| contraction | the act of decreasing (something) in size or volume or quantity or scope |
contraction muscular contraction
muscle contraction | (physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber) |
| uterine contraction | a rhythmic tightening in labor of the upper uterine musculature that contracts the size of the uterus and pushes the fetus toward the birth canal |
Braxton-Hicks contraction
false labor | painless contractions of the muscles of the uterus that continue throughout pregnancy with increasing frequency |
cardiac massage
heart massage | an emergency procedure that employs rhythmic compression of the heart (either through the chest wall or, during surgery, directly to the heart) in an attempt to maintain circulation during cardiac arrest |
cardiopulmonary resuscitation
CPR
cardiac resuscitation
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
kiss of life | an emergency procedure consisting of external cardiac massage and artificial respiration, the first treatment for a person who has collapsed and has no pulse and has stopped breathing, attempts to restore circulation of the blood and prevent death or brain damage due to lack of oxygen |
cardiac monitor
heart monitor | a piece of electronic equipment for continual observation of the function of the heart |
cardiac rhythm
heart rhythm | the rhythm of a beating heart |
pacemaker
cardiac pacemaker
sinoatrial node
SA node | a specialized bit of heart tissue that controls the heartbeat |
cardiac muscle
heart muscle | the muscle tissue of the heart, adapted to continued rhythmic contraction |
| area of cardiac dullness | a triangular area of the front of the chest (determined by percussion), corresponds to the part of the heart not covered by the lungs |
heart valve
cardiac valve | a valve to control one-way flow of blood |
cardiac plexus
plexus cardiacus | a plexus of nerves supplying the heart and nearby structures |
| cardiac sphincter | the valve between the distal end of the esophagus and the stomach, the physiological sphincter at the esophagogastric junction |
| contraction | a word formed from two or more words by omitting or combining some sounds, `won't' is a contraction of `will not', `o'clock' is a contraction of `of the clock' |
compression
condensation
contraction | the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together, the contraction of a gas on cooling |
| cardiac cycle | the complete cycle of events in the heart from the beginning of one heart beat to the beginning of the next, an electrical impulse conducted through the heart muscle that constricts the atria which is followed by constriction of the ventricles, the cardiac cycle can be shown on an electrocardiogram |
asystole
cardiac arrest
cardiopulmonary arrest | absence of systole, failure of the ventricles of the heart to contract (usually caused by ventricular fibrillation) with consequent absence of the heart beat leading to oxygen lack and eventually to death |
cardiac arrhythmia
arrhythmia | an abnormal rate of muscle contractions in the heart |
coronary insufficiency
cardiac insufficiency | inadequate blood flow to the heart muscles, can cause angina pectoris |
heart murmur
cardiac murmur
murmur | an abnormal sound of the heart, sometimes a sign of abnormal function of the heart valves |
premature ventricular contraction
PVC | irregularity of cardiac rhythm, recurrent occurrences can be a precursor of ventricular fibrillation |
| cardiac tamponade | mechanical compression of the heart resulting from large amounts of fluid collecting in the pericardial space and limiting the heart's normal range of motion |
cardiac glycoside
cardiac glucoside | obtained from a number of plants and used to stimulate the heart in cases of heart failure |
| cardiac output | the amount of blood pumped out by the ventricles in a given period of time, a resting adult has a cardiac output of about three quarts a minute |
ineffective
inefficient | lacking the ability or skill to perform effectively, inadequate, an ineffective administration, inefficient workers |
| inefficient | not producing desired results, wasteful, an inefficient campaign against drugs, outdated and inefficient design and methods |
| cardiac | of or relating to the heart, cardiac arrest |