Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «P»:
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PGF
PGF: Placental growth factor....
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pH
pH: A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a fluid. The pH of any fluid is the measure of its hydrogen ion (H+) concentration relative to that of a given standard solution. The pH may range from 0 to 14, where 0 is most acid, 14 most basic, and 7 is neutral.
Mathematically, the pH is the logarith...
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pH meter
pH meter: A simple and speedy device to measure the acidity and alkalinity of a fluid. A pH meter acts as a volt meter that measures the electrical potential difference between a pH electrode and a reference electrode and displays the result in terms of the pH value of the solution in which they are...
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pH, blood
pH, blood: See: Blood pH....
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pH, urine
pH, urine: See: Urine pH....
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Ph.D.
Ph.D.: Doctor of Philosophy. (From the New Latin, philosophiae
doctor). Ph.D.'s are involved in clinical care (as in clinical psychology), biomedical
research (as in the Genome Project), health administration and other areas in medicine....
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Phacoemulsification
Phacoemulsification: A procedure in which the lens clouded by a cataract is broken up by ultrasound, irrigated, and suctioned out. Most cataract surgery today is performed using phacoemulsification. Before the advent of this technique, people with cataracts could expect a 10-day hospital stay follow...
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Phage
Phage: Short for bacteriophage, a virus that lives
within a bacteria. A virus for which the natural host is a bacterial cell.
Bacteriophages have been very important and heuristic in bacterial and molecular genetics. Phages were studied by (among others) Alfred Hershey, Max Delbruck
and Salvado...
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Phagedenic gingivitis
Phagedenic gingivitis: This is trench mouth, a
progressive painful infection with ulceration, swelling
and sloughing off of dead tissue from the mouth and throat
due to the spread of infection from the gums.
Certain germs (including fusiform bacteria and spirochetes) have
been thought to be in...
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Phago-
Phago- (prefix): Eating, devouring. From the Greek "phago" meaning "to eat."
Examples of words starting with phago- include: phagocyte, a cell that can engulf particles; and phagophobia, an excessive fear of eating....
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Phagocyte
Phagocyte: A cell that can engulf particles such as bacteria, other microorganisms, aged red blood cells, foreign matter, etc. The principal phagocytes include the neutrophils and monocytes (types of white blood cells).
The prefix "phago-" comes from the Greek "phago" meaning "to eat."
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Phagocytosis
Phagocytosis: The process by which a cell engulfs particles such as bacteria, other microorganisms, aged red blood cells, foreign matter, etc. The principal phagocytes (cells that can engage in phagocytosis) include the neutrophils and monocytes (types of white blood cells).
The prefix "phago-" come...
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Phalangeal
Phalangeal: Pertaining to a phalanx (a bone in the finger or toe)....
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Phalanges
Phalanges: The plural of phalanx. See: Phalanx....
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Phalanx
Phalanx: Anatomically, any one of the bones in the fingers
or toes. (Plural: phalanges.) There are 3 phalanges
(the proximal, middle, and distal phalanx) in most of the fingers
and toes. However, the thumb and large toe have only two phalanges
that accounts for their being shorter.
A "phalanx" in...
