| spinal block | An obstruction to the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the spinal subarachnoid space; used inaccurately to refer to spinal anaesthesia. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| stellate block | Injection of local anaesthetic solution in the vicinity of the stellate ganglion. (05 Mar 2000) |
| neurolytic block | <procedure> The injection of a chemical agent to cause destruction and consequent prolonged interruption of peripheral somatic or sympathetic nerves or in some cases, the neuraxis. (16 Dec 1997) |
| nondepolarising block | Skeletal mucle paralysis unaccompanied by changes in polarity of the motor endplate, as occurs following administration of tubocurarine. (05 Mar 2000) |
| suprahisian block | Atrioventricular conduction delay occurring above, or cephalad to, the bundle of His. (05 Mar 2000) |
| depolarising block | <physiology> Skeletal muscle paralysis associated with loss of polarity of the motor endplate, as occurs following administration of succinylcholine. (05 Mar 2000) |
| double thymidine block | <cell culture, procedure> A lab technique used to synchronise the cell cycles of all the cells in a culture. This is done by adding excessive amounts of thymidine (a deoxynucleoside) to the culture so that DNA replication is blocked. Eventually, all of the cells will reach the same point in the cell cycle and stop. (09 Oct 1997) |
| incomplete atrioventricular block | Impulses penetrate the atrioventricular junction in some relation to the ventricular rate. Synonym: incomplete atrioventricular block. (05 Mar 2000) |
| intra-atrial block | Impaired conduction through the atria, manifested by widened and often notched P waves in the electrocardiogram. (05 Mar 2000) |
| intraventricular block | Delayed conduction within the ventricular conducting system or myocardium, including bundle-branch, peri-infarction blocks, the fascicular blocks, excitation, and the W-P-W (pre-expectation) syndrome. (05 Mar 2000) |
| entrance block | An incompletely understood mechanism whereby a pacemaker is protected from being discharged by the impulse from another centre; the mechanism, usually conceived as an encircling zone of unidirectionally refractory tissue permitting egress of impulses from the centre but preventing access to the centre, is seen in operation in ventricular parasystole where the parasystolic centre is protected from discharge by the sinus pacemaker and so is able to maintain its intrinsic rhythm undisturbed. Synonym: entrance block, protection. (05 Mar 2000) |
| epidural block | An obstruction in the epidural space; used inaccurately to refer to epidural anaesthesia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| exit block | Inability of an impulse to leave its point of origin, the mechanism for which is conceived as an encircling zone of refractory tissue denying passage to the emerging impulse. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fascicular block | A condition based on the concept that the left branch of the bundle of His provides two of three major fascicles of a system of conduction, of which the right bundle branch constitutes the third, for the transmission of the cardiac impulse from the atrium above to the ventricles below the A-V node; block may occur in any or all fascicles, all three together producing complete A-V block. See: hemiblock. (05 Mar 2000) |
| unidirectional block | Block that prevents passage of an impulse when it approaches from one direction but not from the other, as when block in the A-V node prevents anterograde conduction to the ventricles while retrograde conduction to the atria remains intact. (05 Mar 2000) |