| mattress | Origin: OF. Materas, F. Matelas, LL. Matratium; cf. Sp. & Pg. Almadraque, Pr. Almatrac; all from Ar. Ma<tsdot/rah a place where anything is thrown, what is thrown under something, fr. <tsdot/araha to throw. 1. A quilted bed; a bed stuffed with hair, moss, or other suitable material, and quilted or otherwise fastened. Alternative forms: matress. 2. <physics> A mass of interwoven brush, poles, etc, to protect a bank from being worn away by currents or waves. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| mattress suture | A suture utilizing a double stitch that forms a loop about the tissue on both sides of a wound, producing eversion of the edges when tied. Synonym: quilted suture. (05 Mar 2000) |
| maturant | <medicine> A medicine, or application, which promotes suppuration. Origin: L. Maturans, p. Pr. See Maturate. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| maturate | 1. To bring to ripeness or maturity; to ripen. "A tree may be maturated artificially." (Fuller) 2. To promote the perfect suppuration of (an abscess). Origin: L. Maturatus, p. P. Of maturare to make ripe, fr. Maturus ripe, mature. See Mature, &. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| maturation | 1. Achievement of full development or growth. 2. Developmental changes that lead to maturity. 3. Processing of a macromolecule; e.g., posttranscriptional modification of RNA or posttranslational modification of proteins. Origin: L. Maturatio, a ripening, fr. Maturus, ripe (05 Mar 2000) |
| maturation arrest | Cessation of complete differentiation of cells at an immature stage; in spermatogenic maturation arrest, the seminiferous tubules contain spermatocytes, but no spermatozoa develop. (05 Mar 2000) |
| maturation factor | <biochemistry> Member of the water soluble B vitamin group, important in the proper function of the nervous system and important in proper carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism. (27 Sep 1997) |
| maturation index | An index indicating the degree of maturation attained by the vaginal epithelium as adjudged by the cell types being exfoliated; serves as an objective means of evaluating hormonal secretion or response; represents the percentage of parabasal cells/intermediate cells/superficials, in that order; "shift to the left" indicates more immature cells on the surface (atrophy), while "shift to the right" indicates more mature epithelium. (05 Mar 2000) |
| maturation value | An indicator of the level of maturation attained by vaginal epithelium and used as a factor in cytohormonal evaluation from the maturation index by valuing the parabasal cells at 0.0, the intermediate cells at 0.5, and the superficial cells at 1.0; for special investigations, subtypes of a major cell can be given different values's. (05 Mar 2000) |
| maturation-promoting factor | <enzyme> A protein kinase that drives both the mitotic and meiotic cycles in all eukaryotic organisms. In meiosis it induces immature oocytes to undergo meiotic maturation. In mitosis it has a role in the G2/M phase transition. Once activated by cyclins, maturation-promoting factor directly phosphorylates some of the proteins involved in nuclear envelope breakdown, chromosome condensation, spindle assembly, and the degradation of cyclins. The catalytic subunit of maturation-promoting factor is protein p34cdc2. Acronym: MPF (12 Dec 1998) |
| maturative | <medicine> A remedy promoting maturation; a maturant. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| mature | 1. Brought by natural process to completeness of growth and development; fitted by growth and development for any function, action, or state, appropriate to its kind; full-grown; ripe. "Now is love mature in ear." (Tennison) "How shall I meet, or how accost, the sage, Unskilled in speech, nor yet mature of age ?" (Pope) 2. Completely worked out; fully digested or prepared; ready for action; made ready for destined application or use; perfected; as, a mature plan. "This lies glowing, . . . And is almost mature for the violent breaking out." (Shak) 3. Of or pertaining to a condition of full development; as, a man of mature years. 4. Come to, or in a state of, completed suppuration. Synonym: Ripe, perfect, completed, prepared, digested, ready. Mature, Ripe. Both words describe fullness of growth. Mature brings to view the progressiveness of the process; ripe indicates the result. We speak of a thing as mature when thinking of the successive stayes through which it has passed; as ripe, when our attention is directed merely to its state. A mature judgment; mature consideration; ripe fruit; a ripe scholar. Origin: L. Maturus; prob. Akin to E. Matin. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| mature bacteriophage | The complete, infective form of bacteriophage. (05 Mar 2000) |
| mature cataract | A cataract in which both the nucleus and cortex are opaque. Synonym: complete cataract, ripe cataract. (05 Mar 2000) |
| mature cell leukaemia | Chronic granulocytic leukaemia. (05 Mar 2000) |