| PP | diphosphate group; emphysema [pink puffers]; near point of accommodation [Lat. punctum proximum]; pa... |
|---|---|
| FP | false positive; family physician; family planning; family practice; family practitioner; Fanconi pan... |
| PEEP | positive end-expiratory pressure, peak end-expiratory pressure |
| CPTP | culture-positive toxin-positive |
| AGC | Automatic Gain Control |
| positive electron | A subatomic particle of mass and charge equal to the electron but of opposite (i.e., positive) charge. Synonym: positive electron. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| positive electrotaxis | Electrotaxis by which an organism is attracted toward a cathode or repelled from an anode. (05 Mar 2000) |
| positive, false | A result that is erroneously positive when a situation is normal. An example of a false positive: a particular test designed to detect cancer of the toenail is positive but the person does not have toenail cancer. (12 Dec 1998) |
| positive feedback | <physiology> The return of some of the output of a system as input so as to exert some control in the process. (18 Nov 1997) |
| positive focal length | <microscopy> Any lens which converges parallel rays to a focus at the back of the lens is a positive lens and has a positive focal length. The focal length is measured from the second principal point of the lens to the point on the lens axis where the rays from an infinitely distant point are brought to focus. See: negative focal length. (05 Aug 1998) |
| positive G | Gravity or acceleration in the usual head-to-foot direction in flying or in standing upright; the reverse of negative G. (05 Mar 2000) |
| positive image | <microscopy> A developed image in which dark areas correspond to dark areas of the original subject. (05 Aug 1998) |
| positive lens | <physics> Any lens with a positive focal length. Such lenses are thicker in the centre than around the circumference. There are three types of positive lenses, double convex or biconvex, planoconvex, converging concavoconvex or converging meniscus. (05 Aug 1998) |
| positive meniscus | A convexoconcave lens in which the power of the convexity exceeds that of the concavity. Synonym: positive meniscus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| positive ocular | <microscopy> A Ramsden ocular or any modification of it. The diaphragm is below the field lens. (05 Aug 1998) |
| positive phase | The period following the negative phase, during which the opsonic index rises. (05 Mar 2000) |
| positive rays | Those originating in a gas discharge tube and moving in a direction opposite to that of cathode ray's; made up of positively charged ions. Synonym: positive rays. (05 Mar 2000) |
| positive scotoma | A scotoma that is perceived as a black spot within the field of vision. (05 Mar 2000) |
| positive stain | <technique> Direct binding of a dye with a tissue component to produce contrast; in electron microscopy, heavy metals like uranyl and lead salts are used to bind to selective cell constituents to produce increased density to the electron beam, i.e., contrast. (05 Mar 2000) |
| positive strand RNA viruses | Class IV and VI viruses that have a single stranded RNA genome that can act as mRNA plus strand) and in which the virus RNA is itself infectious. Includes Picornaviridae, Togaviridae and Retroviridae. (18 Nov 1997) |