| congenital virilizing adrenal hyperplasia | A series of inherited inborn errors of metabolism with hyperplasia of the adrenal cortex and overproduction of virilizing hormones. Most common forms are due to partial or complete 21-hydroxylase deficiency, leading to increased ACTH production by the pituitary, stimulating adrenal growth and function. Severe form is characterised by salt-losing state. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| foetal adrenal cortex | An extensive area of the adrenal gland present in primates during foetal life and for a short period after birth; located between the definitive cortex and the medulla, it contains large steroid-secreting cells arranged in a reticular pattern; involution of this zone in humans is largely completed by three months after birth. Synonym: androgenic zone, foetal reticularis, foetal zone, provisional cortex. (05 Mar 2000) |
| acetone body | <biochemistry> Any of the three compounds created by acetyl coenzyme A (acetoacetate, hydroxybutyrate, and acetone) which are water-soluble cellular fuels normally exported by the liver. They can build up in the blood and body tissues because of starvation, untreated diabetes mellitus, or other disorders that interfere with carbohydrate metabolism. The body rids itself of ketones mainly through urine, but it rids itself of acetone through the lungs, which gives the breath a characteristic fruity odour. If ketones build up in the body long enough, they cause serious illness and coma (see ketoacidosis.) (09 Oct 1997) |
| acute inclusion body encephalitis | The most common acute encephalitis, caused by HSV-1; affects persons of any age; preferentially involves the inferomedial portions of the temporal lobe and the orbital portions of the frontal lobes; pathologically, severe haemorrhagic necrosis is present along with, in the acute stages, intranuclear eosinophilic inclusion bodies in the neurons and glial cells. Synonym: acute inclusion body encephalitis, herpes encephalitis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| alveolar body | That portion of bone in either the maxilla or the mandible which surrounds and supports the teeth. (12 Dec 1998) |
| amygdaloid body | Almond-shaped group of basal nuclei anterior to the inferior horn of the lateral ventricle of the brain, within the temporal lobe. The amygdala is part of the limbic system. (12 Dec 1998) |
| amylogenic body | A plant plastid involved in the synthesis and storage of starch. Found in many cell types, but particularly storage tissues. Characteristically has starch grains in the plastid stroma. (18 Nov 1997) |
| anococcygeal body | <anatomy> A musculofibrous band that passes between the anus and the coccyx. Synonym: ligamentum anococcygeum, anococcygeal body, raphe anococcygea, Symington's anococcygeal body. (05 Mar 2000) |
| anterior quadrigeminal body | The paired, larger, rounded anterior eminence of the laminae of mesencephalic tectum; major afferent connections of the superficial layers are the retina and striate cortex; input to deep layers of the colliculus are polymodal. Its efferent connections are with the lower brainstem and spinal cord (tectobulbar tract and tectospinal tract) and with the pulvinar and other cell groups in the caudal part of the thalamus; participates in extrageniculate visual pathway. Synonym: colliculus superior, anterior quadrigeminal body, corpus quadrigeminum anterius. (05 Mar 2000) |
| aortic body tumour | Aortic body, carotid body, chemoreceptor, or glomus jugulare tumour; nonchromaffin paraganglioma; receptoma; a relatively rare, usually benign neoplasm originating in the chemoreceptor tissue of the carotid body, glomus jugulare, and aortic bodies; consisting histologically of rounded or ovoid hyperchromatic cells that tend to be grouped in an alveolus-like pattern within a scant to moderate amount of fibrous stroma and a few large thin-walled vascular channels. Compare: paraganglioma. Synonym: aortic body tumour, carotid body tumour, chemoreceptor tumour, glomus jugulare tumour, nonchromaffin paraganglioma. Origin: chemo-+ G. Dektes, receiver, fr. Dechomai, to receive, + -oma, tumour (05 Mar 2000) |
| asteroid body | An eosinophilic inclusion resembling a star with delicate radiating lines, occurring in a vacuolated area of cytoplasm of a multinucleated giant cell; especially frequent in sarcoidosis, but occurs also in other granulomas, a structure that is characteristic of sporotrichosis when found in the skin or secondary lesions of this mycosis; in tissue, it surrounds the 3-to 5-um in diameter ovoid yeast of Sporothrix schenkii. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Barr body | Small dark staining inactivated X chromosome seen in female (XX) cells. According to the Lyon hypothesis, random inactivation occurs. (18 Nov 1997) |
| Barr chromatin body | Condensed chromatin of the inactivated X chromosome in female mammals (Barr body). (18 Nov 1997) |
| basal body | <cell biology> Structure found at the base of eukaryotic cilia and flagella consisting of a continuation of the nine outer sets of axonemal microtubules but with the addition of a C tubule to form a triplet (like the centriole). May be self replicating and serves as a nucleating centre for axonemal assembly. Anchored in the cytoplasm by rootlets. Synonymous with kinetosome. (18 Nov 1997) |
| basal body temperature | <biology> The temperature taken at its lowest point in the day, usually in the morning before getting out of bed. (09 Oct 1997) |