Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «M»:
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Maternal
Maternal: 1. Pertaining to the mother as, for example, the maternal mortality rate.
2. Related through the mother as, for example, the maternal grandparents.
3. Inherited from the mother as, for example, the maternal X chromosome....
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Maternal age
Maternal age: The age of the mother at the time of delivery. Advanced maternal age is usually defined as age 35 or more at delivery.
Advanced maternal age predisposes to Down syndrome (trisomy 21). The risk of having a Down syndrome baby rises with maternal age. It essentially doubles from 1 in 725...
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Maternal mortality rate
Maternal mortality rate: The number of maternal deaths
related to childbearing divided by the number of live births (or by the number of live
births + fetal deaths) in that year. The maternal mortality rate in the United States in
1993 (and 1994) was 0.1 per 1,000 live births, or 1 mother dying per ...
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Maternal myasthenia gravis
Maternal myasthenia gravis: The presence of myasthenia gravis in a pregnant woman.
Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune neuromuscular
disorder characterized by fatigue and exhaustion of muscles. It is
caused by a mistaken immune response to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChR), which are fou...
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Maternal phenylketonuria
Maternal phenylketonuria: A mother with the genetic disease phenylketonuria (PKU) whose high blood levels of phenylalanine (phe) are dangerous to a developing fetus. High phe is a teratogen. It can damage a baby before birth.
Women with PKU who are off the special PKU diet should restart back it,...
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Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP)
Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP): The
presence of AFP, a plasma protein normally produced by the fetus, in
the mother's blood. MSAFP serves as the basis for some
valuable tests.
AFP is manufactured principally in the
fetus's liver and, also, in the fetal gastrointestinal (GI) tract and ...
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Materteral
Materteral: 1. Literally, relating to a maternal aunt.
2. Figuratively, suggestive of an aunt on either side of the family.
3 In medical genetics, pertaining to an aunt. An materteral relationship is the genetic relationship between aunts and their nieces and nephews.
Materteral is synonymous wit...
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Materterine
Materterine: See: Materteral....
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Mathematics disorder
Mathematics disorder: A condition characterized by math
skills that are significantly below normal, given the person's age,
intelligence, and education. A mathematics disorder can include
problems writing or printing numbers, counting, adding and
subtracting, interpreting simple mathematical sig...
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Matricectomy
Matricectomy: the process of surgically, chemically, or electrically destroying all or part of the base nail portion called the nail matrix. Complete destruction of the nail matrix results in permanent loss of that portion of the nail. Once the nail matrix is fully removed or destroyed, a new nail p...
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Matter, gray
Matter, gray: The cortex of the brain which contains nerve cell
bodies. The gray matter is as opposed to the white matter, the part of the brain that
contains myelinated nerve fibers. The gray matter is so named because it in fact appears
gray. In "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" (1920), ...
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Matter, white
Matter, white: The part of the brain that contains myelinated nerve
fibers. The white matter is white because it is the color of myelin, the insulation
covering the nerve fibers. The white matter is as opposed to the gray matter (the cortex
of the brain which contains nerve cell bodies)....
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Maturity onset diabetes of the young
Maturity onset diabetes of the young: Diabetes mellitus that has early onset (usually before the age of 25), is non-insulin-dependent, and is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. Abbreviated MODY.
MODY is often considered a subtype of type 2 diabetes but it is unlike the usual type 2 diabetes...
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Maxilla
Maxilla: The maxilla is the major bone of the upper jaw ...
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Mb
Mb: Megabase....
