Category: F

A handheld device designed to facilitate clearance of mucus in hypersecretory lung disorders. Exhalation through the Flutter results in oscillations of expiratory pressure and airflow, which vibrate the airway walls, loosening mucus, decrease the collapsibility of the airways, and accelerate airflow. This facilitates movement of mucus up the airways.  

A substance that tends to fluoresce, such as fluorescein.  

A device for determining the amount of radiation produced by x-rays. The device employed for assessing the magnitude of x-rays and other forms of radiation operates by gauging the degree of fluorescence generated.  

The application of a fluoride solution or gel to the teeth as a means of controlling or preventing caries.  

A test for syphilis using the fluorescent antibody technique that is used to confirm a positive rapid plasma reagin, or Venereal Disease Research Laboratory test.  

A sheet of cardboard, paper, or glass coated with a material that fluoresces visibly, such as calcium tungstate. It is used in fluoroscopy, in which electromagnetic radiation cause the object being examined to cast a shadow. The emission of light from crystals of certain substances, such as barium platinacyanide, calcium tungstate, and rare earth, which…

A means of identifying and quantifying the amount of an antigen in a specimen in which a fluorescently labeled antibody is mixed with a sample thought to contain the antigen is exposed to polarized light. Bound fluorescently labeled antibody reacts to polarized light in a characteristic fashion not demonstrated by unbound antibody, allowing for identification…

A process in which a small section of fluorescently labeled DNA (a DNA probe) is linked with (hybridized to) the DNA from a chromosome of interest. This technique is used to identify the location of specific genes on chromosomes or areas in which chromosomes have been damaged or duplicated. FISH is used in amniocentesis to…

An indirect test of pancreatic function in which fluorescein bound to dilaurate is given orally to a patient and its excretion in the urine is measured. Patients with markedly abnormal pancreatic function fail to excrete the fluorescent tracer in the urine.  

A compound formed when tooth enamel is treated with appropriate concentrations of the fluoride ion. The modified hydroxyapatite is less acid soluble and therefore resistant to caries. Fluorapatite is formed in bone and in enamel and dentin of teeth when fluoride is taken systemically.