| diversity index | <ecology> The relationship of the number of taxa (richness) to the number of individuals per taxon (abundance) for a given community. (09 Oct 1997) |
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| dmf index | "decayed, missing and filled teeth," a routinely used statistical concept in dentistry. (12 Dec 1998) |
| dmfs caries index | An index of past caries experience based upon the number of decayed, missing, and filled surfaces of deciduous (indicated by lower case letters) or permanent (indicated by capital letters) teeth. (05 Mar 2000) |
| icterus index | The value that indicates the relative level of bilirubin in serum or plasma; calculated by comparing (in a colourimeter) the intensity of the colour of the specimen with that of a standard solution (potassium dichromate, 0.05 g, in 500 ml of water, plus 0.2 ml of sulfuric acid); the normal range is 3 to 5, and values greater than 15 are usually associated with clinically apparent jaundice; an index less than 3 is observed in various examples of secondary anaemia, aplastic anaemia, and chlorosis. Sometimes erroneously called icteric index: it is an index of jaundice, not a jaundiced index. (05 Mar 2000) |
| index | Origin: L., cf. F. Index. See Indicate, Diction. 1. That which points out; that which shows, indicates, manifests, or discloses. "Tastes are the indexes of the different qualities of plants." (Arbuthnot) 2. That which guides, points out, informs, or directs; a pointer or a hand that directs to anything, as the hand of a watch, a movable finger on a gauge, scale, or other graduated instrument. In printing, a sign used to direct particular attention to a note or paragraph; called also fist. 3. A table for facilitating reference to topics, names, and the like, in a book; usually alphabetical in arrangement, and printed at the end of the volume. 4. A prologue indicating what follows. 5. <anatomy> The second digit, that next pollex, in the manus, or hand; the forefinger; index finger. 6. <mathematics> The figure or letter which shows the power or root of a quantity; the exponent. [In this sense the plural is always indices] Index error, the error in the reading of a mathematical instrument arising from the zero of the index not being in complete adjustment with that of the limb, or with its theoretically perfect position in the instrument; a correction to be applied to the instrument readings equal to the error of the zero adjustment. Index expurgatorius. [L] See Index prohibitorius (below). Index finger. See Index. Index glass, the mirror on the index of a quadrant, sextant, etc. Index hand, the pointer or hand of a clock, watch, or other registering machine; a hand that points to something. <mathematics> Index of a logarithm, a catalogue of books which are forbidden by the church to be read; the index expurgatorius [L], or expurgatory index, is a catalogue of books from which passages marked as against faith or morals must be removed before Catholics can read them. These catalogues are published with additions, from time to time, by the Congregation of the Index, composed of cardinals, theologians, etc, under the sanction of the pope. Index rerum [L], a tabulated and alphabetized notebook, for systematic preservation of items, quotations, etc. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| index ametropia | That resulting from alteration in the refractive index of the lens of the eye. (05 Mar 2000) |
| index case | A person who first draws attention to their family. For example, if my eye doctor discovers i have glaucoma and subsequently other cases of glaucoma are found in my family, i am the index case. Also called the propositus (if male) or proposita (if female). (12 Dec 1998) |
| index extensor muscle | extensor indicis muscle |
| index finger | The second finger (the thumb being counted as the first). Synonym: digitus secundus, forefinger, index, second finger. (05 Mar 2000) |
| index fossils | Fossils (or groups of fossils) which are used by geologists and paleontologists to help correlate different events or processes in different parts of the world which happened at the same time. Species which make good index fossils are able to tolerate a wide range of ecological conditions, are geographically widespread, common, easy to find, and evolutionarily short-lived (that is, they speciated and then quickly became extinct). In general, they are also planktonic and very small. (09 Oct 1997) |
| index hypermetropia | Hypermetropia arising from decreased refractivity of the lens. Origin: hyper-+ G. Metron, measure, + ops, eye (05 Mar 2000) |
| index myopia | Myopia arising from increased refractivity of the lens, as in nuclear sclerosis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| index of refraction | <physics> For a given wavelength, this is the ratio of the velocity of light in vacuum (c) to the velocity of light in a refractive material (for example, glass, plasma, etc.). (09 Oct 1997) |
| invasion index | An index devised by Abercrombie & Heaysman as a means to estimate the invasiveness of cells in vitro. The index is derived from measurements on confronted explants of the cells and embryonic chick heart fibroblasts growing in tissue culture: it is the ratio of the estimated movement, had the cells not been hindered and the actual movement in the zone in which collision occurs. (18 Nov 1997) |
| iron index | An obsolete index of iron obtained by dividing the figure for the average content of iron in normal blood (42.74 mg) by the red cell count in millions; it normally varies between 8 and 9; in pernicious anaemia, the index is usually greater than 10, but it tends to be normal in chronic secondary anaemia. (05 Mar 2000) |