| minicell | <molecular biology> Spherical fragment of a bacterium produced by abnormal fission and not containing a bacterial chromosome. (18 Nov 1997) |
|---|---|
| minichromosome | 1. <cell biology> Certain viruses complex with the histones of the host eukaryote cells they have infected to form a chromatin structure resembling a small chromosome. 2. <molecular biology> A plasmid that contains a chromosomal origin of replication. Origin: Gr. Soma = body (18 Nov 1997) |
| minicomputers | Small computers that lack the speed, memory capacity, and instructional capability of the full-size computer but usually retain its programmable flexibility. They are larger, faster, and more flexible, powerful, and expensive than microcomputers. (12 Dec 1998) |
| minilaparotomy | Technique for sterilization by surgical ligation of the fallopian tubes, performed through a small suprapubic incision. (05 Mar 2000) |
| minim | 1. Anything very minute; as, the minims of existence; applied to animalcula; and the like. 2. The smallest liquid measure, equal to about one drop; the sixtieth part of a fluid drachm. 3. <zoology> A small fish; a minnow. 4. A little man or being; a dwarf. 5. One of an austere order of mendicant hermits of friars founded in the 15th century by St. Francis of Paola. 6. A time note, formerly the shortest in use; a half note, equal to half a semibreve, or two quarter notes or crotchets. 7. A short poetical encomium. Origin: F. Minime, L. Minimus the least, smallest, a superl. Of minor: cf. It. Minima a note in music. See Minor, and cf. Minimum. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| minimal | Smallest or least, the smallest possible. Origin: L. Minimus = least (18 Nov 1997) |
| minimal air | The volume of gas that remains in the lungs and cannot be expelled after they have been removed from the body, or after the chest has been opened. (05 Mar 2000) |
| minimal alveolar concentration | The end-alveolar concentration of an inhalation anaesthetic which prevents somatic response to a painful stimulus in 50% of individuals; an index of relative potency of inhalation anaesthetics. Synonym: minimal anaesthetic concentration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| minimal amplitude nystagmus | Nystagmus of so small an amplitude that it is not detected by the usual clinical tests. Synonym: minimal amplitude nystagmus. Origin: micro-+ G. Nystagmos, a nodding (05 Mar 2000) |
| minimal anaesthetic concentration | The end-alveolar concentration of an inhalation anaesthetic which prevents somatic response to a painful stimulus in 50% of individuals; an index of relative potency of inhalation anaesthetics. Synonym: minimal anaesthetic concentration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| minimal brain dysfunction | An inability to control behaviour due to difficulty in processing neural stimuli. (12 Dec 1998) |
| minimal deviation melanoma | <dermatology, tumour> A malignant melanoma showing less cytologic atypia than is usual in melanoma cells showing asymmetric expansile invasion of the dermis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| minimal dose | <pharmacology> The smallest amount of a drug or physical procedure that will produce a desired physiologic effect in an adult. (05 Mar 2000) |
| minimal infecting dose | <microbiology> The smallest quantity of infectious material regularly producing infection; usually expressed as I.D.50, the quantity causing infection in 50% of a suitable series of animals or cells (cell cultures). (05 Mar 2000) |
| minimal inhibitory concentration | <microbiology, pharmacology> The lowest concentration of antibiotic sufficient to inhibit bacterial growth when tested in vitro. (05 Mar 2000) |