| pressure atrophy | The wasting of hard or soft tissue resulting from excessive pressure applied to tissue by a denture base. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| pressure collapse | Pulmonary collapse due to external compression of the lung, as by a pleural effusion or pneumothorax. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pressure-controlled respirator | A respirator that provides a predetermined pressure to gases during inhalation, the volume of gas moved being variable, depending upon resistance. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pressure dressing | A dressing by which pressure is exerted on the area covered to prevent the collection of fluids in the underlying tissues; most commonly used after skin grafting and in the treatment of burns. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pressure epiphysis | A secondary centre of ossification in the articular end of a long bone. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pressure gangrene | <dermatology> A chronic ulcer that appears in pressure areas in debilitated patients confined to bed or otherwise immobilised, due to a circulatory defect from the enhanced tissue pressure in high-contact areas, often occurring over a bony prominence (for example sacral decubitus). (27 Sep 1997) |
| pressure, intraocular | The pressure created by the continual renewal of fluids within the eye. The intraocular pressure is increased in glaucoma. In acute angle-closure glaucoma, the intraocular pressure rises because the canal into which the fluid in the front part of the eye normally drains is suddenly blocked. In chronic glaucoma, there is a gradual imbalance between the production and removal (resorption) of the fluid in the back part of the eye (with supply exceeding demand). (12 Dec 1998) |
| pressure palsy | Paralysis due to compression of a nerve, nerve trunk, or spinal cord. Synonym: pressure palsy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pressure paralysis | Paralysis due to compression of a nerve, nerve trunk, or spinal cord. Synonym: pressure palsy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pressure plethysmograph | A plethysmograph applied to part of the body, e.g., a limb segment, and arranged so that volume is measured during temporary application of sufficient pressure to the part to empty its blood vessels, a body plethysmograph in which changes of body volume are measured in terms of the consequent changes in air pressure in the body plethysmograph. Volume-displacement plethysmograph, a plethysmograph, usually a body plethysmograph, in which changes in volume displace a corresponding volume into or out of a very compliant measuring device, such as a Krogh spirometer or integrating flowmeter. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pressure pneumothorax | A variety of spontaneous pneumothorax in which air enters the pleural cavity and is trapped during expiration; intrathoracic pressure builds to values higher than atmospheric pressure, compresses the lung, and may displace the mediastinum and its structures toward the opposite side, with consequent disadvantageous effects on blood flow. Synonym: pressure pneumothorax, valvular pneumothorax. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pressure point | A cutaneous locus having pressure-sensitive elements which when compressed, pressure is appreciated. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pressure reversal | Cessation of anaesthesia by hyperbaric pressure; of major importance in understanding the mode of action of anaesthetics. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pressure sense | The faculty of discriminating various degrees of pressure on the surface. Synonym: baresthesia, piesesthesia, weight sense. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pressure sore | <dermatology> A chronic ulcer that appears in pressure areas in debilitated patients confined to bed or otherwise immobilised, due to a circulatory defect from the enhanced tissue pressure in high-contact areas, often occurring over a bony prominence (for example sacral decubitus). (27 Sep 1997) |