| AFV | amniotic fluid volume; aortic flow velocity |
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| MAF | macrophage activation factor; macrophage agglutinating factor; maximum atrial fragmentation; minimum... |
| TAAF | thromboplastic activity of the amniotic fluid |
| ACI | acceleration index; acoustic comfort index; acute cardiac ischemia; acute coronary infarction; acute... |
| API | alkaline protease inhibitor; Analytical Profile Index; arterial pressure index; atmospheric pressure... |
| fluid | Having particles which easily move and change their relative position without a separation of the mass, and which easily yield to pressure; capable of flowing; liquid or gaseous. Origin: L. Fluidus, fr. Fluere to flow: cf. F. Fluide. See Fluent. A fluid substance; a body whose particles move easily among themselves. Fluid is a generic term, including liquids and gases as species. Water, air, and steam are fluids. By analogy, the term is sometimes applied to electricity and magnetism, as in phrases electric fluid, magnetic fluid, though not strictly appropriate. Fluid dram, or Fluid drachm, a measure of capacity equal to one eighth of a fluid ounce. Fluid ounce. In the United States, a measure of capacity, in apothecaries' or wine measure, equal to one sixteenth of a pint or 29.57 cubic centimeters. This, for water, is about 1.04158 ounces avoirdupois, or 455.6 grains. In England, a measure of capacity equal to the twentieth part of an imperial pint. For water, this is the weight of the avoirdupois ounce, or 437.5 grains. Fluids of the body. <physiology> The circulating blood and lymph, the chyle, the gastric, pancreatic, and intestinal juices, the saliva, bile, urine, aqueous humor, and muscle serum are the more important fluids of the body. The tissues themselves contain a large amount of combined water, so much, that an entire human body dried in vacuo with a very moderate degree of heat gives about 66 per cent of water. Burning fluid, Elastic fluid, Electric fluid, Magnetic fluid, etc. See Burning, Elastic, etc. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| fluid bilayer model | Generally accepted model for membranes in cells. In its original form, the model held that proteins floated in a sea of phospholipids arranged as a bilayer with a central hydrophobic domain. Although it is now recognised that some proteins are restrained by interactions with cytoskeletal elements and that the phospholipid annulus around a protein may contain only specific types of lipid, the model is still considered broadly correct. (18 Nov 1997) |
| fluid mosaic model | A model used to conceptualise cell membranes, in it, the membranesare described as a structually and functionally asymmetric lipidbilayer studded with embedded proteins that aid in cross-membrane transport. (09 Oct 1997) |
| fluid retention | An abnormal accumulation of fluid in cells, tissues or body cavities that results in swelling. (16 Dec 1997) |
| fluid retinopexy | A procedure to repair a detached retina by holding it in place with a fluid that is heavier than vitreous fluid. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fluid shifts | Translocation of body fluids. Shifts from the lower body to the upper part of the body occur under conditions of actual and simulated weightlessness and have the effect of reducing the total body water content and producing a temporary hypovolaemic state. Shifts are also seen following haemodialysis and are caused by electrolyte imbalances. (12 Dec 1998) |
| fluid therapy | Therapy whose basic objective is to restore the volume and composition of the body fluids to normal with respect to water-electrolyte balance. Fluids may be administered intravenously, orally, by intermittent gavage, or by hypodermoclysis. (12 Dec 1998) |
| fluid wave | A sign of free fluid in the abdominal cavity; percussion on one side of the abdomen transmits a wave that is felt on the opposite side. (05 Mar 2000) |
| follicular fluid | <physiology> A fluid consisting of sex steroid hormones, plasma proteins, mucopolysaccharides, and electrolytes that is present in the vesicular ovarian follicle (graafian follicle) surrounding the ovum. (12 Dec 1998) |
| absorbancy index | Absorbance (of light) per unit path length (usually the centimeter) and per unit of mass concentration. Compare: molar absorption coefficient. Synonym: absorbancy index, absorptivity, extinction coefficient, specific extinction. (05 Mar 2000) |
| alveolar index | Relation between the basialveolar (basion to alveolar point) and basinasal (basion to nasion) lengths: (basialveolar length × 100)/basinasal length; the result indicates the degree of projection of the maxilla or upper jaw. Synonym: alveolar index. (05 Mar 2000) |
| anaesthetic index | Ratio of the number of units of anaesthetic required for anaesthesia to the number of units of anaesthetic required to produce respiratory or cardiovascular failure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| antitryptic index | An obsolete term for the relative retardation in loss of viscosity of a solution of casein incubated with trypsin, to which a drop of abnormal blood serum (as from a cancerous patient) has been added, compared with that in a similar solution to which normal serum has been added; if the former drips through the tube of the viscosimeter in 100 seconds, and the latter in 104 seconds, the antitryptic index is 4. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Arneth index | An expression based on adding the percentages of polymorphonuclear neutrophils with 1 or 2 lobes in their nuclei, plus one-half the percentage with 3 lobes; the normal value is 60%. See: Arneth formula, Arneth count. (05 Mar 2000) |
| auricular index | Relation of the width to the height of the auricle or pinna: (width of pinna × 100)/length of pinna. (05 Mar 2000) |