| functional group | 1. <chemistry> The specific atom that give a biomolecule a specific chemical characteristic. 2. <ecology> This ecological term refers to groups of organisms that obtain energy in similar ways. Autotrophic plants fix energy from sunlight. Fungi and bacteria decompose organic matter. Shredders chew large particles like tree leaves. Scrapers rasp periphyton and microbes from solid surfaces. Collectors filter fine particles from the water or gather them from deposits. (05 Jan 1998) |
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| functional hypertrophy | Temporary increase in size of an organ or part to provide for a natural increase of function, such as the kind that occurs in the walls of the uterus and in the mammae during pregnancy. Synonym: functional hypertrophy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| functional illness | A physical disorder with no known or detectable organic basis to explain the symptoms. See: behaviour disorder, neurosis. Synonym: dynamic disease, functional disease, functional illness. (05 Mar 2000) |
| functional jaw orthopedics | Utilization of muscle forces to effect changes in jaw position and tooth alignment by removable appliances. Synonym: functional orthodontic therapy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| functional mandibular movements | All natural, proper, or characteristic movement's of the mandible made during speech, mastication, yawning, swallowing, and other associated movement's. (05 Mar 2000) |
| functional murmur | A cardiac murmur not associated with a significant heart lesion. Synonym: innocent murmur, inorganic murmur. (05 Mar 2000) |
| functional neurosurgery | Destruction or chronic excitation of a part of the brain to treat disordered behaviour or function. (05 Mar 2000) |
| functional occlusion | Any tooth contacts made within the functional range of the opposing teeth surfaces, occlusion which occurs during function. (05 Mar 2000) |
| functional orthodontic therapy | Utilization of muscle forces to effect changes in jaw position and tooth alignment by removable appliances. Synonym: functional orthodontic therapy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| functional pathology | Pathology pertaining to abnormalities in function of a tissue, organ, or part, with or without associated changes in structure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| functional prepubertal castration syndrome | <syndrome> A syndrome characterised by the absence of testes from the scrotum but in their place mesonephric duct derivatives, pronounced gynaecomastia and eunuchoid habitus, and increased urinary excretion of gonadotrophins. (05 Mar 2000) |
| functional psychosis | An obsolete term once used to denote schizophrenia and other severe mental disorders before modern science discovered a biological component to some aspects of each of the disorders. (05 Mar 2000) |
| functional refractory period | The minimum interval possible between successive responses to stimulation of a tissue. (05 Mar 2000) |
| functional residual air | The volume of air remaining in the lungs at the end of a normal, quiet expiration. It is the sum of the residual volume and the expiratory reserve volume. Common abbreviation is frc. (12 Dec 1998) |
| functional residual capacity | The volume of air remaining in the lungs at the end of a normal, quiet expiration. It is the sum of the residual volume and the expiratory reserve volume. Common abbreviation is frc. (12 Dec 1998) |