Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «S»:
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System, immune
System, immune: A complex system that is responsible
for distinguishing us from everything foreign to us, and for protecting us against infections and foreign substances. The immune system works to seek and kill invaders.
If a person is born with a severely defective immune system, death from infe...
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System, locomotive
System, locomotive: The system that permits
locomotion, movement from one
place to another. The key components of this system are
the bones that are
the framework of the skeleton, the joints that hold the
bones together and
make movement possible, and the muscles that contract and
relax and ma...
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System, parasympathetic nervous
System, parasympathetic nervous: A part of nervous system that slows
the heart rate, increases intestinal and gland activity, and relaxes sphincter muscles.
The parasympathetic nervous system together with the sympathetic nervous system (that
accelerates the heart rate, constricts blood vessels, and...
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System, peripheral nervous (PNS)
System, peripheral nervous (PNS): That portion of the nervous system that is outside the brain and spinal cord.
The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is one of the two major divisions of the nervous system. The other is the central nervous system (CNS) which is made up of the brain and spinal cord.
Th...
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System, sympathetic nervous
System, sympathetic nervous: A part of nervous system that accelerates
the heart rate, constricts blood vessels, and raises blood pressure. The sympathetic
nervous system together with the parasympathetic nervous system (that slows the heart
rate, increases intestinal and gland activity, and relaxes...
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Systemic
Systemic: Affecting the entire body. A systemic disease such as diabetes can affect the whole body. Systemic chemotherapy employs drugs that travel through the bloodstream and reach and affect cells all over the body....
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Systemic lupus erythematosus
Systemic lupus erythematosus: A chronic inflammatory condition caused by an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease occurs
when the body's tissues are attacked by its own immune system. Patients with lupus have unusual antibodies in their blood that are targeted against their own body tissues.
Lu...
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Systemic mastocytosis
Systemic mastocytosis: A form of mastocytosis characterized by infiltrates of mast cells in the skin, lymph nodes, liver, spleen, gastrointestinal tract, bones, and joints with a predisposition to peptic ulcer due to excess stomach acid (caused by the release of histamine from the mast cells).
Trea...
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Systemic therapy
Systemic therapy: Treatment that reaches cells throughout the body by traveling through the bloodstream....
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Systemic-onset juvenile chronic arthritis
Systemic-onset juvenile chronic arthritis: See: Arthritis, systemic-onset juvenile rheumatoid....
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Systemic-onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
Systemic-onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: See: Arthritis, systemic-onset juvenile rheumatoid....
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Systems biology
Systems biology: The study of biological systems taking into account the interactions of the key elements such as DNA, RNA, proteins, and cells with respect to one another. The integration of this information may be by computer....
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Systole
Systole: The time period when the heart is contracting. The period specifically during which the left ventricle of the heart contracts.
The final letter in "systole" is pronounced as a long "e" as in "lee." The adjective for systole is systolic.
The systolic pressure is specifically the maximum ...
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Systole, extra
Systole, extra: See: Extrasystole....
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Systole, premature
Systole, premature: See: Extrasystole....