| BRA | bilateral renal agenesis; bone-resorbing activity; brain-reactive antibody |
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| BRM | biological response modifier; biuret reactive material |
| CRP | chronic relapsing pancreatitis; corneal-retinal potential; coronary rehabilitation program; C-reacti... |
| CRPA | C-reactive protein antiserum |
| DRA | dextran-reactive antibody |
| involuntary nervous system | <anatomy> Neurons that are not under conscious control, comprising two antagonistic components, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The autonomic nervous system regulates key functions including the activity of the cardiac (heart) muscle, smooth muscles (e.g., of the gut), and glands. The autonomic nervous system has two divisions: 1. The sympathetic nervous system that accelerates the heart rate, constricts blood vessels, and raises blood pressure. 2. The parasympathetic nervous system slows the heart rate, increases intestinal and gland activity, and relaxes sphincter muscles. (03 Jul 1999) |
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| enteric nervous system | Two ganglionated neural plexuses in the gut wall which form one of the three major divisions of the autonomic nervous system. The enteric nervous system innervates the gastrointestinal tract, the pancreas, and the gallbladder. It contains sensory neurons, interneurons, and motor neurons. Thus the circuitry can autonomously sense the tension and the chemical environment in the gut and regulate blood vessel tone, motility, secretions, and fluid transport. The system is itself governed by the central nervous system and receives both parasympathetic and sympathetic innervation. (12 Dec 1998) |
| absent state | The saemiconscious state associated with an epileptic attack. Synonym: absent state. (05 Mar 2000) |
| activated state | <chemistry, radiobiology> An atom or nucleus which possesses more energy than its ground state energy. (16 Dec 1997) |
| acute confusional state | <psychiatry> A condition of severe confusion or rapid change in brain function. This often occurs as the result of a mental illness or physical illness. Symptoms include lethargy, agitation, confusion, disorientation and delirium. (27 Sep 1997) |
| anxiety tension state | A milder form of an anxiety disorder. See: anxiety disorders. (05 Mar 2000) |
| apallic state | Diffuse, bilateral cerebral cortical degeneration caused by head injury, anoxia, or encephalitis, a state of persistent unresponsiveness, such as akinetic mutism, caused by brain damage. See: vegetative. Synonym: apallic syndrome, apallic. (05 Mar 2000) |
| carrier state | A condition in which a human who is not himself sick harbors an infective organism which may cause disease in those to whom it is transmitted. (12 Dec 1998) |
| refractory state | Subnormal excitability immediately following a response to previous excitation; the state is divided into absolute and relative phases. (05 Mar 2000) |
| central excitatory state | The building up of excitatory influences produced by individual impulses finally causes firing of the next neuron. (05 Mar 2000) |
| perfect state | In fungi, that portion of the life cycle in which spores are formed after nuclear fusion. (05 Mar 2000) |
| mental state | <clinical sign, psychiatry> A finding on physical examination that may refer to any number of abnormal changes in baseline mental functioning. Milder examples include mood changes, irritability, personality changes, depression or blunted affect. Advanced changes include confusion, lethargy, sleepiness, hallucinations, unresponsiveness and coma. (27 Sep 1997) |
| ground state | <chemistry, radiobiology> The state of a nucleus, atom or molecule at its lowest energy. All other states are excited. (16 Dec 1997) |
| persistent vegetative state | A persistent loss of upper cortical function that may follow acute (e.g., infections, toxins, trauma or vascular) events or chronic (e.g., degenerative) events. The patient is bedridden and nutritional support is completely passive, either parenteral or via nasogastric tube. The patient does not require respiratory support or circulatory assistance for survival and is in a state of chronic wakefulness without awareness which may be accompanied by spontaneous eye opening, grunts or screams, brief smiles, sporadic movement of facial muscles and limbs. While the eyes blink upon stimulation, they do not do so in response to visual threats. Some patients chew or clamp their teeth. Urinary and faecal incontinence is universal. (12 Dec 1998) |
| convulsive state | <disease, neurology> The paroxysmal transient disturbances of brain function that may be manifested as episodic impairment or loss of consciousness, abnormal motor phenomena, psychic or sensory disturbances or perturbation of the autonomic nervous system. Symptoms are due to paroxysmal disturbance of the electrical activity of the brain. On the basis of origin, epilepsy is idiopathic (cryptogenic, essential, genetic) or symptomatic (acquired, organic). On the basis of clinical and electroencephalographic phenomenon, four subdivisions are recognised: 1. Grand mal epilepsy (major epilepsy, haut mal epilepsy) subgroups: generalised, focal (localised), jacksonian (rolandic) 2. Petit mal epilepsy 3. Psychomotor epilepsy (temporal lobe epilepsy, psychic, psychic equivalent or variant) subgroups: psychomotor proper (tonic with adversive or torsion movements or masticatory phenomena), automatic (with amnesia) and sensory (hallucinations or dream states or d굁. Vu) 4. Autonomic epilepsy (diencephalic), with flushing, pallor, tachycardia, hypertension, perspiration or other visceral symptoms. Synonym: epilepsia. Origin: Gr. Epilepsia = seizure (14 May 1997) |