Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «S»:
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Slow virus
Slow virus: 1. A virus that has a long incubation period before the onset of a gradually progressive disease. 2. Specifically, one of the Lentivirinae, a subfamily of viruses that are nononcogenic retroviruses such as Visna virus that cause diseases that are characterized by long incubation periods ...
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Slow-wave sleep
Slow-wave sleep: Stage 3 and 4 non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep. Slow-wave sleep is characterized by brain wave patterns (electroencephalogram or EEG) with a frequency of less than 4 Hz and peak-to-peak amplitude of 75 microV....
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SLS (Sjogren-Larsson syndrome)
SLS (Sjogren-Larsson syndrome): The Sjogren-Larsson syndrome is a genetic (inherited) disease usually characterized by a triad of clinical findings consisting of ichthyosis (thickened fish-like skin), spastic paraplegia (spasticity of the legs) and mental retardation.
The skin changes in the SLS ar...
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Sludge, biliary
Sludge, biliary: A mixture of microscopic particulate matter in bile that occurs when particles of material precipitate from bile. (Bile is the fluid that is made by the liver. It is stored in the gallbladder until after a meal when it passes out of the gallbladder and through the common bile duct ...
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SLV
SLV: Sapporo-like virus. See: Sapovirus....
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Sly syndrome
Sly syndrome: A disorder of mucopolysaccharide metabolism characterized by short stature, coarsening of the facial features, clouding of the cornea, striking enlargement of the liver and spleen, skeletal abnormalities, and intellectual deterioration resulting in moderately severe mental retardation....
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SMA
SMA: Spinal muscular atrophy....
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Smad3
Smad3: A protein in a pathway that helps prevent tumors. Smad3 is a player in a cellular network relay system called the transforming growth factor B (TGF-B) signaling cascade. TGF-B binds to receptors on the surface of blood cells that develop in bone marrow and activates a multi-protein cascade th...
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SMAD4
SMAD4: See: MADH4....
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SMAD4/DPC4
SMAD4/DPC4: See: MADH4....
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Small bowel
Small bowel: Another name for the small intestine.
The word "bowel" originated from the Latin "botulus" meaning "sausage."...
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Small calorie
Small calorie: See: Calorie....
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Small calorie (Calorie)
Calorie: A unit of food energy. In nutrition terms, the word calorie
is used instead of the more precise scientific term kilocalorie which represents
the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a liter of water one
degree centigrade at sea level. The common usage of the word calorie...
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Small cell lung cancer
Small cell lung cancer: A type of lung cancer in which the cells appear small and round under the microscope. Also called oat cell lung cancer....
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Small eye
Small eye: Also called microphthalmia, an abnormally small eye, a congenital malformation (birth defect) of the globe.
The related term "anophthalmia" means no eye and refers to absence of the globe and ocular tissue from the orbit.
Microphthalmia may involve one or both eyes. It may occur in isola...