Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Vagina
The muscular canal extending from the uterus to the exterior of the body. Also called the birth canal. A passage in a woman’s reproductive tract between the entrance to the uterus, the cervix, and the vulva, able to stretch enough to allow a baby to pass through during childbirth. The muscular, expandable canal between a…
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Vaccine
A substance or group of substances meant to cause the immune system to respond to a tumor or to microorganisms, such as bacteria or viruses. Any substance, bearing antigens on its surface, that causes activation of an animal’s immune system without causing actual disease. The animals’ immune system components (e.g., antibodies) are then prepared to…
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Vaccination
Administration of vaccines to stimulate the host’s immune response. This includes any preparation intended for active immunological prophylaxis. Administration of a vaccine—a preparation containing modified microbes (bacteria or viruses) or toxins that aren’t strong enough to cause diseases yet can still stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies against diseases. The term is often used…
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Uvea
The middle coat of the eyeball, consisting of the choroid in the back of the eye and the ciliary body and iris in the front of the eye. A layer of organs in the eye beneath the sclera, formed of the iris, the ciliary body and the choroid. Layer of the eye containing the iris,…
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Urokinase
A drug that dissolves blood clots or prevents them from forming. A thrombolytic (i.e., clot-dissolving) enzyme used as a biopharmaceutical. An enzyme in human urine. An enzyme formed in the kidneys, which begins the process of breaking down blood clots. Enzyme produced in the kidney that activates fibrinolysis. A urokinase preparation is used in the…
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Urogenital
Pertaining to the urinary and genital apparatus; genitourinary. The urinary and genital systems. Referring to the urinary and genital systems. An adjective relating to the organs and tissues involved in the anatomically closely related functions of excretion and reproduction. During embryonic development, both the urinary system and the reproductive organs originate and form in close…
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Urine
Fluid containing water and waste products. Urine is made by the kidneys, stored in the bladder, and leaves the body through the urethra. Liquid waste that has been removed from the blood by the kidneys and transported to the urinary bladder by the ureters. A yellowish liquid, containing water and waste products, mainly salt and…
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Urinary tract infection
An illness caused by harmful bacteria growing in the urinary tract. A bacterial infection of any part of the urinary system. Symptoms are usually a need to urinate frequently and pain on urination. Any infection of any of the organs of the urinary system; more common in women than in men and most often caused…
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Urinary tract
The organs of the body that produce and discharge urine. These include the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. The kidneys and the lower urinary tract, which includes the ureters, bladder, and urethra. The set of tubes down which the urine passes from the kidneys to the bladder and from the bladder out of the body.…
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Ureters
Tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder. The tube that connects the kidneys with the urinary bladder through which urine is transported.
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