| RBC | red blood cell; red blood corpuscle; red blood count |
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| WBC | well baby care/clinic; white blood cell; white blood cell count; whole blood cell count |
| BPR | blood pressure recorder; blood production rate |
| PaO2 | partial oxygen tension in arterial blood; partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood |
| AHM | Allied health manpower; ambulatory Holter monitor |
| pressure | 1. The act of pressing, or the condition of being pressed; compression; a squeezing; a crushing; as, a pressure of the hand. 2. A contrasting force or impulse of any kind; as, the pressure of poverty; the pressure of taxes; the pressure of motives on the mind; the pressure of civilization. "Where the pressure of danger was not felt." (Macaulay) 3. Affliction; distress; grievance. "My people's pressures are grievous." (Eikon Basilike) "In the midst of his great troubles and pressures." (Atterbury) 4. Urgency; as, the pressure of business. 5. Impression; stamp; character impressed. "All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past." (Shak) 6. <mechanics> The action of a force against some obstacle or opposing force; a force in the nature of a thrust, distributed over a surface, often estimated with reference to the upon a unit's area. Atmospheric pressure, Center of pressure, etc. See Atmospheric, Center, etc. <engineering> Back pressure, pressure which resists the motion of the piston, as the pressure of exhaust steam which does not find free outlet. Fluid pressure, pressure like that exerted by a fluid. It is a thrust which is normal and equally intense in all directions around a point. Pressure gauge, a gauge for indicating fluid pressure; a manometer. Origin: OF, fr. L. Pressura, fr. Premere. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| pressure alopecia | Loss of hair over a circumscribed area usually on the posterior scalp, resulting from the continuous pressure on the occiput in a lengthy operative procedure, or unconsciousness following a drug overdose. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pressure amaurosis | A loss of vision occurring a few seconds after intraocular pressure exceeds systolic pressure of retinal arteries. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pressure anaesthesia | Loss of sensation produced by pressure applied to a nerve. Synonym: compression anaesthesia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pressure atrophy | The wasting of hard or soft tissue resulting from excessive pressure applied to tissue by a denture base. (05 Mar 2000) |
| 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) |