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A small discharge of blood and mucus from the cervix that indicates birth is imminent. The first discharge of blood at the beginning of childbirth. In pregnancy, the bloody mucus that appears just before the onset of labor. The sanguinoserous discharge from the vagina during the first stage of labor or just preceding menstruation. Also…
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Shoulder joint
A ball-and-socket joint between the head of the humerus and the glenoid fossa of the scapula. A ball and socket joint which allows the arm to rotate and move in any direction. Ball-and-socket joint in which the humerus articulates with the scapula. The ball-and-socket joint between the head of the humerus and the glenoid cavity…
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Shoulder girdle
The encircling bony structure supporting the upper limbs and comprising the scapula and the clavicle and their central attachments. The bony structure to which the bones of the upper limbs are attached. It consists of the right and left scapulas (shoulder blades) and clavicles (collar bones). The bones that attach the upper limbs to the…
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Short-term memory store
According to the Atkinson and Shiffrin model, the store that holds information being processed at the moment. The is limited in size, and without practice, and retention is only about 30 s.
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Shock therapy
A form of therapy for mental illness employing convulsions produced by electric shock or a drug, insulin shock therapy; electroconvulsive shock therapy. A method of treating some mental disorders by giving an anaesthetised patient an electric shock to induce an epileptic convulsion. The therapeutic approach for mental or psychiatric patients that involves inducing a coma,…
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Shock reaction
A transient personality decompensation in the face of sudden, acute stress.
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Shigella dysenteriae
The microscopic organism that causes bacillary dysentery. A species that causes severe, epidemic diarrhea.
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Shiatsu
Finger pressure message used to relieve muscular tension. A form of healing massage in which the hands are used to apply pressure at acupuncture points on the body in order to stimulate and redistribute energy. Japanese method of massage that incorporates the technique of acupressure. Japanese massage therapy. Shiatsu, which literally means “finger pressure,” is…
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Sheltered workshop
A workshop where the mentally retarded or other handicapped persons can become involved in constructive and productive work in the community.
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Shell temperature
The temperature of the extremities and surface of the body, core temperature.