The definitions used in this glossary of terminology either have been provided by the authors of the articles, or have been extracted wholly or in part, or paraphrased from the following sources: The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine, Charles B. Clayman, MD, Medical Editor, Random House, New York, 1989; Biotechnology from A to Z, 2d Edition, William Bains, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; A Dictionary of Genetics, 6th Edition, Robert C. King and William D. Stansfield, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 29th and 30th Editions, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 2000, 2003; Genes VII, Benjamin Lewin, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2000; The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, Volumes I and II, Stacey L. Blachford, Ed., Thomson Learning, New York, New York, 2002; The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts, 1997; Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3rd Edition, Bruce Alberts, et al., Garland Publishing, 1994; The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition, 1966; Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1991.

DEFINITION:

pitch

1. A dark, lustrous, more or less viscous residue from the distillation of tar and other substances. Domestic animals and livestock sometimes eat pitch-containing substances and can die from pitch poisoning.

2. Any of various bituminous substances such as natural asphalt.

3. A resin from the sap of some coniferous trees.

4. The quality of sound dependent principally on its frequency.

5. To erect and fix firmly in place.

6. Throw, fling.

7. To deliver a baseball to a batter.

8. To toss (as coins) toward a mark.

9. To set at a particular level.

10. To fall headlong.

11. To have the front end (as of a ship)alternately plunge and rise.

12. To incline downward; slope.

13. The action or a manner of pitching.

14. Degree of slope.

15. The relative level of some quality or state.

16. Highness or lowness of sound; also, a standard frequency for tuning instruments.

17. An often high-pressure sales talk.

18. The delivery of a baseball to a batter; also, the baseball delivered.