| AMA | against medical advice; alkaline membrane assay; American Management Association; American Medical A... |
|---|---|
| Ao | orifice area |
| AOC | abridged ocular chart; amyloxycarbonyl; anodal opening contraction; area of concern |
| AP | accessory pathway; accounts payable; acid phosphatase; acinar parenchyma; action potential; active p... |
| APA | action potential amplitude; aldosterone-producing adenoma; Ambulatory Pediatric Association; America... |
| area postrema | A small, elevated area in the lateral wall of the inferior recess of the fourth ventricle; one of the few loci in the brain where the blood-brain barrier is lacking; a chemoreceptor area associated with vomiting. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| area subcallosa | A slender vertical whitish band immediately anterior to the lamina terminalis and anterior commissure; contrary to its name, it is not a cortical convolution but is the ventral continuation of the transparent septum. Synonym: area subcallosa, gyrus paraterminalis, gyrus subcallosus, pedunculus corporis callosi, corpus paraterminale, paraterminal body, paraterminal gyrus, peduncle of corpus callosum, precommissural septal area, subcallosal area, Zuckerkandl's convolution. (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) |
| area vasculosa | The part of the area opaca of the embryonic blastoderm of the chick, where the first blood vessels appear. (05 Mar 2000) |
| area vestibularis inferior | The area of the fundus of the internal acoustic meatus inferior to the transverse crest through which the interior portion of the vestibular (saccular) nerve passes. Synonym: area vestibularis inferior. (05 Mar 2000) |
| area vestibularis superior | The area in the fundus of the internal acoustic meatus superior to the transverse crest through which the superior part of the vestibular nerve passes to reach the macula utriculus and the ampullae of the anterior and lateral saemicircular ducts. Synonym: area vestibularis superior. (05 Mar 2000) |
| attainment area | A geographic region where the concentration of a specific air pollutant does not exceed federal standards. (05 Dec 1998) |
| auditory area | Area of the temporal lobe concerned with hearing. (12 Dec 1998) |
| bare area of liver | The area on the posterior surface of the liver which is fused with the diaphragm and therefore not covered by peritoneum. Synonym: area nuda hepatis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| bare area of stomach | The part of posterior surface of the fundus of the stomach between the two diverging layers of the gastrophrenic ligament, that is not covered by peritoneum. (05 Mar 2000) |
| basal area | <botany> The cross-sectional area of a tree trunk measured in square inches, square centimetres, etc., basal area is normally measured at 4.5 feet above ground level and is used as a measure of dominance, the most commonly used tool for measuring basal area is a diameter tape or a D-tape (then convert to basal area). (09 Oct 1997) |
| basal seat area | That portion of the oral structures which is available to support a denture. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Broca's area | The posterior part of the inferior frontal gyrus of the left or dominant hemisphere, corresponding approximately to Brodmann's area 44; Broca identified this region as an essential component of the motor mechanisms governing articulated speech. Synonym: Broca's area, Broca's field, motor speech centre. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Broca's parolfactory area | A small region of cerebral cortex on the medial surface of the frontal lobe, formed by the junction of the straight gyrus with the cingulate gyrus, demarcated from the subcallosal gyrus by the posterior parolfactory sulcus. Synonym: area parolfactoria, Broca's parolfactory area. (05 Mar 2000) |