Glossary

Author: Glossary

  • Glass electrode

    In chemistry, a chemical sensor that uses a glass membrane, as opposed to one that uses an organic or solid-state membrane as the sensing surface.  

  • Gas-sensing electrode

    An electrode in which a gas-permeable membrane separates the test solution from an aqueous electrode solution in contact with an ion-selective electrode. Gas permeation of the membrane changes the chemical equilibrium within the electrolyte, and the ion-sensitive electrode detects this change.  

  • Dispersive electrode

    An electrode larger than an active electrode. It produces electrical stimulation over a large area.  

  • Depolarizing electrode

    An electrode with greater resistance than the part of the body in the circuit.  

  • Coated wire electrode

    A chemical sensor in some clinical laboratory analyzers that functions similarly to a pH electrode.  

  • Carbon dioxide electrode

    A blood gas electrode used to measure the carbon dioxide tension (symbolized as PC02) in blood. Its operation is based on the diffusion of carbon dioxide from the blood sample through a semipermeable membrane into a buffer solution with a subsequent change in the pH of the buffer.  

  • Calomel electrode

    An electrode that develops a standard electric potential and is used to provide a reference voltage in the circuit for sensing electrodes. It is composed of an amalgam of mercury and mercury chloride. It is used as a standard in determining the pH of fluids.  

  • Electrocution

    Destruction of life by electric current. In the U.S. about 1000 people die of electrical shocks each year; about a fourth of these die of lightning strikes. A fatal injury caused by electricity entering the body and destroying vital tissues.  

  • Electrocorticography

    Recording of the electrical impulses from the brain by electrodes placed directly on the cerebral cortex.  

  • Electrocontractility

    Contraction of muscular tissue by electrical stimulation.