| acetic acid | <chemical> The acid most commonly associated with vinegar, it is the most commercially important organic acid and is used to manufacture a wide range of chemical products, such as plastics and Acetobacter but, except for making vinegar, is usually made through synthetic processes. Derivatives of acetic acid which may be formed by substitution reactions. Mono- and di-substituted, as well as, halogenated compounds have been synthesised. Experimentally, alpha- and n2- substituted acetic acids have been examined for their anti-inflammatory activity and effect on the central nervous system respectively. Additionally, limited exposure data has been collected on dibromo and dichloroacetic acids to determine whether they pose health effects. Synonym: ethanoic acid. (26 Jun 1999) |
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| acetoacetic acid | CH3COCH2COOH;one of the ketone bodies, formed in excess and appearing in the urine in starvation or diabetes. Synonym: diacetic acid. (05 Mar 2000) |
| acetohydroxamic acid | C2H5NO2; N-Hydroxyacetamide;an inhibitor of urease, used as adjunctive therapy in chronic urea-splitting urinary infections. (05 Mar 2000) |
| acetrizoic acid | <chemical> A water-soluble, iodinated radiographic contrast medium, used as sodium acetrizoate in hysterosalpingography. Pharmacological action: contrast media. Chemical name: Benzoic acid, 3-(acetylamino)-2,4,6-triiodo- (12 Dec 1998) |
| acetylsalicylic acid | <drug> An odourless, white, slightly bitter drug used to reduce pain, fever, inflammation and sometimes to prevent blood clotting. Also called aspirin. Some people cannot tolerate it because it can cause stomach bleeding, however. It is soluble in both water and alcoholand melts at 132 to 136 degrees C. (06 May 1997) |
| acetyltannic acid | An astringent used for treatment of diarrhoea. Synonym: diacetyltannic acid, tannylacetate. (05 Mar 2000) |
| acid | <chemical, chemistry> A fundamental category of many compounds whose water-based solutions have a sour taste, turn blue litmus paper red and can combine with metals to form salts. They are chemical compounds which yield hydrogen ions or protons when dissolved in water, whose hydrogen can be replaced by metals or basic radicals, or which react with bases to form salts and water (neutralization). An extension of the term includes substances dissolved in media other than water. Specific types of acids include: Arrhenius acid: any chemical that increases the number of free hydrogen ions (H+) when added to a water-based solution. The more free hydrogens produced, the stronger the acid. Bronsted or Bronsted-Lowry acid: any chemical that acts as a proton donor in a chemical reaction. Lewis acid: any chemical that accepts two electrons to form a covalent bond during a chemical reaction. (13 Nov 1997) |
| acid agglutination | The clumping together of certain microorganisms at high hydrogen ion concentration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| acid anhydride hydrolases | <enzyme> A group of enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of diphosphate bonds in compounds such as nucleoside di- and tri-phosphates, and sulfonyl-containing anhydrides such as adenylylsulfate. (enzyme nomenclature, 1992). Registry number: EC 3.6 (12 Dec 1998) |
| acid-ash diet | A diet consisting mainly of fruits, vegetables, and milk (with minimal amounts of meat, fish, eggs, cheese, and cereals), which, when catabolised, leave an alkaline residue to be excreted in the urine. Synonym: acid-ash diet, basic diet. (05 Mar 2000) |
| acid-base balance | The normal balance between acid and base in the blood plasma, expressed in the hydrogen ion concentration or pH, resulting from the relative amounts of acidic and basic materials ingested and produced by body metabolism, compared to the relative amounts of acidic and basic materials excreted from the body and consumed by body metabolism; the normal state of acid-base balance is not one of neutrality, with equal concentrations of hydrogen and hydroxyl ions, but a more alkaline state with a certain excess of hydroxyl ions. Synonym: acid-base equilibrium. (05 Mar 2000) |
| acid-base equilibrium | A condition in which the net rate of acid or alkali production by the body is balanced by the net rate of acid or alkali excretion from the body, resulting in a stable concentration of hydrogen ions in the body fluids. (12 Dec 1998) |
| acid-base imbalance | Disturbances in the acid-base equilibrium of the body. (12 Dec 1998) |
| acid carboxypeptidase | <enzyme> Carboxypeptidase z (scpz gene product) isolated from absidia zychae Registry number: EC 3.4.16.1 Synonym: carboxypeptidase w, carboxypeptidase yscy, carboxypeptidase cpd-s3, ybr1015 gene product, carboxypeptidase z, scpz gene product (26 Jun 1999) |
| acid cell | One of the cell's of the gastric glands; it lies upon the basement membrane, covered by the chief cell's, and secretes hydrochloric acid that reaches the lumen of the gland through fine intracellular and intercellular canals (canaliculi). Synonym: acid cell, oxyntic cell. (05 Mar 2000) |