Skip to Main Content

We have a new app!

Take the Access library with you wherever you go—easy access to books, videos, images, podcasts, personalized features, and more.

Download the Access App here: iOS and Android

Vater, Abraham

(fot′ĕr) Ger. botanist and anatomist, 1684–1751.

V. ampulla Papilla of Vater.

V. corpuscles Pacinian corpuscle.

papilla of V. An elevation in the descending or second part of the duodenum. It is formed by a smooth muscle sphincter, which, when relaxed, permits the release of pancreatic enzymes and bile into the duodenum. SYN: major duodenal papilla; hepatopancreatic ampulla; Vater ampulla.

VATS

video-assisted thoracic surgery (used to treat conditions such as empyema, or loculations in the pleural space).

vault

(valt) A part or structure resembling a dome or arched roof.

VAX

Shorthand for “vaccine,” or “vaccination.”

Vaxchora

(văks′kō-ră) The proprietary name of an oral vaccine against cholera.

VBAC

vaginal birth after previous cesarean.

VC

vital capacity.

VCAM-1

vascular cell adhesion molecule-1.

VCUG

voiding cystourethrography.

VD

venereal disease.

VDH

valvular disease of the heart.

VDRL

Venereal Disease Research Laboratories.

vection

(vek′shŏn) [L. vectio, a carrying] 1. Transfer of disease agents by a vector from the sick to the well. 2. Illusion of self-motion. This may be produced experimentally by having the subject seated within a drum that rotates while the subject remains stationary.

vector

(vek′tŏr) [L. vector, a carrier] 1. A quantity that is completely specified by magnitude, direction, and sense, which can be represented by a straight line of appropriate length and direction. 2. A carrier, usually an insect or other arthropod, that transmits the causative organisms of disease from infected to noninfected individuals. 3. An agent such as a retrovirus that is used to introduce genetic material into the nucleus of a diseased cell in an attempt to cure a genetic illness or a malignancy.

biological v. An animal vector in which the disease-causing organism multiplies or develops prior to becoming infective for a susceptible person.

mechanical v. A vector in or upon which growth and development of the infective agent do not occur.

shuttle v. A short DNA segment, such as may be found in a bacteriophage or a plasmid, that carries DNA between organisms of two different species.

vector-borne

(vek′tŏr-born″) Carried from one host to another by an intermediary.

vectorcardiogram

(vek″tŏr-kard′ē-ŏ-gram″) [...

Pop-up div Successfully Displayed

This div only appears when the trigger link is hovered over. Otherwise it is hidden from view.