| liver failure, acute | A form of liver failure with rapid onset. It is often induced by the toxic effect of drugs and various toxic substances in experimental studies in animals and in clinical states in humans. If coma ensues, the constellation of neurological symptoms is referred to as hepatic encephalopathy. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| low output failure | Heart failure in which the cardiac output is subnormal, as is usually seen in failure due to coronary, hypertensive, or valvular heart disease. (05 Mar 2000) |
| abnormal heart chamber dimensions | <radiology> Left ventricular volume overload, left ventricular hypertrophy, right ventricular volume overload, right ventricular hypertrophy, fixed subvalvular aortic stenosis, hypoplastic left/right ventricle; common ventricle, congestive cardiomyopathy (12 Dec 1998) |
| Abrams' heart reflex | A contraction of the myocardium when the skin of the precordial region is irritated. (05 Mar 2000) |
| american heart association | A voluntary organization concerned with the prevention and treatment of heart and vascular diseases. (12 Dec 1998) |
| apex of heart | The blunt extremity of the heart formed by the left ventricle. See: apex beat. Synonym: apex cordis, vertex cordis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| armored heart | Calcareous deposits in the pericardium due to subacute or chronic pericarditis. Synonym: panzerherz. (05 Mar 2000) |
| armor heart | Extensive to complete calcification (rarely ossification) of the pericardium usually producing constrictive pericarditis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial heart | A mechanical pump used to replace the function of a damaged heart, either temporarily or as a permanent prosthesis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial heart valve | <cardiology> A synthetic or porcine (pigskin) valve surgically placed into the heart to replace a defective or malfunctioning valve. The aortic and mitral valves are the most frequently replaced with artificial valves. (27 Sep 1997) |
| athlete's heart | A more or less loose designation for cardiac findings in healthy athletes that would be or could be abnormal in patients with disease, including atrioventricular blocks, left ventricular hypertrophy and, sometimes, benign arrhythmias and atrioventricular blocks. (05 Mar 2000) |
| athletic heart | Hypertrophy of the heart supposedly due to systematic athletic conditioning. (05 Mar 2000) |
| atrium of heart | The upper chamber of each half of the heart. Synonym: atrium cordis, atrium. Left atrium of heart, atrium of the left side of the heart which receives the blood from the pulmonary veins. Synonym: atrium sinistrum cordis, atrium pulmonale. (05 Mar 2000) |
| baseline foetal heart rate | <paediatrics> The average heart rate for a particular foetus during the diastolic phase of uterine contractions. (05 Mar 2000) |
| baseline variability of foetal heart rate | The beat-to-beat changes in foetal heart rate as recorded on a graph. (05 Mar 2000) |