Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «E»:
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Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental Protection Agency: The US government agency founded to "protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment--air, water, and land--upon which life depends." The Environmental Protection Agency is known as the EPA.
The EPA's stated purpose is to ensure that::
All Americans...
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Environmental tobacco smoke
Environmental tobacco smoke: Abbreviated ETS. Secondhand smoke. See: ETS....
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Environmental toxicology
Environmental toxicology: The toxicity and toxicology of environmental pollutants in air, dust, sediment, soil and water, and natural toxins in the environment....
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Enzootic
Enzootic: Endemic in animals. An enzootic disease is constantly present in an animal population, but usually only affects a small number of animals at any one time. From the Greek en, in, + zon, animal....
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Enzyme
Enzyme: A protein (or protein-based molecule) that speeds up a chemical reaction in a living organism. An enzyme acts as catalyst for specific chemical reactions, converting a specific set of reactants (called substrates) into specific products. Without enzymes, life as we know it would not exist.
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Enzyme defect
Enzyme defect: A disorder resulting from a deficiency (or functional
abnormality) of an enzyme. In 1902 Archibald Garrod first attributed a disease to an
enzyme defect: an inborn error of metabolism. Today, newborns are routinely screened for
certain enzyme defects such as PKU (phenylketonuria) and ...
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Enzyme replacement
Enzyme replacement: A strategy designed to replace missing enzyme activity in a patient. This strategy currently involves the administration of a purified protein (the enzyme) by intravenous infusion....
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Enzyme, lysosomal
Enzyme, lysosomal: An enzyme in an organelle (a little organ) called the lysosome within the cell. Lysosomal enzymes degrade (break down) macromolecules (large molecules) and other materials (such as bacteria) that have been taken up by the cell during the process of endocytosis.
In endocytosis, m...
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Enzyme, restriction
Enzyme, restriction: An enzyme from bacteria that can recognize specific base sequences in DNA and cut the DNA at that site (the restriction site). A restriction enzyme acts as a biochemical scissors. Also called a restriction endonuclease.
Bacteria use restriction enzymes to defend against bacteria...
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Enzyme, Warburg's yellow
Enzyme, Warburg's yellow: A key respiratory enzyme discovered by the German biochemist Otto Heinrich Warburg (1883-1970), a pioneer in research on the respiration of cells and the metabolism of tumors. Warburg's yellow enzyme is a flavoprotein that catalyzes an oxidation-reduction reaction that is ...
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Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA): ELISA stands for "enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay." This is a rapid immunochemical test that involves an enzyme (a protein that catalyzes a biochemical reaction). It also involves an antibody or antigen (immunologic molecules).
ELISA tests are utilized t...
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Enzymes
Enzymes: Proteins that act as a catalysts in mediating and speeding a specific chemical reaction.
In 1902 Archibald Garrod first attributed a disease to an
enzyme defect: an inborn error of metabolism. Today, newborns are routinely screened for
certain enzyme defects such as PKU (phenylketonuria) a...
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Enzymes, yellow
Enzymes, yellow: A group of respiratory enzymes that catalyze reactions in the body permitting cells to respire or breathe. These biochemical reactions are termed oxidation-reduction reactions.
The first yellow enzyme was discovered by the German biochemist Otto Heinrich Warburg (1883-1970), a pion...
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EOG
EOG: Electro-oculography. A type of electrophysiologic retinal testing....
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EOS
EOS: The gene for familial eosinophilia. EOS has been mapped to chromosome region 5q31-33 containing the cytokine gene cluster which includes the genes for interleukin-3 (IL-3), interleukin-5 (IL-5), and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and all of which are thought play roles in the d...
