Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «I»:
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Incompatibility, Rh
Incompatibility, Rh: The state of mother and fetus
having different Rh blood group types so that their Rh types are "incompatible." The red blood cells of an Rh+ (Rh positive) fetus may in this situation be attacked by antibodies produced by the Rh- (Rh negative) mother. The antibodies pass across ...
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Incompetent cervix
Incompetent cervix: A cervix that is abnormally liable to dilate and
so is not competent to keep the fetus up in the uterus and keep it from being
spontaneously aborted (miscarried)....
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Inconclusive clinical trial
Inconclusive clinical trial: A clinical trial that shows that a new treatment is neither clearly superior nor clearly inferior to standard treatment. See: Clinical trials. See also:
Negative clinical trial;
Non-inferior clinical trial;
Positive clinical trial....
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Incontinence
Incontinence: Inability to control excretions. Urinary
incontinence is inability to keep urine in the bladder. Fecal incontinence is inability to
retain feces in the rectum. ...
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Incontinence of urine
Incontinence of urine: Inability to hold urine in the
bladder. This is due to failure of voluntary control over the urinary
sphincters resulting
in involuntary passage of urine (wetting). See enuresis. See also
bedwetting....
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Incontinence, fecal
Incontinence, fecal: Inability to hold feces in the
rectum. This is due to failure of voluntary control over the anal sphincters permitting untimely passage of feces and gas. Also called rectal incontinence....
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Incontinence, rectal
Incontinence, rectal: Inability to hold feces in the
rectum due to failure of voluntary control over the anal sphincters with involuntary passage of feces and gas. Also called fecal incontinence....
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Incontinence, urge
Incontinence, urge: A sudden involuntary contraction of the muscular wall of the bladder causing urinary urgency, an immediate unstoppable urge to urinate. It is a form of urinary incontinence (the unintentional loss of urine) and affects about 1 in 11 adults, particularly older adults. Treatment ma...
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Incontinence, urinary
Incontinence, urinary: The unintentional loss of urine. Inability to hold urine in the bladder due to loss of voluntary control over the urinary sphincters resulting in the involuntary passage of urine.
One cause of urinary incontinence is an overactive bladder in which there is a sudden involuntary...
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Incontinent
Incontinent: Unable to control excretions, to hold
urine in the bladder or keep feces in the rectum. This is the usual medical meaning of the word incontinent. Incontinent can also refer to a lack of self-restraint in the sexual arena or failure to refrain from sexual intercourse....
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Incontinentia pigmenti
Incontinentia pigmenti: A genetic disease that
begins soon after birth with the development of blisters on the trunk and limbs.
These blisters then heal, but leave dark hyperpigmented streaks and marble-like
whorls on the skin. Other key features include dental and nail abnormalities, bald patche...
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Incubation period
Incubation period: In medicine, the time from the moment of exposure to an infectious agent until signs and symptoms of the disease appear. For example, the incubation period of chickenpox is 14-16 days.
In biology, the incubation period is the time needed for any particular process of developmen...
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Incubator
Incubator: In biotechnology. an apparatus in which environmental conditions can be set and controlled.
Incubators are used in microbiology for culturing (growing) bacteria and other
microorganisms. Incubators in tissue culture rooms are used for culturing stem
cells, lymphocytes, skin fibroblasts...
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Incurable
Incurable: Not amenable to a cure. Incapable of being cured, healed and made well again. Many pancreatic cancers are incurable. From the word cure, from the Latin cura meaning care, concern or attention....
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Incus
Incus: One of the three tiny bones in the middle ear. Sound impulses coming from the eardrum are conveyed from the malleus to the incus and from the incus to the stapes at the oval window to the inner ear. Incus is Latin for anvil....
