| ICU | infant care unit; immunologic contact urticaria; intensive care unit; intermediate care unit |
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| NICU | neonatal intensive care unit; neurological intensive care unit; neurosurgical intensive care unit; n... |
| PCR | patient contact record; phosphocreatinine; plasma clearance rate; polymerase chain reaction; post-co... |
| PICD | primary irritant contact dermatitis |
| SCH | student contact hour; succinylcholine |
| area nuda hepatis | 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) |
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| area of cardiac dullness | A triangular area determined by percussion of the front of the chest; it corresponds to the part of the heart that is not covered by lung tissue. (05 Mar 2000) |
| area of facial nerve | <anatomy, nerve> The area in the fundus of the internal acoustic meatus superior to the transverse crest through which the facial nerve passes to enter the facial canal. Synonym: area nervi facialis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| area opaca | The peripheral area of the blastoderm of birds and reptiles which is opaque because of adherent yolk. (05 Mar 2000) |
| area parolfactoria | 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) |
| area pellucida | The translucent central part of the blastoderm of birds and reptiles. (05 Mar 2000) |
| 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) |
| 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) |