| open pneumothorax | A free communication between the atmosphere and the pleural space either via the lung or through the chest wall. Synonym: sucking wound. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| open pollination | Pollination by wind, insects, or other natural mechanisms. (09 Oct 1997) |
| open reading frame | <molecular biology> A reading frame in a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that contains no termination codons and so can potentially translate as a polypeptide chain. (18 Nov 1997) |
| open reading frames | Reading frames where successive nucleotide triplets can be read as codons specifying amino acids and where the sequence of these triplets is not interrupted by stop codons. (12 Dec 1998) |
| open reduction of fractures | Reduction by manipulation of bone, after incision in skin and muscle over the site of the fracture. (05 Mar 2000) |
| open skull fracture | A fracture with laceration of overlying scalp and/or mucous membrane. Synonym: compound skull fracture. (05 Mar 2000) |
| open system | A system that exchanges energy and materials with the outside environment. (09 Oct 1997) |
| open tuberculosis | Pulmonary tuberculosis, tuberculous ulceration, or other form in which the tubercle bacilli are present in the excretions or secretions; in the lung, usually the result of cavity formation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fractures, open | Fractures in which there is an external wound communicating with the break of the bone. (12 Dec 1998) |