| left-handed | 1. Having the left hand or arm stronger and more dexterous than the right; using the left hand and arm with more dexterity than the right. 2. Clumsy; awkward; unlucky; insincere; sinister; malicious; as, a left-handed compliment. "The commendations of this people are not always left-handed and detractive." (Landor) 3. Having a direction contrary to that of the hands of a watch when seen in front; said of a twist, a rotary motion, etc, looked at from a given direction. Left-handed marriage, a morganatic marriage. See Morganatic. Left-handed screw, a screw constructed to advance away from the observer, when turned, as in a nut, with a left-handed rotation. An ordinary wood screw is right-handed. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| left heart | The left atrium and left ventricle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left heart bypass | Any procedure that shunts blood returning from the pulmonary circulation to the systemic circulation without passing through the left heart. This is utilised during some cardiac surgery and experimentally during severe left heart failure or cardiogenic shock. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left hepatic artery | <anatomy, artery> Left branch of proper hepatic artery; terminal branch off proper hepatic artery supplying left lobe of the liver. Synonym: ramus sinister arteriae hepaticae propriae. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left hepatic duct | The duct that drains bile from the left half of the liver, including the quadrate lobe and the left part of the caudate lobe. Synonym: ductus hepaticus sinister. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left hepatic veins | Veins draining the lateral segments [II & III] of the left lobe of the liver which join to form a single or paired trunk of variable size which usually (90% of the time) merges with that formed by the middle hepatic veins prior to entering the terminal portion of the superior vena cava. Synonym: venae hepaticae sinistrae. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left lobe | The left subdivision of several glands, e.g., prostate, thyroid, thymus. Synonym: lobus sinister. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left lobe of liver | It is separated from the right lobe above and in front by the falciform ligament, and from the quadrate and caudate lobes by the fissure for the ligamentum teres and the fissure for the ligamentum venosum; the distribution of the portal vein, hepatic artery, and bile ducts does not correspond to the gross lobar divisions of the liver. It contains two segments, superior and inferior. Synonym: lobus hepatis sinister. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left lumbar lymph nodes | The chain of lymph nodes associated with the aorta in the abdomen; it is divided into three groups: lateral aortic lymph nodes on the left of the aorta; pre-aortic lymph nodes in front of the aorta; post-aortic lymph nodes, behind the aorta. Synonym: nodi lymphatici lumbales sinistri, lumbar lymph nodes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left lung segments | <radiology> Upper lobe, apical posterior, anterior, superior lingular, inferior lingular, lower lobe, superior, posterior basal, lateral basal, anterior medial basal (12 Dec 1998) |
| left main bronchus | It arises at the bifurcation of the trachea, passes in front of the oesophagus and enters the hilum of the left lung where it divides into a superior lobe bronchus and an inferior lobe bronchus. It is longer, of narrower caliber, and more nearly-horizontal than the right main bronchus, hence, aspirated objects enter it less frequently. Synonym: bronchus principalis sinister. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left pulmonary artery | <anatomy, artery> The shorter of the two terminal branches of the pulmonary trunk, it pierces the pericardium to enter the hilum of the left lung. Its branches accompany the segmental and subsegmental bronchi. Branches to the superior lobe (rami lobi superioris ) are apical (ramus apicalis ), anterior ascending (ramus anterior ascendens ), anterior descending (ramus anterior descendens ), posterior (ramus posterior ), and lingular (ramus lingularis ), the last having inferior and superior branches (rami lingulares inferior et superior ). Branches to the inferior lobe (rami lobi inferioris ) are the superior branch of the inferior lobe (ramus superior lobi inferior ) and the medial (medialis), anterior, lateral (lateralis) and posterior basal branches (rami basalis ). Synonym: arteria pulmonalis sinistra. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left sagittal fissure | A sagittal groove on the undersurface of the liver formed by the fissura ligamenti teretis anteriorly and the fissura ligamenti venosi posteriorly. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left-sided appendicitis | Appendicitis occurring on the left side of the abdomen, usually the left-lower quadrant, due to abnormal rotation of the gut (such as situs inversus). (05 Mar 2000) |
| left-sided heart failure | Inability of the left heart to maintain its circulatory load with corresponding rise in pressure in the pulmonary circulation usually with pulmonary congestion and ultimately pulmonary oedema. (05 Mar 2000) |