| anterolateral system | A composite bundle of fibres, located in the ventrolateral part of the lateral funiculus, containing spinothalamic, spinohypothalamic, spinoreticular, and spinomesencephalic (spinotectal, spinal to periaqueductal grey, etc.) fibres; occupies the combined areas of the spinal white matter historically divided into anterior and lateral spinothalamic tracts; located in white matter ventral to the denticulate ligament, hence the anatomical basis for the anterolateral cordotomy; concerned with the transmission of nociceptive and thermal information and with crude (nondiscriminative) touch. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| anti-allergic and respiratory system agents | A collective term for drugs used to treat allergic reactions as well as those drugs that produce an effect on the respiratory system. (12 Dec 1998) |
| arch-loop-whorl system | See: Galton's system of classification of fingerprints. (05 Mar 2000) |
| association system | Groups or tracts of nerve fibres interconnecting different regions of one and the same major subdivision of the central nervous system, such as the various areas of the cerebral cortex or the various segments of the spinal cord. (05 Mar 2000) |
| autonomic 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) |
| autonomic nervous system diseases | Diseases that have their major effects on the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system may be seriously affected in many other disorders including other peripheral nervous system diseases, infectious diseases (e.g., tetanus, diphtheria), immunologic diseases (e.g., acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), and systemic disorders (e.g., diabetic neuropathy, amyloid neuropathy, thyroid diseases). Disorders of central autonomic control also contribute substantially to a wide variety of problems (e.g., eating disorders, panic disorder, water-electrolyte imbalance, cardiovascular diseases). (12 Dec 1998) |
| balanced lethal system | <genetics> A population with non-linked, recessive alleles of a gene, where an individual who has two copies of the recessive allele and is therefore homozygous is dead, while an individual who has only one copy of it, and one copy of a different allele (and is heterozygous) survives. (09 Oct 1997) |
| Bethesda system | Recent classification for categorizing cervical Papanicolaou smears. Origin: Bethesda, Maryland, site of NIH (05 Mar 2000) |
| blood-vascular system | The heart and the blood vessels by which blood is pumped and circulated through the body. (12 Dec 1998) |
| bulbosacral system | parasympathetic part |
| cardiovascular system | The heart and the blood vessels by which blood is pumped and circulated through the body. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Mach Zehnder system | Interferometric system in which the original light beam is divided by a semi transparent mirror: object and reference beams pass through separate optical systems and are recombined by a second semi transparent mirror. Interference fringes are displaced if the optical path difference for the reference beam is greater and this can be compensated with a wedge shaped auxiliary object. The position of the wedge allows the phase retardation of the object to be measured. The Mach Zehnder system was used in a microscope designed by Leitz. (18 Nov 1997) |
| Galton's system of classification of fingerprints | A system of classification based on the variations in the patterns of the ridges, which are grouped into arches, loops, and whorls (A.L.W. Or arch-loop-whorl system). "Arches are formed when the ridges run from one side to the other of the bulb of the digit, without making any backward turn, but no twist; whorls, when there is a turn through at least one complete circle; they are also considered to include all duplex spirals." The abbreviations used in making a record of fingerprint's are: a, arch; l, loop; w, whorl; i, loop with an inner (thumb side) slope; o, loop with an outer (little-finger side) slope. The ten digits are registered in four groups as follows, distinguished by capital letters: A, the fore, middle, and ring fingers of the right hand; B, the fore, middle, and ring fingers of the left hand; C, the thumb and little finger of the right hand; D, the thumb and little finger of the left hand. See: dermatoglyphics. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vascular system | The cardiovascular and lymphatic system's collectively. Synonym: circulatory system. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vasomotor system | The neural systems which act on vascular smooth muscle to control blood vessel diameter. The major neural control is through the sympathetic nervous system. (12 Dec 1998) |