peculiar

DEFINITION:

1. Belonging exclusively to one person or group.
2. Characteristic, distinctive.
3. Queer, odd.

acrid

DEFINITION:

Pungent; producing an irritation.

atomic number

DEFINITION:

The number of protons in the nucleus of a nuclide; all the atoms of a chemical element have the same atomic number; sometimes indicated by a subscript preceding the symbol of a chemical element (e.g., ₁H). Symbol Z.

atomic weight

DEFINITION:

The average atomic mass of an element compared to 1/12 the mass of carbon 12.

plates

DEFINITION:

1. Flat structures or layers, such as a thin layer of bone.
2. Any flat container, usually a Petri dish, containing sterile solid medium for the culture of microorganisms.
3. In singular form, to prepare a culture medium in a Petri dish, or to inoculate such a medium with a bacterial culture.

granules

DEFINITION:

Small particles or grains, as the small bead-like masses of tissue formed on the surface of wounds, or the insoluble nonmembranous particles found in cytoplasm.

nutrition

DEFINITION:

1. The sum of the processes involved in taking in nutriments and assimilating and utilizing them.

2. Nutriment.

synthesis

DEFINITION:

The artificial building up of a chemical compound, by the union of its elements or from other suitable starting materials.

regulate

DEFINITION:

1. To adjust to a certain standard.
2. In biology, to adapt the form or behavior of an organism to changed conditions.
3. To possess the power to form a whole embryo from stages before the gastrula.

cells

DEFINITION:

See definitions for "cell."

topical

DEFINITION:

Pertaining to a particular surface area, as a topical anti-infective applied to a certain area of the skin and affecting only the area to which it is applied.

anti-infective

DEFINITION:

1. Capable of killing infectious agents or of preventing them from spreading and causing infection.

2. An agent that so acts.

radioactive isotope

DEFINITION:

Radioisotope.

atomic mass

DEFINITION:

Atomic weight; used particularly when describing a single isotope of a nuclide.

half-life

DEFINITION:

1. The time required for the decay of half of a sample of particles of a radionuclide or elementary particle, equal to 0.693 divided by the decay constant; symbol t_½ or T_½.

2. Half-time.

emitting

DEFINITION:

1. Giving off or out; also, ejecting.

2. Expressing, uttering.

X

DEFINITION:

Symbol for Kienbock unit and xanthine or xanthosine . See also exposure , definition 3.

tracer

DEFINITION:

1. A dissecting instrument for isolating vessels and nerves.

2. A mechanical device by which the outline of an object or the direction and extent of movement of a part may be graphically recorded; See also tracing .

3. A means or agent by which certain substances or structures can be identified or followed, as a radioactive tracer.

radiation

DEFINITION:

1. Divergence from a common center.
2. A structure made up of divergent elements, as one of the fiber tracts in the brain.
3. Energy transmitted by waves through space or through some medium; usually referring to electromagnetic radiation when used without a modifier. By extension, a stream of particles, such as electrons, neutrons, protons, or alpha particles.

radiation therapy

DEFINITION:

Radiotherapy.

radioisotope

DEFINITION:

An isotope which is radioactive; one having an unstable nucleus and emitting characteristic radiation during its decay to a stable form. Radioisotopes have important diagnostic and therapeutic uses in clinical medicine and research.

atomic mass

DEFINITION:

Atomic weight; used particularly when describing a single isotope of a nuclide.

half-life

DEFINITION:

1. The time required for the decay of half of a sample of particles of a radionuclide or elementary particle, equal to 0.693 divided by the decay constant; symbol t_½ or T_½.

2. Half-time.

emitting

DEFINITION:

1. Giving off or out; also, ejecting.

2. Expressing, uttering.

radioactive tracer

DEFINITION:

A radioactive isotope replacing a stable chemical element in a compound (said to be radiolabeled ) and so able to be followed or tracked through one or more reactions or systems by means of a radiation detector; used especially for such a compound that is introduced into the body for study of the compound's metabolism, distribution, and passage through the body.

in vitro

DEFINITION:

Within a glass; observable in a test tube; in an artificial environment.

thyroid

DEFINITION:

1. Resembling a shield; scutiform.

2. The thyroid gland.

3. [USP] The cleaned, dried, and powdered thyroid gland previously deprived of connective tissue and fat, obtained from domesticated animals that are used for food by man, containing 0.17-0.23 percent of iodine in thyroid combination, occurring as a yellowish to buff-colored amorphous powder; formerly used as a source of thyroid hormones in the treatment of hypothyroidism.

imaging

DEFINITION:

The production of clarity, contrast, and detail in images, especially in radiological and ultrasound images.

radioactive isotope

DEFINITION:

Radioisotope.

atomic mass

DEFINITION:

Atomic weight; used particularly when describing a single isotope of a nuclide.

half-life

DEFINITION:

1. The time required for the decay of half of a sample of particles of a radionuclide or elementary particle, equal to 0.693 divided by the decay constant; symbol t_½ or T_½.

2. Half-time.

beta

DEFINITION:

[B, β] The second letter of the Greek alphabet.

As Beta - The beets, a genus of herbaceous plants of the family Chenopodiaceae. Beta vulgaris (L.) is the sugar beet, a commercial source of sucrose. The leafy tops of beets are rich in oxalates and can cause oxalate poisoning in animals that eat them in large amounts.

tracer

DEFINITION:

1. A dissecting instrument for isolating vessels and nerves.

2. A mechanical device by which the outline of an object or the direction and extent of movement of a part may be graphically recorded; See also tracing .

3. A means or agent by which certain substances or structures can be identified or followed, as a radioactive tracer.

radiation

DEFINITION:

1. Divergence from a common center.
2. A structure made up of divergent elements, as one of the fiber tracts in the brain.
3. Energy transmitted by waves through space or through some medium; usually referring to electromagnetic radiation when used without a modifier. By extension, a stream of particles, such as electrons, neutrons, protons, or alpha particles.

radiation therapy

DEFINITION:

Radiotherapy.