| forced expiratory flow | Expiratory flow during measurement of forced vital capacity; subscripts specify the exact parameter measured, e.g., peak instantaneous flow, the instantaneous flow at some specified point on the curve of volume expired versus time, or on the flow-volume curve, the mean flow between two expired volumes. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| forced expiratory flow rates | Measurements of rates of airflow during a forced vital capacity determination. (12 Dec 1998) |
| forced expiratory time | The time taken to expire a given volume or a given fraction of vital capacity during measurement of forced vital capacity; subscripts specify the exact parameters measured. (05 Mar 2000) |
| 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) |
| brilliant vital red | Trisodium salt of a sulfonated diazo dye (a ditolyl group diazotised to sulfonated aminonaphthalene residues), used as a vital stain. Synonym: brilliant vital red. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital | 1. Belonging or relating to life, either animal or vegetable; as, vital energies; vital functions; vital actions. 2. Contributing to life; necessary to, or supporting, life; as, vital blood. "Do the heavens afford him vital food?" (Spenser) "And vital virtue infused, and vital warmth." (Milton) 3. Containing life; living. "Spirits that live throughout, vital in every part." 4. Being the seat of life; being that on which life depends; mortal. "The dart flew on, and pierced a vital part." (Pope) 5. Very necessary; highly important; essential. "A competence is vital to content." (Young) 6. Capable of living; in a state to live; viable. "Pythagoras and Hippocrates . . . Affirm the birth of the seventh month to be vital." (Sir T. Browne) Vital air, oxygen gas; so called because essential to animal life. <physiology> Vital capacity, the breathing capacity of the lungs; expressed by the number of cubic inches of air which can be forcibly exhaled after a full inspiration. Vital force. <biology> See Tripod. <botany> Vital vessels, a name for latex tubes, now disused. See Latex. Origin: F, fr. L. Vitalis, fr. Vita life; akin to vivere to live. See Vivid. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| 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) |
| vital index | The ratio of births to deaths within a population during a given time. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital knot | A circumscript region in the lower part of the medulla oblongata, near the apex of the calamus scriptorius, interpreted by M. Flourens (1858) as a nerve centre controlling respiration. Synonym: vital knot, vital node. Origin: Fr. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital node | A circumscript region in the lower part of the medulla oblongata, near the apex of the calamus scriptorius, interpreted by M. Flourens (1858) as a nerve centre controlling respiration. Synonym: vital knot, vital node. Origin: Fr. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital pulp | A pulp composed of viable tissue, either normal or diseased, that responds to electric stimuli and to heat and cold. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital red | Trisodium salt of a sulfonated diazo dye (a ditolyl group diazotised to sulfonated aminonaphthalene residues), used as a vital stain. Synonym: brilliant vital red. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital signs | Manifestation of breathing, heartbeat, and sustained blood pressure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital spirits | In the galenical teachings, a vital essence or principle supposed to be generated from the air or pneuma in the left ventricle of the heart; carried in the blood to the brain, it was converted to animal spirit's which then flowed along the nerves to all parts of the body. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vital stain | <technique> A stain that is taken up by live cells and that can be used to stain, for example: a group of cells in a developing embryo in order to try to determine a fate map. (18 Nov 1997) |