| wedge-and-groove suture | A form of fibrous joint in which the sharp edge of one bone is received in a cleft in the edge of the other, as in the articulation of the vomer with the rostrum of the sphenoid. Synonym: schindylesis, schindyletic joint, wedge-and-groove suture. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| wedge biopsy | Excision of a cuneiform specimen. (05 Mar 2000) |
| wedge bone | See: intermediate cuneiform bone, lateral cuneiform bone, medial cuneiform bone. (05 Mar 2000) |
| wedge pressure | The intravascular pressure reading obtained when a fine catheter is advanced until it completely occludes a small blood vessel or is sealed in place by inflation of a small cuff; commonly measured in the lung to estimate left atrial pressure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| wedge resection | Removal of a wedge-shaped portion of the ovary; used in the treatment of virilizing disorders of ovarian origin, such as the polycystic ovarian syndrome. (05 Mar 2000) |
| wedge-shaped | 1. Having the shape of a wedge; cuneiform. 2. <botany> Broad and truncate at the summit, and tapering down to the base; as, a wedge-shaped leaf. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| wedge-shaped fasciculus | The larger lateral subdivision of the posterior funiculus. Synonym: fasciculus cuneatus, Burdach's column, Burdach's fasciculus, Burdach's tract, cuneate funiculus, wedge-shaped fasciculus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| wedge-shaped tubercle | tubercle of cuneate nucleus |
| wedge-shell | <zoology> Any one of numerous species of small marine bivalves belonging to Donax and allied genera in which the shell is wedge-shaped. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| wedge spirometer | A waterless spirometer constructed of two large rectangular plates with edges connected by accordion-pleated rubber so that large changes in volume are accommodated by small changes in the acute angle of the wedge-shaped interior, sensed by an electrical transducer; designed for rapid response by reducing the acceleration of the moving parts. (05 Mar 2000) |
| wedge-tailed | <ornithology, zoology> Having a tail which has the middle pair of feathers longest, the rest successively and decidedly shorter, and all more or less attenuate; said of certain birds. Wedge-tailed eagle, an Australian eagle (Aquila audax) which feeds on various small species of kangaroos, and on lambs; called also mountain eagle, bold eagle, and eagle hawk. Wedge-tailed gull, an arctic gull (Rhodostethia rosea) in which the plumage is tinged with rose; called also Ross's gull. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| pulmonary capillary wedge pressure | The pressure obtained when a catheter is passed from the right side of the heart into the pulmonary artery as far as it will go and "wedged" into an end artery. PCWP is measured by letting pulmonary blood flow guide a balloon-flotation catheter into a small pulmonary end artery. The pressure distal to the wedged catheter is an approximation of cardiac left atrial pressure. The pressure recorded with the balloon deflated is pulmonary artery pressure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pulmonary wedge pressure | The blood pressure as recorded after wedging a catheter in a small pulmonary artery; believed to reflect the pressure in the pulmonary capillaries. (12 Dec 1998) |
| quartz wedge | <microscopy> A compensator consisting of a gradual wedge of quartz of such orientation and dimensions as to show at least several orders of retardation colours as illustrated by the Michel Levy scale of retardation colours and birefringence vs. Thickness of specimen. The Babinet compensator employs two opposing quartz wedges, calibrated in terms of retardation. (05 Aug 1998) |
| ovarian wedge resection | <gynaecology, procedure> The surgical removal of a portion of a polycystic ovary to induce ovulation. (05 Jan 1998) |