| DC | daily census; data communication; data conversion; decrease; deep compartment; Dental Corps; deoxych... |
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| DD | dangerous drug; data definition; day of delivery; degenerated disc; degenerative disease; delusional... |
| DIFF, diff | difference, differential; diffusion |
| DL | danger list; De Lee [catheter]; deep lobe; developmental level; difference limen; diffusion lung [ca... |
| DLCO | carbon monoxide diffusion in the lung; single-breath diffusing capacity |
| diffusion limitation | The boundary layer hypothesis, that the proliferation of cells in culture is limited by the rate at which some essential component (almost certainly a growth factor) diffuses from the bulk medium into the layer immediately adjacent to the plasma membrane. By spreading out, a cell obtains a supra threshold level of the factor and can divide, if unable to spread (because of crowding or poor adhesion) then the cell will remain in the G0 stage of the cell cycle. (18 Nov 1997) |
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| diffusion method | A method for the study of bacterial enzymes in which agar is mixed with the material (e.g., starch or milk) which is to serve as an indicator of the enzyme action and is inoculated and plated; if the bacteria produce enzymes digesting the admixed material, there will be a zone of clearing in the medium about each colony. Synonym: diffusion method. (05 Mar 2000) |
| diffusion of innovation | The broad dissemination of new ideas, procedures, techniques, materials, and devices and the degree to which these are accepted and used. (12 Dec 1998) |
| diffusion potential | Potential arising from different rates of diffusion of ions at the interface of two dissimilar fluids, a junction potential. (18 Nov 1997) |
| diffusion respiration | Maintenance of oxygenation during apnea by intratracheal insufflation of oxygen at high flow rates. Synonym: apneic oxygenation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| diffusion shell | A small vessel made of a semipermeable membrane through which peptone, but not serum albumin, can pass; used in performing the Abderhalden test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| facilitated diffusion | <physiology> A process by which substances are conveyed across cell membranes faster than would be possible by diffusion alone. This is generally achieved by proteins that provide a hydrophilic environment for polar molecules throughout their passage through the plasma membrane, acting as either shuttles or pores. See: symport, antiport, uniport. (18 Nov 1997) |
| lateral diffusion | Diffusion in two dimensions, usually referring to movement in the plane of the membrane, such as the motion of fluorescently labelled lipids or proteins measured by the technique of fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). (18 Nov 1997) |
| least diffusion circle | In the configuration of rays emerging from a spherocylindrical lens system, the place where diverging rays of the lens first forming a line image are balanced by converging rays of the second lens. (05 Mar 2000) |