Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «R»:
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Royal Society, the
Royal Society: A venerable scientific society in England which in 1665 published one of the first 2 scientific journals in the world: the "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society." The other was the "Journal des Scavants" (Scholars) which appeared in France the same year. From these 2 jour...
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RP
RP: Retinitis pigmentosa....
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RPR test
RPR test: Rapid plasma reagin, a blood test for syphilis
that looks for an antibody that is present in the bloodstream when a
patient has syphilis. A negative (nonreactive) RPR is compatible
with a person not having syphilis, but in the early stages of the
disease, the RPR often gives false nega...
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rRNA
rRNA: Ribosomal RNA, a molecular component of a ribosome, the cell's essential protein factory. Strictly speaking, ribosomal RNA (rRNA) does not make proteins. It makes polypeptides (assemblies of amino acids) that go to make up proteins.
A tiny particulate structure located in the cytoplasm of the...
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RS1
RS1: The gene on the X chromosome involved in the integrity of retina, Mutation of RS1 is responsible for juvenile retinoschisis....
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RSV
RSV: Although several standard medical dictionaries indicate only that
RSV stands for Rous sarcoma virus, RSV in clinical medicine is the abbreviation for
respiratory syncytial virus. See: Respiratory syncytial virus....
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RT
RT:
1. Respiratory therapist.
2. Radiation therapy.
3. Reverse transcriptase....
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RT-PCR
RT-PCR (Reverse
transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction): a highly
sensitive technique for the detection and quantitation of mRNA (messenger RNA).
The technique consists of two parts:
The synthesis of cDNA (complementary DNA) from RNA by reverse
transcription (RT) and
The amplification ...
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RTS
RTS: Rothmund-Thomson syndrome....
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RTT (Rett syndrome)
RTT (Rett syndrome): See Rett syndrome....
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RU-486
RU-486: The French abortion pill, also known as mifepristone.
RU-486 has been used in combination with another drug called misoprostol, terminate pregnancy at an early stage. It is used with women who are no more than 7 weeks pregnant. The drug has 95% effectiveness. About 5% of women using RU-486 ...
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Rubella (historical note)
Rubella (historical note): In 1941 N. M. Gregg, an Australian ophthalmologist, recognized that infection of the mother with rubella (German measles) during early pregnancy could
malform an embryo and cause a characteristic syndrome of
congenital malformations. The first feature Dr. Greeg noticed...
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Rubella immunization
Rubella immunization: The standard MMR
vaccine is given
to prevent measles, mumps and rubella (German measles). The MMR
vaccine is now given in
two dosages. The first should be given at 12-15 months of age. The
second vaccination should be given at 4-6 years. Most children should
receive MMR vac...
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Rubella syndrome
Rubella syndrome: The constellation of abnormalities caused by infection with the
rubella (German measles)
virus before birth.
The syndrome is characterized by multiple congenital malformations (birth defects) and mental retardation.
The individual features of the syndrome include growth retard...
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Rubella vaccine
Rubella vaccine: A vaccine designed to prevent rubella, or German measles.
German measles was once seen merely as a child's unpleasant rite of passage. It was thought to be a mild malady that was usually over and done in three days. So what?
Then an outbreak of rubella began in 1964. It lasted tw...