Category: S

  • Segmental bronchi

    Air passages supplying a segment of a lung.  

  • Segmental ablation

    A surgical operation to remove part of a nail, e.g. treatment for an ingrowing toenail.  

  • Segmental

    Formed of segments.  

  • Sedimentation rate

    The rate at which solid particles are deposited from a solution, measured especially in a centrifuge. A nonspecific laboratory test used as a marker of inflammation. In this test, the speed at which erythrocytes settle out of unclotted blood is measured. Blood to which an anticoagulant has been added is placed in a long, narrow…

  • Sedentary occupation

    A job where the workers sit down for most of the time.  

  • Sedation

    The act of calming someone using a sedative. Induced state of reduced activity and excitability; a state of calm and quiet, sometimes with sleep. The use of a drug to calm and relax a patient. Sedation is used to control excessive anxiety and aggressive behavior. It is also sometimes used as a premedication for a…

  • Sedate

    To calm a person by giving them a drug which acts on the nervous system and relieves stress or pain, and in larger doses makes the person sleep.  

  • Security blanket

    A familiar blanket, toy or other object which a child carries around because it makes him or her feel safe.  

  • Section 47

    A UK law under which a local authority has the power to seek an order from a magistrate’s court authorising the removal of a person at severe risk from their home. The authority must have a doctor’s certificate that the person is either suffering from a grave and chronic disease or is unable to look…

  • Secretin

    A hormone secreted by the duodenum which encourages the production of pancreatic juice. A 27-amino acid peptide hormone secreted by duodenal cells in response to the low pH of the chyme entering the small intestine from the stomach. Its function is to inhibit hydrochloric acid secretion while stimulating the release of a watery alkaline juice…