebreathed following absorption of carbon dioxide. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ecological systems, closed | Systems that provide for the maintenance of life in an isolated living chamber through reutilization of the material available, in particular, by means of a cycle wherein exhaled carbon dioxide, urine, and other waste matter are converted chemically or by photosynthesis into oxygen, water, and food. (12 Dec 1998) |
| fractures, closed | Fractures in which the break in bone is not accompanied by an external wound. (12 Dec 1998) |
| arterial circle of cerebrum | An anastomotic "circle" of arteries (roughly pentagonal in outline) at the base of the brain, formed, sequentially and in anterior to posterior direction, by the anterior communicating artery, the two anterior cerebral, the two internal carotid, the two posterior communicating, and the two posterior cerebral arteries. Synonym: circulus arteriosus cerebri, circle of Willis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| articular vascular circle | An anastomosis of vessels encircling a joint. See: articular vascular network. Synonym: circulus articularis vasculosus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Baudelocque's uterine circle | A constriction located at the junction of the thinned lower uterine segment with the thick retracted upper uterine segment, resulting from obstructed labour; this is one of the classic signs of threatened rupture of the uterus. Synonym: Bandl's ring, Baudelocque's uterine circle, Scanzoni's second os. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Pagenstecher's circle | In the case of a freely movable abdominal tumour, the mass is moved throughout its entire range, its position at intervals being marked on the abdominal wall; when these points are joined, a circle is formed, the centre of which marks the point of attachment of the tumour. (05 Mar 2000) |