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!
You can view a new word on this website each day.
Today's Word
cardiotomy reservoir
in cardiopulmonary bypass, a collection chamber for blood suctioned from the heart chambers and pericardium.
Word of the Day Archive
diuresis renography
a well-hydrated patient with an empty bladder is administered a radiopharmaceutical agent and 20 minutes later a diuretic such as furosemide; the pattern of washout of the radiopharmaceutical is monitored to assess first the functioning of the collecting system and then the transport capacity of the upper urinary tract.
remyelination
restoration of a myelin sheath after demyelination has taken place from a disease or injury.
rectoanal inhibitory reflex
relaxation of the internal anal sphincter in response to increased pressure in the rectum; it can be tested by inflating a balloon in the lumen. It is absent in cases of congenital megacolon.
Bezold reflex
a cardiovascular reflex occurring upon stimulation of chemoreceptors, primarily in the left ventricle, by certain antihypertensive alkaloids and similar substances; afferent vagal fibers carry the impulses to the medulla oblongata, after which impulses carried back by efferent vagal fibers cause reflex bradycardia and hypotension. Called also Bezold-Jarisch reflex.
GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) receptors
membrane receptors that bind the neurotransmitter g-aminobutyric acid to facilitate its inhibitory effect on postsynaptic cells. There are two types: the more common GABA A receptors are ligand-gated chloride channels that attenuate postsynaptic potentials on neuron bodies and dendrites and inhibit the release of neurotransmitters at nerve terminals; the less common GABA B receptors include G proteins and activate cellular coupling systems to either open potassium channels, prevent the opening of calcium channels, or inhibit the production of cyclic adenosine monophosphate.
dopaminergic receptors
receptors that are stimulated by the neurotransmitter dopamine and mediate the activation (by D1 receptors) and inactivation (by D2 receptors) of adenylate cyclase.
cytokine receptors
transmembrane proteins that bind cytokines via extracellular domains, acting to convert an extracellular signal to an intracellular one; they are divided into five families on the basis of sequence homologies and folding motifs.