| forced expiratory volume | Measure of the maximum amount of air during a forced vital capacity determination that can be expelled in a given number of seconds. It is usually given as fev followed by a subscript indicating the number of seconds over which the measurement is made, although it is sometimes given as a percentage of forced vital capacity. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| active centre | The part of a macromolecule at which a substrate or ligand, upon binding, produces biological activity; for an enzyme, this is the catalytic centre, the site on an enzyme that catalyses the reaction. (05 Mar 2000) |
| anospinal centre | The centre in the spinal cord that controls the contraction of the anal sphincter. (05 Mar 2000) |
| asymmetric centre | <chemistry> Same as a chiral centre, a tetrahedral carbon atom that bears four different substituents. (09 Jan 1998) |
| Broca's centre | The posterior part of the inferior frontal gyrus of the left or dominant hemisphere, corresponding approximately to Brodmann's area 44; Broca identified this region as an essential component of the motor mechanisms governing articulated speech. Synonym: Broca's area, Broca's field, motor speech centre. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Budge's centre | The preganglionic motor neurons in the first thoracic segment of the spinal cord which give rise to the sympathetic innervation of the dilator muscle of the eye's pupil. Synonym: Budge's centre. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vasomotor centre | Diffuse area of the reticular formation in the lateral medulla containing neurons that control vascular tone; consists of separate vasodepressor and vasopressor areas. (05 Mar 2000) |
| reaction centre | <plant biology> The site in the chloroplast that receives the energy trapped by chlorophyll and accessory pigments and initiates the electron transfer process. A photosynthetic complex containing chlorophyll (or bacteriochlorophyll) and other components, within which occurs the initial electron transfer reactions of photophosphorylation. (09 Oct 1997) |
| germinal centre | Areas within lymph nodes where B lymphocytes rapidly divide. (09 Oct 1997) |
| germinal centre kinase | <enzyme> A human ste20 homolog; mw 97 kD; has been sequenced Registry number: EC 2.7.10.- Synonym: germinal centre kinase gck, gc kinase, bl44 gene product (26 Jun 1999) |
| germinal centre of Flemming | The lightly staining centre in a lymphatic nodule in which the predominant cells are large lymphocytes and macrophages. Synonym: reaction centre. (05 Mar 2000) |
| catalytic centre | See: active centre. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cell centre | Microtubule organising centre of the cell, the pericentriolar region. (18 Nov 1997) |
| vital centre | Centre essential to life; usually refers to the centres located in the medulla oblongata which are necessary for the maintenance of respiration and circulation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| medullary centre | The great mass of white matter composing the interior of the cerebral hemisphere; the name refers to the general shape of this white core in horizontal sections of the hemisphere. Synonym: centrum medullare, centrum ovale, medullary centre, semioval centre, Vicq d'Azyr's centrum semiovale, Vieussens' centrum. (05 Mar 2000) |