| RAR | rapidly adapting receptor; rat insulin receptor; retinoic acid receptor; right arm reclining; right ... |
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| CR | calculation rate; calculus removed; calorie-restricted; cardiac rehabilitation; cardiac resuscitatio... |
| CRL | cell repository line; Certified Record Librarian; complement receptor location; complement receptor ... |
| DR | degeneration reaction; delivery room; deoxyribose; diabetic retinopathy; diagnostic radiology; digit... |
| ERA | electrical response activity; electroencephalic response audiometry; Electroshock Research Associati... |
| tactile organ | Any one of the sensory end organs. Synonym: organum tactus, tactile organ. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| tactile sense | 1. To come in contact with; to hit or strike lightly against; to extend the hand, foot, or the like, so as to reach or rest on. "Him thus intent Ithuriel with his spear Touched lightly." (Milton) 2. To perceive by the sense of feeling. "Nothing but body can be touched or touch." (Greech) 3. To come to; to reach; to attain to. "The god, vindictive, doomed them never more- Ah, men unblessed! to touch their natal shore." (Pope) 4. To try; to prove, as with a touchstone. "Wherein I mean to touch your love indeed." (Shak) 5. To relate to; to concern; to affect. "The quarrel toucheth none but us alone." (Shak) 6. To handle, speak of, or deal with; to treat of. "Storial thing that toucheth gentilesse." (Chaucer) 7. To meddle or interfere with; as, I have not touched the books. 8. To affect the senses or the sensibility of; to move; to melt; to soften. "What of sweet before Hath touched my sense, flat seems to this and harsh." (Milton) "The tender sire was touched with what he said." (Addison) 9. To mark or delineate with touches; to add a slight stroke to with the pencil or brush. "The lines, though touched but faintly, are drawn right." (Pope) 10. To infect; to affect slightly. 11. To make an impression on; to have effect upon. "Its face . . . So hard that a file will not touch it." (Moxon) 12. To strike; to manipulate; to play on; as, to touch an instrument of music. "[They] touched their golden harps." (Milton) 13. To perform, as a tune; to play. "A person is the royal retinue touched a light and lively air on the flageolet." (Sir W. Scott) 14. To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly. " No decree of mine, . . . [to] touch with lightest moment of impulse his free will," 15. To harm, afflict, or distress. "Let us make a covenant with thee, that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee." (Gen. Xxvi. 28, 29) 16. To affect with insanity, especially in a slight degree; to make partially insane; rarely used except in the past participle. "She feared his head was a little touched." (Ld. Lytton) 17. <geometry> To be tangent to. See Tangent. 18. To lay a hand upon for curing disease. To touch a sail, to keep the ship as near the wind as possible. To touch up, to repair; to improve by touches or emendation. Origin: F. Toucher, OF. Touchier, tuchier; of Teutonic origin; cf. OHG. Zucchen, zukken, to twitch, pluck, draw, G. Zukken, zukken, v. Intens. Fr. OHG. Ziohan to draw, G. Ziehen, akin to E. Tug. See Tuck, Tug, and cf. Tocsin, Toccata. 1. The act of touching, or the state of being touched; contact. "Their touch affrights me as a serpent's sting." (Shak) 2. <physiology> The sense by which pressure or traction exerted on the skin is recognised; the sense by which the properties of bodies are determined by contact; the tactile sense. See Tactile sense, under Tactile. "The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine." (Pope) Pure tactile feelings are necessarily rare, since temperature sensations and muscular sensations are more or less combined with them. The organs of touch are found chiefly in the epidermis of the skin and certain underlying nervous structures. 3. Act or power of exciting emotion. "Not alone The death of Fulvia, with more urgent touches, Do strongly speak to us." (Shak) 4. An emotion or affection. "A true, natural, and a sensible touch of mercy." (Hooker) 5. Personal reference or application. "Speech of touch toward others should be sparingly used." (Bacon) 6. A stroke; as, a touch of raillery; a satiric touch; hence, animadversion; censure; reproof. "I never bare any touch of conscience with greater regret." (Eikon Basilike) 7. A single stroke on a drawing or a picture. "Never give the least touch with your pencil till you have well examined your design." (Dryden) 8. Feature; lineament; trait. "Of many faces, eyes, and hearts, To have the touches dearest prized." (Shak) 9. The act of the hand on a musical instrument; bence, in the plural, musical notes. "Soft stillness and the night Become the touches of sweet harmony." (Shak) 10. A small quantity intermixed; a little; a dash. "Eyes La touch of Sir Peter Lely in them." (Hazlitt) "Madam, I have a touch of your condition." (Shak) 11. A hint; a suggestion; slight notice. "A small touch will put him in mind of them." (Bacon) 12. A slight and brief essay. "Print my preface in such form as, in the booksellers' phrase, will make a sixpenny touch." (Swift) 13. A touchstone; hence, stone of the sort used for touchstone. " Now do I play the touch." "A neat new monument of touch and alabaster." (Fuller) 14. Hence, examination or trial by some decisive standard; test; proof; tried quality. "Equity, the true touch of all laws." (Carew) "Friends of noble touch ." (Shak) 15. The particular or characteristic mode of action, or the resistance of the keys of an instrument to the fingers; as, a heavy touch, or a light touch, also, the manner of touching, striking, or pressing the keys of a piano; as, a legato touch; a staccato touch. 16. The broadest part of a plank worked top and but (see Top and but, under Top,), or of one worked anchor-stock fashion (that is, tapered from the middle to both ends); also, the angles of the stern timbers at the counters. 17. That part of the field which is beyond the line of flags on either side. 18. A boys' game; tag. In touch, outside of bounds. To be in touch, to be in contact, or in sympathy. To keep touch. To be true or punctual to a promise or engagement; hence, to fulfill duly a function. "My mind and senses keep touch and time." (Sir W. Scott) To keep in contact; to maintain connection or sympathy;-with with or of. Touch and go, a phrase descriptive of a narrow escape. True as touch (i.e, touchstone), quite true. Origin: Cf. F. Touche. See Touch. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| acetylcholine receptor antibodies | <neurology, investigation> A test used to measure the amount of antibodies to acetylcholine receptors on nerve endings. This is a diagnostic test for myasthenia gravis. A normal value is no antibodies in the bloodstream. Acetylcholine receptor (AChR) binding autoantibodies (i.e. Antibodies reactive with several epitopes other than the binding site for acetylcholine or alpha-bungarotoxin) are present in approximately 88% of patients with generalised myasthenia gravis, 70% of ocular myasthenia and in approximately 80% of myasthenia gravis in remission. Although serum concentrations of AChR binding autoantibodies do not in general correlate well with severity of weakness, there is typical decrease in concentration as weakness improves with immunosuppressive therapy. AChR blocking autoantibodies (i.e., antibodies reactive with the AChR binding site) are present in about 50% of patients with myasthenia gravis, 30% with ocular myasthenia gravis and 20% of myasthenia gravis in remission, AChR blocking autoantibodies are the only AChR autoantibodies present in about 1% of myasthenia gravis. AChR modulating autoantibodies (i.e., autoantibodies which cross-link AChRs and cause their removal from muscle membrane surfaces) are present in more than 90% of myasthenia gravis and occasionally are the only AchR autoantibodies detectable in mild, recent onset or ocular-restricted myasthenia gravis. Results for AChR modulating autoantibodies can be transiently false-positive due to curare-like drugs used during general anesthesia. AChR autoantibodies of one or more types are found in at least 80% of ocular myasthenia gravis. Although generally absent in neurological conditions other than myasthenia gravis(and consequently unlikely to cause confusion in neurodiagnosis), false-positive results for AChR autoantibodies occasionally occur in primary biliary cirrhosis, tardive dyskinesia, autoimmune thyroiditis, the elderly, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients treated with cobra venom and patients with thymoma in the absence of myasthenia gravis. Approximately 1% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with D-penicillamine develop AChR autoantibodies and myasthenia gravis, both of which disappear when the drug is discontinued. Babies born to ~10% of myasthenia gravis mothers have a transient neonatal form of myasthenia gravis that responds well to anticholinesterase therapy and usually remits within 1 month as maternal IgG disappears. (29 Dec 1997) |
| amino acid receptor | <biochemistry> Ligand gated ion channels with specific receptors for amino acid transmitters. An extended protein superfamily that also includes subunits of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. (18 Nov 1997) |
| AMPA receptor | <cell biology> Glutamate operated ion channel. See: excitatory amino acid receptor channels. (05 Feb 1998) |
| ANP receptor | <molecular biology> Family of 3 receptors for atrial natriuretic peptide. ANP A and ANP B have intracellular guanylate cyclase and protein kinase like domains. ANP C, shares the extracellular ligand binding and transmembrane domains, but lacks the functional intracellular domains and is not thought to be involved in signal transduction. (18 Nov 1997) |
| asialoglycoprotein receptor | A surface receptor found in hepatocytes that binds galactose-terminal glycoproteins; thus, this receptor removes those proteins from circulation and they are in turn acted upon by hepatocyte lysosomes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| auditory receptor cells | Columnar cell's in the epithelium of the organ of Corti, having hairs (stereocilia) on their apical ends. See: Corti's cells. (05 Mar 2000) |
| beta-adrenergic receptor blocking agent | A class of drugs that compete with beta-adrenergic agonists for available receptor sites; some compete for both b1 and b2 receptors (e.g., propranolol) while others are primarily either b1 (e.g., metoprolol) or b2 blockers; used in the treatment of a variety of cardiovascular diseases where beta-adrenergic blockade is desirable. Synonym: beta-adrenergic receptor blocking agent, beta-adrenoreceptor antagonist, beta-blocker. (05 Mar 2000) |
| beta-adrenergic receptor kinase | <enzyme> Cyclic-AMP protein kinase which specifically phosphorylates the agonist-occupied form of beta-adrenergic receptor Registry number: EC 2.7.1.- Synonym: beta-ar kinase, beta-adrenergic receptor kinase 1, g-protein-coupled receptor kinase 2, grk2 (kinase), beta-adrenergic receptor kinase 2, beta-ar kinase 2 (26 Jun 1999) |
| cAMP receptor protein | catabolite (gene) activator protein |
| GABA receptor | <physiology> Ligand gated chloride ion channel forming receptor opened by gamma aminobutyric acid. Two distinct types: A and B. A receptor: One of a family of neurotransmitter receptors with fast intrinsic ion channels that includes the glycine receptor and the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Distinct from another major receptor family, the muscarininc acetylcholine receptor and rhodopsin, with no intrinsic ion channel. The A receptor is specifically blocked by bicuculline. It consists of two pairs of protein chains forming an A2B2 complex, the A chains bind benzodiazepine and the B chains bind GABA. The 4 subunits are thought to form a tight group with the chloride channel in the middle. There is considerable similarity between the amino acid sequences of the receptor subunits and those of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor suggesting that both receptors are derived from some evolutionary ancestor. See: amino acid receptor superfamily. B receptor: Brain receptor (80 kD) for the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma amino butyric acid. Differs from the A receptor both in agonist specificity (baclofen is a specific agonist) and its effects on cells. It modulates intracellular calcium levels through a Go mediated effect on N type calcium channels and also lowers intracellular cAMP levels by an effect on adenylyl cyclase, thereby reducing the secretion of catecholamines. (05 Jan 1998) |
| p60 tumour necrosis factor receptor-associated kinase | <enzyme> Interacts with and causes phosphorylation of the cytoplasmic domain of the tnf receptor Registry number: EC 2.7.10.- Synonym: p60 tnf receptor-associated kinase, p60-trak (26 Jun 1999) |
| gamma aminobutyric acid receptor | <physiology> Ligand gated chloride ion channel forming receptor opened by gamma aminobutyric acid. Two distinct types: A and B. A receptor: One of a family of neurotransmitter receptors with fast intrinsic ion channels that includes the glycine receptor and the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Distinct from another major receptor family, the muscarininc acetylcholine receptor and rhodopsin, with no intrinsic ion channel. The A receptor is specifically blocked by bicuculline. It consists of two pairs of protein chains forming an A2B2 complex, the A chains bind benzodiazepine and the B chains bind GABA. The 4 subunits are thought to form a tight group with the chloride channel in the middle. There is considerable similarity between the amino acid sequences of the receptor subunits and those of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor suggesting that both receptors are derived from some evolutionary ancestor. See: amino acid receptor superfamily. B receptor: Brain receptor (80 kD) for the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma amino butyric acid. Differs from the A receptor both in agonist specificity (baclofen is a specific agonist) and its effects on cells. It modulates intracellular calcium levels through a Go mediated effect on N type calcium channels and also lowers intracellular cAMP levels by an effect on adenylyl cyclase, thereby reducing the secretion of catecholamines. (05 Jan 1998) |
| GAP-1 receptor tyrosine kinase | <enzyme> Similar to rasGTPase-activating proteins; inhibits signaling activity of let-60; amino acid sequence given in first source Registry number: EC 2.7.1.- Synonym: gap-1 gene product, gap-1 protein (26 Jun 1999) |