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Word Of The Day
Dorland's Word of the Day is a great way to broaden your knowledge of medical terminology. With a new and interesting term brought to you from the 32nd edition of Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary each day, it's an easy and fun way to increase your medical vocabulary!
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Today's Word
phytoestrogen
any of a group of weakly estrogenic, nonsteroidal compounds widely occurring in plants; diets containing large amounts of phytoestrogen-containing sources, such as soy, appear to have a preventive effect on cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.
Word of the Day Archive
Splendore-Hoeppli phenomenon
the deposition of amorphous, eosinophilic, hyaline material around pathogenic organisms, seen in some fungal and parasitic diseases as the result of a local antigen-antibody reaction.
nutcracker phenomenon
compression of the left renal vein between the aorta and the superior mesenteric artery, causing hypertension in the kidney with flank pain and sometimes fever and gross hematuria. Called also nutcracker syndrome.
pseudoglandular phase
the first period or phase of lung development in utero, lasting in different parts of the lung from the sixth or seventh to the sixteenth or seventeenth week. Repeated branching of bronchi and bronchioles takes place to form primitive conductive airways, and the lungs resemble exocrine glands. Fetuses delivered during this phase are not viable because respiration does not begin until the following canalicular phase.
pacemaker refractory period
the interval immediately following either pacemaker sensing or pacing, during which improper inhibition of the pacemaker by inappropriate signals is prevented by temporary inactivation of pacemaker sensing.
isovolumic period
in the cardiac cycle, an interval during which the cardiac muscle fibers are contracting or relaxing but the valves are all closed, so that ventricular pressure changes rapidly while volume remains constant. Called also isovolumetric period.
perimenopause
the time just before and after menopause; there are noticeable drops in estrogen levels for three to five years prior to menopause.
perifuse
to pass a bathing fluid around all surfaces of organelles, cells, cell clusters, or tissue held in suspension.