Category: F

The visual sensation of alternating intervals of brightness caused by rhythmic interruption of light stimuli.  

To contract, as a muscle; to decrease the angle of a joint (flexion).  

Taking small amounts of food at a time. These small bites are chewed for a prolonged period prior to swallowing.  

A blood clotting factor, prekallikrein.  

A meshwork of white fibers that surrounds the dentate nucleus of the cerebellum.  

The harboring of fleas, especially in a home with dogs or cats. It is possible to kill the flea population by treating the house for 24 hr by using naphthalene, permethrins, and other substances.  

Oil extracted from the seeds of the flax plant (Linum usitatissimum), used as a nutritional supplement. Flaxseed oil contains alpha-linolenic acid, an essential omega-3 fatty acid promoted for its effect in preventing heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and arthritis.  

A genus of gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria found in soil and water. In culture the bacteria produce an orange-yellow pigment. Members of the genus rarely cause human infections. When they do, they typically infect immune suppressed or critically ill patients. One species, Flavobacterium meningosepticum is especially virulent for premature infants, in whom it causes a potentially…

A rectal tube to facilitate expulsion of flatus. It formerly was used in cases of severe distention or before a saline enema.  

A radiograph requiring a frontal projection of the abdomen or other body part with the patient supine. The term in question pertains to the glass plates that were employed in the early stages of x-ray technology. However, this term is now considered obsolete as glass plates have not been in use since the 1920s. Instead,…