| united states national aeronautics and space administration | An independent federal agency established in 1958. It conducts research for the solution of problems of flight within and outside the earth's atmosphere and develops, constructs, tests, and operates aeronautical and space vehicles. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| united states occupational safety and health administration | An office in the department of labour responsible for developing and establishing occupational safety and health standards. (12 Dec 1998) |
| united states office of economic opportunity | A division of the executive branch of the united states government concerned with overall planning, promoting, and administering programs relative to the provision of opportunities for economic advancement. (12 Dec 1998) |
| united states office of research integrity | An office of the united states public health service organised in june 1992 to promote research integrity and investigate misconduct in research supported by the public health service. It consolidates the office of scientific integrity of the national institutes of health and the office of scientific integrity review in the office of the assistant secretary for health. The ori is in the office of the assistant secretary for health and its director reports directly to the assistant secretary for health, department of health and human services. (ri newsletter, 1993 jan; 1(1):1) (12 Dec 1998) |
| united states office of technology assessment | An office established to help congress participate and plan for the consequences of uses of technology. It provides information on both the beneficial and adverse effects of technological applications. (12 Dec 1998) |
| united states public health service | See: USPHS. (12 Dec 1998) |
| united states social security administration | The social security administration administers a national program of contributory social insurance whereby employees, employers, and the self-employed pay contributions that are pooled in special trust funds. When earnings are reduced because of retirement, death, or disability, monthly benefits are paid to partially replace lost earnings. Part of the contributions go into a separate hospital insurance trust fund for workers when they become 65 to provide help with medical expenses. Other programs include the supplemental social security income program for the aged, blind, and disabled and the old age survivors and disability insurance program. Ssa became an independent agency march 31, 1995. It had previously been part of the department of health, education, and welfare, later the department of health and human services. (12 Dec 1998) |
| united states substance abuse and mental health services administration | An agency of the public health service concerned with the overall planning, promoting, and administering of programs pertaining to substance abuse and mental health. It is commonly referred to by the acronym samhsa. On 1 october 1992, the united states alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health administration (adamha) became samhsa. (telephone communication with samhsa 7 april 1992) (12 Dec 1998) |
| annulospiral organ | One of two types of sensory nerve ending associated with a neuromuscular spindle (the other being the flower-spray ending); after entering the muscle spindle, the fibre divides into two flat ribbon-like branches that wind themselves in rings or spirals about the intrafusal muscle fibres. Synonym: annulospiral organ. (05 Mar 2000) |
| auditory organ | Archaic term for gustatory organ. (05 Mar 2000) |
| bojanus organ | <zoology> A glandular organ of bivalve mollusca, serving in part as a kidney. Origin: From Bojanus, the discoverer. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| vestibular organ | Collective term for the utricle, saccule, and saemicircular ducts of the membranous labyrinth, each having a single patch of ciliated receptor epithelium innervated by the vestibular nerve: macula of sacculus, macula of utriculus, and cristae of the saemicircular ducts. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vestibulocochlear organ | The external, middle, and internal ear. Synonym: organum vestibulocochleare. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vestigial organ | A rudimentary structure in humans corresponding to a functional structure or organ in the lower animals. (05 Mar 2000) |
| visual organ | The eye and its adnexa. Synonym: organum visus, organ of vision. (05 Mar 2000) |