| LU | left upper [limb]; loudness unit; Lupron; lytic unit |
|---|---|
| LUL | left upper eyelid; left upper limb; left upper lobe; left upper lung |
| MLRD | microgastria-limb reduction defects [association] |
| MTAL | medullary thick ascending limb |
| RL | radial line; radiation laboratory; reduction level; renal dysplasia-limb defects [syndrome]; resisti... |
| culture media, serum-free | Culture media free of serum proteins but including the minimal essential substances required for cell growth. This type of medium avoids the presence of extraneous substances that may affect cell proliferation or unwanted activation of cells. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| purine-free diet | A diet containing a minimal quantity of purine bases (meats); liver, kidney, and sweetbread especially are excluded and replaced by dairy products, fruits, and cereals; alcoholic beverages also are excluded. Synonym: purine-free diet. (05 Mar 2000) |
| specific pathogen-free organisms | Animals or humans raised in the absence of a particular disease-causing virus or other microorganism. Less frequently plants are cultivated pathogen-free. (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease-free survival | Period after successful treatment in which there is no appearance of the symptoms or effects of the disease. (12 Dec 1998) |
| oxygen derived free radicals | An atom or atom group having an unpaired electron on an oxygen atom, typically derived from molecular oxygen. For example, one-electron reduction of O2 produces the superoxide radical, O2-; other examples include the hydroperoxyl radical (HOO-), the hydroxyl radical (HO-), and nitric oxide (NO-). (05 Mar 2000) |
| echo-free | The property of appearing echo-free or without echoes on a sonographic image; a clear cyst appears anechoic. See: transonic. Synonym: echo-free. Origin: G. An-priv. + echo + ic (05 Mar 2000) |
| unesterified free fatty acid | Free fatty acids which occur in plasma as a result of lipolysis in adipose tissue or when plasma triacylglycerols are taken into tissues. (05 Mar 2000) |
| 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) |
| 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 border | Unattached edge of a sturcture, often opposite the attached edge. See: free border of nail, free border of ovary. Synonym: margo liber, free margin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| free border of nail | The distal border of the nail that overhangs the tip of the digit. Synonym: margo liber unguis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| free border of ovary | The unattached, posterior margin of the ovary. Synonym: margo liber ovarii. (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) |