Category: O
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Obturator nerve
Nerve that rises from the ventral divisions of the second, third, and fourth lumbar nerves; the branch from the third is the largest, while that from the second is often very small.
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Obesity
A condition in which there is “an excess of body fat frequently resulting in a significant impairment of health”; a level of 20 percent or more above ideal body weight. Excessive accumulation of body fat. A body mass index above 30 is considered to be obese (and above 40 grossly obese). A medical term that…
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Old World
Pertaining to Europe,Asia, and Africa, as in a plant native to that region. The Eastern hemisphere. It is used in the biological sciences to distinguish plants, animals, and infections that live and thrive primarily in Africa, Asia, and Europe.
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Oxalate
Naturally occurring organic acids found in humans, plants, and animals. A salt or ester of oxalic acid. Compounds in some plants that bind to minerals in the body and reduce their absorption. A test done on urine to detect a metabolic defect that may cause kidney stones and other kidney disorders. A compound formed as…
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Obesogenic diet
A diet that fosters obesity.
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Oxygenation
The process of supplying, treating, or mixing with oxygen. No:1245 – oxygenation the process of supplying, treating, or mixing with oxygen. The fact of becoming combined or filled with oxygen. Saturation or combination with oxygen, as the aeration of the blood in the lungs.
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Oxygenase
Enzyme which breaks down heme, the iron-containing oxygen-carrying constituent of the red blood cells. An enzyme catalyzing a reaction in which oxygen is introduced into an acceptor molecule. An enzyme that enables an organism to use atmospheric oxygen in respiration.
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Oxygen consumption (VO2)
The oxygen consumption is determined by calculating the difference between the amount of oxygen inhaled and exhaled. The amount or volume of oxygen taken up, transported, and used at the cellular level. The amount of oxygen utilized by the body, expressed in liters per minute, oxygen uptake. Rate at which oxygen is used to produce…
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Oxidative stress
A disturbance in the prooxidant-antioxidant balance in favor of the former, leading to potential damage. Indicators of oxidative stress include damaged DNA bases, protein oxidation products, and lipid peroxidation products (Sies, Oxidative Stress, 1991, pxv-xvi). The cellular damage caused by oxygen-derived free radical formation. The three most important are superoxide (02 ), hydrogen peroxide (H202),…
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Oxidation-reduction
A chemical reaction in which an electron is transferred from one molecule to another. The electron-donating molecule is the reducing agent or reductant; the electron-accepting molecule is the oxidizing agent or oxidant. Reducing and oxidizing agents function as conjugate reductant-oxidant pairs or redox pairs (Lehninger, Principles of Biochemistry, 1982,). A chemical reaction in which the…