| MPD | main pancreatic duct; maximum permissible dose; mean population doubling; membrane potential differe... |
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| MC | mass casualties; mast cell; Master of Surgery [Lat. Magister Chirurgiae]; maximum concentration; Med... |
| MS | Maffuci syndrome; maladjustment score; mandibular series; Marfan syndrome; Marie-Strumpell [syndrome... |
| DASD | Direct Access Storage Device = RAM |
| ACCESS | Ambulatory Care Clinic Effectiveness Systems Study; automated cervical cell screening system |
| minimal inhibitory concentration | <microbiology, pharmacology> The lowest concentration of antibiotic sufficient to inhibit bacterial growth when tested in vitro. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| minimal lethal dose | <pharmacology> The minimal dose of a toxic substance or infectious agent that is lethal, as assayed in various experimental animals (e.g., the least amount of diphtheria toxin that, on an average, kills a 250-g guinea pig within 96 hours after subcutaneous inoculation). When followed by a subscript (generally "MLD50"), denotes the minimal dose that is lethal to a certain percentage (e.g., 50%) of animals so assayed, LD05. See: lethal dose. (05 Mar 2000) |
| minimal medium | <cell culture> The simplest tissue culture medium that will support the proliferation of normal cells. (18 Nov 1997) |
| minimal reacting dose | The minimal dose of a toxic substance causing a reaction, as manifested in the skin of a series of susceptible test animals; the assay is based on the development of a characteristic, minimal but definite, "standard," focal inflammation (congestion and oedema, induration, degenerative changes, and desquamation of epidermal cells). (05 Mar 2000) |
| ambulatory surgery | <surgery> Operative procedures performed on patients who are admitted to and discharged from a hospital on the same day. (05 Mar 2000) |
| aseptic surgery | The performance of an operation with sterilised hands, instruments, etc., and utilizing precautions against the introduction of infectious microorganisms from without. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cardiovascular surgery | The use of surgery to fix disorders of the heartand/or blood vessels. (09 Oct 1997) |
| radical surgery | Surgery designed to remove all possible diseased tissue, for example, all possible tumour tissue. (12 Dec 1998) |
| major surgery | See: major operation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vascular surgery | A branch of medicine dealing with the use of surgery to diagnose/treat diseases of the blood vessels. (09 Oct 1997) |
| general surgery | A surgical specialty that involves largely the surgical management of diseases of the bowel, gallbladder, stomach and other digestive organs. (27 Sep 1997) |
| reconstructive surgery | The surgical specialty or procedure concerned with the restoration, construction, reconstruction, or improvement in the shape and appearance of body structures that are missing, defective, damaged, or misshapen. (05 Mar 2000) |
| 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) |
| perineal surgery | An operation to remove the prostate gland through an incision made between the scrotum and the anus. (12 Dec 1998) |
| micro-disc surgery | This describes a newer form of orthopaedic back surgery involving the insertion of a special hardware device through a small incision in the lower back. This form of surgery is indicated for those with intractable (unresponsive to medical therapy alone) disk disease of the lower spine (typically lumbar). The prolapsed disk is suction out of the back via a small tube inserted through the incision. (27 Sep 1997) |