| occlusal vertical dimension | The vertical dimension of the face when the teeth or occlusion rims are in contact in centric occlusion; decrease in occlusal vertical dimension may result from modification of tooth form by attrition or grinding, drifting of teeth, or, in edentulous patients, by resorption of residual ridges; increase may result from modifications of tooth form, tooth position, height of occlusion rims, rebasing or relining, or occlusal splints. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| occlusal wear | Attritional loss of substance on opposing occlusal units or surfaces. See: abrasion. (05 Mar 2000) |
| linguo-occlusal | Relating to the line of junction of the lingual and occlusal surfaces of a tooth. (05 Mar 2000) |
| active length-tension curve | The relationship between active isometric tension and preload (rest length) for a contracting muscle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| alignment curve | The line passing through the centre of the teeth laterally in the direction of the curve of the dental arch. (05 Mar 2000) |
| anti-Monson curve | In dentistry, a curve of occlusion which is convex upward. Synonym: anti-Monson curve. (05 Mar 2000) |
| area under curve | A statistical means of summarizing information from a series of measurements on one individual. It is frequently used in clinical pharmacology where the auc from serum levels can be interpreted as the total uptake of whatever has been administered. As a plot of the concentration of a drug against time, after a single dose of medicine, producing a standard shape curve, it is a means of comparing the bioavailability of the same drug made by different companies. (12 Dec 1998) |
| area under the curve | A measure of how much of a drug reaches the bloodstream in a set period of time, usually 24 hours. AUC is calculated by plotting drug blood concentration at various times during a 24-hour or longer period and then measuring the area under the curve between 0 and 24 hours as shown in the figure to the right. (09 Oct 1997) |
| Barnes' curve | A curve corresponding in general with Carus' curve, being the segment of a circle whose centre is the promontory of the sacrum. (05 Mar 2000) |
| biphasic growth curve | <cell culture, microbiology> A particular type of growth curve seen in cultured microorganisms in which they have two exponential growth stages separated by a plateau phase. This double-hump curve is produced when the microbes are cultured using two carbon sources, one of which must be used up before the second can be used. (19 Jan 1998) |
| buccal curve | The line of the dental arch from the canine, or cuspid tooth to the third molar. (05 Mar 2000) |
| gaussian curve | Continuous frequency distribution of infinite range. Its properties are as follows: 1) continuous, symmetrical distribution with both tails extending to infinity; 2) arithmetic mean, mode, and median identical; and 3) shape completely determined by the mean and standard deviation. (12 Dec 1998) |
| receiver operating characteristic curve | A plot of true positive versus false positive results, usually in a trial of a diagnostic test. A graphical means of assessing the ability of a screening test to discriminate between healthy and diseased persons. Synonym: ROC curve. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Carus' curve | An imaginary curved line obtained from a mathematical formula, supposed to indicate the outlet of the pelvic canal. Synonym: Carus' circle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| maximal expiratory flow-volume curve | <chest medicine> Curves depicting maximal expiratory flow in liters/second at each point of lung inflation (expressed in liters or percentage of forced vital capacity) during a forced vital capacity determination. Common abbreviation is mefv. (12 Dec 1998) |