| point deletion | Deletion involving a submicroscopic loss of genetic material too small to be resolved by linkage analysis. Synonym: nucleotide deletion. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| point epidemic | An epidemic where a pronounced clustering of cases of disease occurs within a very short period of time (within a few days or even hours) due to exposure of persons or animals to a common source of infection such as food or water. (05 Mar 2000) |
| point mutation | <molecular biology> Mutation that causes the replacement of a single base pair with another pair. (18 Nov 1997) |
| point-of-care systems | Laboratory and other services provided to patients at the bedside. These include diagnostic and laboratory testing using automated information entry systems. (12 Dec 1998) |
| point of elbow | <anatomy> The large process at the proximal end of the ulna which projects behind the articulation with the humerus and forms the bony prominence of the elbow. Origin: NL, fr.Gr.; elbow + the head. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| point of fixation | The point on the retina at which the rays coming from an object regarded directly are focused. Synonym: point of regard. (05 Mar 2000) |
| point of maximal impulse | The point on the chest wall at which the maximal cardiac impulse is seen and/or felt. (05 Mar 2000) |
| point of ossification | The site of earliest bone formation via accumulation of osteoblasts within connective tissue (membranous ossification) or of earliest destruction of cartilage prior to onset of ossification (endochondral ossification). Synonym: punctum ossificationis, ossific centre, point of ossification. (05 Mar 2000) |
| point of proximal contact | That part of the proximal surface of a tooth which touches the adjacent tooth mesially or distally. Synonym: contact point, point of proximal contact. (05 Mar 2000) |
| point of regard | The point on the retina at which the rays coming from an object regarded directly are focused. Synonym: point of regard. (05 Mar 2000) |
| point projection | <microscopy> A method of producing enlarged images by means of X rays. The specimen is placed close to a point source of X rays and the magnification achieved is the ratio of source-image to source-object distance. Resolution depends primarily on the diameter of the source. (05 Aug 1998) |
| point source | In photometry, a very small source of light which is regarded as a geometrical point from which light emanates in straight lines in all directions. (05 Mar 2000) |
| point-spread function | <microscopy> The mathematical representation of the image of a point source. For a diffraction-limited optical system operating in the absence of aberrations, the point-spread function is the Airy disk. See: three-dimensional diffraction pattern. (05 Aug 1998) |
| point system test types | A near-vision test chart in which the various test types are multiples of a point (1/72 inch), lower-case letters being one-half the designated point size; reading 4-point at 16 inches is normal, and is designated N-4. (05 Mar 2000) |
| point tenderness | <clinical sign> A finding on physical examination that can indicate a localised inflammatory process due to injury or disease. Point tenderness will be discovered over fracture sites (in bone injury). (27 Sep 1997) |