| LBD | large bile duct; left border of dullness |
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| LCB | Laboratory of Cancer Biology; Leber congenital blindness; left costal border; lymphomatosis cutis be... |
| LLB | left lateral border; long-leg brace |
| LLBCD | left lower border of cardiac dullness |
| RBCD | right border cardiac dullness |
| free | 1. Exempt from subjection to the will of others; not under restraint, control, or compulsion; able to follow one's own impulses, desires, or inclinations; determining one's own course of action; not dependent; at liberty. "That which has the power, or not the power, to operate, is that alone which is or is not free." (Locke) 2. Not under an arbitrary or despotic government; subject only to fixed laws regularly and fairly administered, and defended by them from encroachments upon natural or acquired rights; enjoying political liberty. 3. Liberated, by arriving at a certain age, from the control of parents, guardian, or master. 4. Not confined or imprisoned; released from arrest; liberated; at liberty to go. "Set an unhappy prisoner free." (Prior) 5. Not subjected to the laws of physical necessity; capable of voluntary activity; endowed with moral liberty; said of the will. "Not free, what proof could they have given sincere Of true allegiance, constant faith, or love." (Milton) 6. Clear of offense or crime; guiltless; innocent. "My hands are guilty, but my heart is free." (Dryden) 7. Unconstrained by timidity or distrust; unreserved; ingenuous; frank; familiar; communicative. "He was free only with a few." (Milward) 8. Unrestrained; immoderate; lavish; licentious; used in a bad sense. "The critics have been very free in their censures." (Felton) "A man may live a free life as to wine or women." (Shelley) 9. Not close or parsimonious; liberal; open-handed; lavish; as, free with his money. 10. Exempt; clear; released; liberated; not encumbered or troubled with; as, free from pain; free from a burden; followed by from, or, rarely, by of. "Princes declaring themselves free from the obligations of their treaties." (Bp. Burnet) 11. Characteristic of one acting without restraint; charming; easy. 12. Ready; eager; acting without spurring or whipping; spirited; as, a free horse. 13. Invested with a particular freedom or franchise; enjoying certain immunities or privileges; admitted to special rights; followed by of. "He therefore makes all birds, of every sect, Free of his farm." (Dryden) 14. Thrown open, or made accessible, to all; to be enjoyed without limitations; unrestricted; not obstructed, engrossed, or appropriated; open; said of a thing to be possessed or enjoyed; as, a free school. "Why, sir, I pray, are not the streets as free For me as for you?" (Shak) 15. Not gained by importunity or purchase; gratuitous; spontaneous; as, free admission; a free gift. 16. Not arbitrary or despotic; assuring liberty; defending individual rights against encroachment by any person or class; instituted by a free people; said of a government, institutions, etc. 17. Certain or honorable; the opposite of base; as, free service; free socage. 18. Privileged or individual; the opposite of common; as, a free fishery; a free warren. 19. Not united or combined with anything else; separated; dissevered; unattached; at liberty to escape; as, free carbonic acid gas; free cells. Free agency, the capacity or power of choosing or acting freely, or without necessity or constraint upon the will. Free bench, to sail with the yards not braced in as sharp as when sailing closehauled, or close to the wind. Origin: OE. Fre, freo, AS. Freo, fri; akin to D. Vrij, OS. & OHG. Fri, G. Frei, Icel. Fri, Sw. & Dan. Fri, Goth. Freis, and also to Skr. Prija beloved, dear, fr. Pri to love, Goth. Frijn. Cf. Affray, Belfry, Friday, Friend, Frith inclosure. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| free association | Spontaneous verbalization of whatever comes to mind. (12 Dec 1998) |
| free bone flap | Portion of cranium removed and detached from overlying soft tissue structures. (05 Mar 2000) |
| free calcium level | <biochemistry> The ionised calcium represents the calcium (Ca++) that is the metabolically active calcium. Normal values for ionised calcium in the bloodstream should be 4.4 to 5.3 mg/dl for adults and 4.4 to 6.0 mg/dl for children. Elevations may be seen in hyperparathyroidism, metastatic bone tumour, milk-alkali syndrome, multiple myeloma, Paget's disease, sarcoidosis, PTH-secreting tumours (paraneoplastic syndrome) and vitamin D intoxication. Lower than normal values may be seen in hypoparathyroidism, malabsorption, osteomalacia, pancreatitis, renal failure, rickets and vitamin D deficiency. (27 Sep 1997) |
| free-central | A placentation in which the ovules are borne on a free-standing central placenta within the ovary. (09 Oct 1997) |
| free electron | <radiobiology> An electron not bound to an atom, molecule, or other particle via electromagnetic forces. (09 Oct 1997) |
| free electrophoresis | Electrophoresis of substances placed in a solution in a U-shaped tube. (05 Mar 2000) |
| free energy | A thermodynamic term used to describe the energy that may be extracted from a system at constant temperature and pressure. In biological systems the most important relationship is: _G = RTln(Keq), where Keq is an equilibrium constant. (18 Nov 1997) |
| free field | A field (three-dimensional space) in a homogeneous, isotropic medium free from boundaries; in practice, a field in which boundary effects are negligible. (05 Mar 2000) |
| free flap | Island flap in which the donor vessels are severed proximally, the flap is transported as a free object to the recipient area, and the flap is revascularised by anastomosing its supplying vessels to vessels there. (05 Mar 2000) |
| free-floating anxiety | In psychoanalysis, a pervasive unrealistic expectation unattached to a clearly formulated concept or object of fear; observed particularly in anxiety neurosis and may be seen in some cases of latent schizophrenia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| free gingiva | That portion of the gingiva that surrounds the tooth and is not directly attached to the tooth surface; the outer wall of the gingival sulcus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| free graft | A graft transplanted without its normal attachments, or a pedicle, from one site to another. (05 Mar 2000) |
| free-hand knife | A manually operated knife or blade usually used to take split-thickness skin grafts; e.g., Blair-Brown knife, Humby knife, Theirsh knife. (05 Mar 2000) |
| free-hearted | Open; frank; unreserved; liberal; generous; as, free-hearted mirth. Free"-heartedly, Free"-heartedness. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |