| fluid | Having particles which easily move and change their relative position without a separation of the mass, and which easily yield to pressure; capable of flowing; liquid or gaseous. Origin: L. Fluidus, fr. Fluere to flow: cf. F. Fluide. See Fluent. A fluid substance; a body whose particles move easily among themselves. Fluid is a generic term, including liquids and gases as species. Water, air, and steam are fluids. By analogy, the term is sometimes applied to electricity and magnetism, as in phrases electric fluid, magnetic fluid, though not strictly appropriate. Fluid dram, or Fluid drachm, a measure of capacity equal to one eighth of a fluid ounce. Fluid ounce. In the United States, a measure of capacity, in apothecaries' or wine measure, equal to one sixteenth of a pint or 29.57 cubic centimeters. This, for water, is about 1.04158 ounces avoirdupois, or 455.6 grains. In England, a measure of capacity equal to the twentieth part of an imperial pint. For water, this is the weight of the avoirdupois ounce, or 437.5 grains. Fluids of the body. <physiology> The circulating blood and lymph, the chyle, the gastric, pancreatic, and intestinal juices, the saliva, bile, urine, aqueous humor, and muscle serum are the more important fluids of the body. The tissues themselves contain a large amount of combined water, so much, that an entire human body dried in vacuo with a very moderate degree of heat gives about 66 per cent of water. Burning fluid, Elastic fluid, Electric fluid, Magnetic fluid, etc. See Burning, Elastic, etc. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| fluid bilayer model | Generally accepted model for membranes in cells. In its original form, the model held that proteins floated in a sea of phospholipids arranged as a bilayer with a central hydrophobic domain. Although it is now recognised that some proteins are restrained by interactions with cytoskeletal elements and that the phospholipid annulus around a protein may contain only specific types of lipid, the model is still considered broadly correct. (18 Nov 1997) |
| fluid mosaic model | A model used to conceptualise cell membranes, in it, the membranesare described as a structually and functionally asymmetric lipidbilayer studded with embedded proteins that aid in cross-membrane transport. (09 Oct 1997) |
| fluid retention | An abnormal accumulation of fluid in cells, tissues or body cavities that results in swelling. (16 Dec 1997) |
| fluid retinopexy | A procedure to repair a detached retina by holding it in place with a fluid that is heavier than vitreous fluid. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fluid shifts | Translocation of body fluids. Shifts from the lower body to the upper part of the body occur under conditions of actual and simulated weightlessness and have the effect of reducing the total body water content and producing a temporary hypovolaemic state. Shifts are also seen following haemodialysis and are caused by electrolyte imbalances. (12 Dec 1998) |
| fluid therapy | Therapy whose basic objective is to restore the volume and composition of the body fluids to normal with respect to water-electrolyte balance. Fluids may be administered intravenously, orally, by intermittent gavage, or by hypodermoclysis. (12 Dec 1998) |
| fluid wave | A sign of free fluid in the abdominal cavity; percussion on one side of the abdomen transmits a wave that is felt on the opposite side. (05 Mar 2000) |
| follicular fluid | <physiology> A fluid consisting of sex steroid hormones, plasma proteins, mucopolysaccharides, and electrolytes that is present in the vesicular ovarian follicle (graafian follicle) surrounding the ovum. (12 Dec 1998) |
| acetone body | <biochemistry> Any of the three compounds created by acetyl coenzyme A (acetoacetate, hydroxybutyrate, and acetone) which are water-soluble cellular fuels normally exported by the liver. They can build up in the blood and body tissues because of starvation, untreated diabetes mellitus, or other disorders that interfere with carbohydrate metabolism. The body rids itself of ketones mainly through urine, but it rids itself of acetone through the lungs, which gives the breath a characteristic fruity odour. If ketones build up in the body long enough, they cause serious illness and coma (see ketoacidosis.) (09 Oct 1997) |
| acute inclusion body encephalitis | The most common acute encephalitis, caused by HSV-1; affects persons of any age; preferentially involves the inferomedial portions of the temporal lobe and the orbital portions of the frontal lobes; pathologically, severe haemorrhagic necrosis is present along with, in the acute stages, intranuclear eosinophilic inclusion bodies in the neurons and glial cells. Synonym: acute inclusion body encephalitis, herpes encephalitis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| adrenal body | See adrenal gland. (12 Dec 1998) |
| alveolar body | That portion of bone in either the maxilla or the mandible which surrounds and supports the teeth. (12 Dec 1998) |
| amygdaloid body | Almond-shaped group of basal nuclei anterior to the inferior horn of the lateral ventricle of the brain, within the temporal lobe. The amygdala is part of the limbic system. (12 Dec 1998) |
| amylogenic body | A plant plastid involved in the synthesis and storage of starch. Found in many cell types, but particularly storage tissues. Characteristically has starch grains in the plastid stroma. (18 Nov 1997) |