online medical dictionary | definition of SMA

<investigation>

A blood chemistry panel, often used as a general screening tool, which includes measurement of sodium, potassium, chloride, C02, creatinine, BUN, glucose, uric acid, calcium, phosphorus, total protein, albumin, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), glutamic pyruvic transpeptidase (SGPT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine phosphokinase (CPK), cholesterol, triglycerides, amylase, lactic acid and magnesium in the blood.

(19 Jan 1998)

A small sailing vessel, commonly rigged as a sloop, used chiefly in the coasting and fishing trade.

Origin: D. Smak; akin to LG. Smack, smak, Dan. Smakke, G. Schmacke, F. Semaque.

1. Taste or flavour, especially. A slight taste or flavour; savor; tincture; as, a smack of bitter in the medicine. Also used figuratively. "So quickly they have taken a smack in covetousness." (Robynson (More's Utopia)) "They felt the smack of this world." (Latimer)

2. A small quantity; a taste.

3. A loud kiss; a buss. "A clamorous smack."

4. A quick, sharp noise, as of the lips when suddenly separated, or of a whip.

5. A quick, smart blow; a slap.

Origin: OE. Smak, AS. Ssmc taste, savor; akin to D. Smaak, G. Geschmack, OHG. Smac; cf. Lith. Smagus pleasant. Cf. Smack.

(01 Mar 1998)

Preferred term: snail mail

SMall ALGOL.

A subset of ALGOL 60.

["SMALGOL-61", G.A. Bachelor et al CACM 4(11):499-502 (Nov 1961)].

[Sammet 1969].

(01 Jan 1995)

1. Functional, lazy, untyped.

["SMALL - A Small Interactive Functional System", L. Augustsson, TR 28, U Goteborg and Chalmers U, 1986].

2. A toy language used to illustrate denotational semantics.

["The Denotational Description of Programming Languages", M.J.C. Gordon, Springer 1979].

(03 Feb 2009)

1. Having little size, compared with other things of the same kind; little in quantity or degree; diminutive; not large or extended in dimension; not great; not much; inconsiderable; as, a small man; a small river. "To compare Great things with small." (Milton)

2. Being of slight consequence; feeble in influence or importance; unimportant; trivial; insignificant; as, a small fault; a small business.

3. Envincing little worth or ability; not large-minded; sometimes, in reproach, paltry; mean. "A true delineation of the smallest man is capable of interesting the reatest man." (Carlyle)

4. Not prolonged in duration; not extended in time; short; as, after a small space.

5. Weak; slender; fine; gentle; soft; not loud. "A still, small voice." Great and small,of all ranks or degrees; used especially of persons. "His quests, great and small." . Small arms, muskets, rifles, pistols, etc, in distinction from cannon. Small beer. See Beer. Small coal. Little coals of wood formerly used to light fires. Coal about the size of a hazelnut, separated from the coarser parts by screening. Small craft, various small textile articles, as tapes, braid, tringe, and the like.

Origin: OE. Small, AS. Sm$l; akin to D. Smal narrow, OS. & OHG. Smal small, G. Schmal narrow, Dan. & Sw. Smal, Goth. Smals small, Icel. Smali smal cattle, sheep, or goats; cf. Gr. A sheep or goat.

(01 Mar 1998)

<botany> A biennial umbelliferous plant (Apium graveolens) native of the seacoats of Europe and Asia. When deprived of its acrid and even poisonous properties by cultivation, it becomes celery.

Origin: Small + F. Ache smallage. See Ach parsley.

(01 Mar 1998)

A method of analyzing the variation in utilization of health care in small geographic or demographic areas. It often studies, for example, the usage rates for a given service or procedure in several small areas, documenting the variation among the areas. By comparing high- and low-use areas, the analysis attempts to determine whether there is a pattern to such use and to identify variables that are associated with and contribute to the variation.

(12 Dec 1998)

Unnamed muscular artery's, usually with fewer than six or seven layers of muscle.

(05 Mar 2000)

<radiology> Mnemonic: SOS, sprue, obstruction / ileus, scleroderma (collagen-vascular disease) normal width: less than 3 cm

(12 Dec 1998)

<radiology> Main feature, nodules, dilatation, thick folds distribution, localised, generalised, includes stomach, proximal, terminal ileum (TI), mesentery

(12 Dec 1998)

<radiology> Lymphoma, metastasis, retractile mesenteritis

(12 Dec 1998)

<radiology> Lymphoma, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome

(12 Dec 1998)

<radiology> Crohn's, TB, Yersinia

(12 Dec 1998)

Radiographic examination of the small intestine, by retrograde filling from the contrast-filled large bowel.

(05 Mar 2000)

<radiology> Whipple disease (proximal small bowel), small bowel lymphoma, amyloidosis, Waldenstrom macrogloblinaemia, sprue, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, abetalipoproteinaemia (increased fat droplets in mucosal cells)

(12 Dec 1998)

<radiology> Patterns:, infiltrative dilatation, nodular multiple filling defects, polypoid may cause intussiception from leading point associated with Burkitt lymphoma, endoexoenteric fistulae

(12 Dec 1998)

<radiology> Lymphoid hyperplasia, lymphoma, metastasis

(12 Dec 1998)

<radiology> Fibrous adhesions (75%), secondary to previous peritonitis or surgery, hernia, external, internal, neoplasm, inflammatory disease See also: adynamic ileus simulating mechanical obstruction, large bowel (colon) obstruction

(12 Dec 1998)

Radiographic examination of the small intestine following the oral administration of contrast medium, usually barium sulfate.

Compare: small bowel enema.

(05 Mar 2000)

Preferred term: Microsoft Office Small Business Edition

A subset of C. The original compiler, written in C by Ron Cain, appeared in Dr. Dobb's Journal. James E. Hendrix improved and extended the original compiler and published "The Small-C Handbook". Both these compilers produced 8080 assembly code.

A Small-C compiler based on RatC produced 6502 assembly code for the BBC Microcomputer. It was written in Small-C and bootstrapped using Zorland C on an Amstrad PC1512 under MS-DOS 3.2, then transferred onto a BBC Micro using Kermit. The compiler can be used to cross-compile 6502 code from an MS-DOS host, or as a resident Small-C compiler on a BBC Micro. It runs on 68000, 6809, VAX, 8080, BBC Micro and Zilog Z80.

Posted to comp.sources.unix volume 5.

FTP.

["Small-C"?, Ron Cain, Dr. Dobb's Journal, May 1980, Dec 1982?]

["The Small-C Handbook," James Hendrix, Reston 1984, ISBN 0-8359-7012-4].

(01 Apr 1989)

The quantity of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 g of water 1°C, or from 14.5°C to 15.5°C in the case of normal or standard calorie.

Synonyms: gram calorie.

(05 Mar 2000)

Preferred term: posterior canaliculus of chorda tympani

<vein>

<anatomy> An inconstant vessel, accompanying the right coronary artery in the coronary sulcus, from the right margin of the right ventricle, and emptying into the coronary sinus or the middle cardiac vein.

Synonyms: vena cordis parva.

(05 Mar 2000)

<tumour>

<oncology> Common malignant neoplasm of bronchus.

Cells of the tumour have endocrine like characteristics and may secrete one or more of a wide range of hormones, especially regulatory peptides like bombesin.

This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology

(11 Mar 2008)

A type of lung cancer in which the cells are small and round. Also called oat cell lung cancer.

(12 Dec 1998)

A lymphoid cell of follicular centre cell origin that has an irregularly shaped nucleus with clumped chromatin, absent nucleoli, and one or more clefts in the nuclear membrane.

(05 Mar 2000)

<computer hardware, standard> (SCSI) /skuh'zee/, /sek'si/ The most popular processor-independent standard, via a parallel bus, for system-level interfacing between a computer and intelligent devices including hard disks, floppy disks, CD-ROM, printers, scanners, and many more.

SCSI can connect multiple devices to a single SCSI adaptor (or "host adaptor") on the computer's bus. SCSI transfers bits in parallel and can operate in either asynchronous or synchronous modes. The synchronous transfer rate is up to 5MB/s. There must be at least one target and one initiator on the SCSI bus.

SCSI connections normally use "single ended" drivers as opposed to differential drivers. Single ended SCSI can suport up to six metres of cable. Differential ended SCSI can support up to 25 metres of cable.

SCSI was developed by Shugart Associates, which later became Seagate. SCSI was originally called SASI for "Shugart Associates System Interface" before it became a standard.

Due to SCSI's inherent protocol flexibility, large support infrastructure, continued speed increases and the acceptance of SCSI Expanders in applications it is expected to hold its market.

The original standard is now called "SCSI-1" to distinguish it from SCSI-2 and SCSI-3 which include specifications of Wide SCSI (a 16-bit bus) and Fast SCSI (10 MB/s transfer).

SCSI-1 has been standardised as ANSI X3.131-1986 and ISO/IEC 9316.

A problem with SCSI is the large number of different connectors allowed. Nowadays the trend is toward a 68-pin miniature D-type or "high density" connector (HD68) for Wide SCSI and a 50-pin version of the same connector (HD50) for 8-bit SCSI (Type 1-4, pin pitch 1.27 mm x 2.45 mm). 50-pin ribbon cable connectors are also popular for internal wiring (Type 5, pin pitch 2.54 mm x 2.54 mm). Apple Computer used a 25-pin connector on the Macintosh computer but this connector causes problems with high-speed equipment. Original SCSI implementations were highly incompatible with each other.

ASPI is a standard Microsoft Windows interface to SCSI devices.

Usenet newsgroup: comp.periphs.scsi.

MORE. SCSI Trade Association & FAQ MORE.

["System" or "Systems"?]

Acronym: SASI

(01 Apr 1999)

<nerve>

<anatomy>

Preferred term: caroticotympanic nerve

Preferred term: helicis minor muscle

Preferred term: pectoralis minor

Preferred term: rectus capitis posterior minor

Preferred term: psoas minor muscle

Preferred term: venae cordis minimae

Preferred term: scalenus minimus muscle

<nerve>

<anatomy>

Preferred term: lowest splanchnic nerve

<obstetrics, paediatrics> A weight classification of newborns associated with poor health outcomes, the weight falling below the 10th percentile on the intrauterine growth curve for the infant's calculated gestational age.

(27 Sep 1997)

<radiology> Chronic cholecystitis, cystic fibrosis (seen in 30-50% of CF patients), congenital anomaly (multiseptate, hypoplastic) Cf: large gall bladder

(12 Dec 1998)

Preferred term: sISI test

Preferred term: sISI test

A small distance between the maxillary and mandibular arches.

Synonyms: close bite.

(05 Mar 2000)

<anatomy, gastroenterology> The small intestine is composed of three sections: duodenum, jejunum and ileum.

All are involved in the absorption of nutrients. The total length of the small intestine is approximately 22 feet.

(27 Sep 1997)

Preferred term: well-differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma

Preferred term: rNA

(SoHo) A term describing the market for certain computer goods.

Acronym: SoHo

(01 Jan 1995)

<storage> (SO-DIMM) A smaller kind of DIMM with 72 pins (supporting 32-bit transfers) or 144 pins (64-bit transfers). Regular DIMMs have 168 pins and support 64-bit transfers. Being roughly half the size of the regular DIMM, SO-DIMMs are often used in notebook computers.

Kingston Memory Guide.

(01 Jun 2001)

You have spelt this word correctly and it exists in the computing dictionary, but we have no definition for it yet. Please do suggest it for inclusion, or supply a suitable definition via the community pages.

Preferred term: uncinate process of pancreas

Preferred term: lesser pelvis

Preferred term: digitate dermatosis

<disease>

<virology> This acute viral disease once claimed a high mortality rate, but was officially announced as globally eradicated in 1979.

This was due to who vaccination programs. Headache, vomiting and fever precede, the eruption of a widespread rash that is raised, vesicular and finally pustular. The eruption follows a set pattern of dissemination, commencing on the head and face. When the final stage is passed scars (pockmarks) are left to disfigure the skin.

(27 Sep 1997)

A live vaccinia virus vaccine of calf lymph or chick embryo origin, used for immunization against smallpox. It is now recommended only for laboratory workers exposed to smallpox virus. Certain countries continue to vaccinate those in the military service. Complications that result from smallpox vaccination include vaccinia, secondary bacterial infections, and encephalomyelitis.

(12 Dec 1998)

<virus>

Preferred term: variola virus

Preferred term: labium minus

<vein>

<anatomy> Arises on the lateral side of the foot from a union of the dorsal vein of the little toe with the dorsal venous arch, ascends behind the lateral malleolus, along the lateral border of the calcanean tendon and then through the middle of the calf to the lower portion of the popliteal space where it empties into the popliteal vein.

Synonyms: vena saphena parva, short saphenous vein.

(05 Mar 2000)

(SELP) A low-cost loan and technical assistance program administered by the Oregon Department of Energy.

(05 Dec 1998)

<nerve>

<anatomy>

Preferred term: posterior femoral cutaneous nerve

<programming language>

The pioneering object-oriented programming system developed in 1972 by the Software Concepts Group, led by Alan Kay, at Xerox PARC between 1971 and 1983. It includes a language, a programming environment, and an extensive object library.

Smalltalk took the concepts of class and message from Simula-67 and made them all-pervasive. Innovations included the bitmap display, windowing system, and use of a mouse.

The syntax is very simple. The fundamental construction is to send a message to an object:

object message

or with extra parameters

object message: param1 secondArg: param2 .. nthArg: paramN

where "secondArg:" etc. are considered to be part of the message name.

Five pseudo-variables are defined: "self", "super", "nil", "true", "false". "self" is the receiver of the current message. "super" is used to delegate processing of a message to the superclass of the receiver. "nil" is a reference to "nothing" (an instance of UndefinedObject). All variables initially contain a reference to nil. "true" and "false" are Booleans.

In Smalltalk, any message can be sent to any object. The recipient object itself decides (based on the message name, also called the "message selector") how to respond to the message. Because of that, the multiple inheritance system included in the early versions of Smalltalk-80 appeared to be unused in practice. All modern implementations have single inheritance, so each class can have at most one superclass.

Early implementations were interpreted but all modern ones use dynamic translation (JIT).

Early versions were Smalltalk-72, Smalltalk-74, Smalltalk-76 (inheritance taken from Simula, and concurrency), and Smalltalk-78, Smalltalk-80. Other versions include Little Smalltalk, Smalltalk/V, Kamin's interpreters. Current versions are VisualWorks, Squeak, VisualAge, Dolphin Smalltalk, Object Studio, GNU Smalltalk.

See also: International Smalltalk Association.

UIUC Smalltalk archive. FAQ.

Usenet newsgroup: comp.lang.smalltalk.

["The Smalltalk-76 Programming System Design and Implementation", D.H. Ingalls, 5th POPL, ACM 1978, pp. 9-16].

(01 Jun 2001)

<programming language>

The classic standard Smalltalk dialect, described in Adele's book, cited below, commonly known as "The Blue Book".

["Smalltalk-80: The Language and Its Implementation", Adele Goldberg et al, A-W 1983].

[BYTE 6(8), Aug 1981].

FTP, FTP, FTP.

Mail server: goodies-lib@r5.cs.man.ac.uk.

(01 Sep 2004)

The first widely available version of Smalltalk, developed by Digitalk in 1986 for IBM PC and Macintosh.

(01 Feb 1995)

Preferred term: lesser trochanter

<radiology> Hypoplasia, nulliparity, di-ethyl stilbesterol (DES), synechiae

(12 Dec 1998)

<tool>

["SmallVDM: An Environment for Formal Specification and Prototyping in Smalltalk", in Object-Oriented Specification Case Studies, K. Lano et al eds, P-H 1993].

(01 Feb 1996)

<vein>

<anatomy> A vein in which the three tunics are poorly defined and thin; longitudinal elastic networks occur and the smooth muscle of the media, which is circularly arranged, may be incomplete or in one or two layers.

(05 Mar 2000)

<legal> A trademark of Smallworldwide Plc..

(01 Apr 1999)

<programming language>

An object-oriented language.

["SW 2 - An Object-based Programming Environment", M.R. Laff et al, IBM TJWRC, 1985].

(01 Feb 1996)

<chemical>

A tin-white or gray mineral of metallic luster. It is an arsenide of cobalt, nickel, and iron.

Synonyms: speiskobalt.

See: Smalt.

(01 Mar 1998)

<chemical>

A green foliated kind of amphibole, observed in eclogite and some varietis of gabbro.

Origin: Cf. F. Smaragdite; so called from its emerald-green colour. See Smaragd.

(01 Mar 1998)

Preferred term: neutrosophic logic

<enzyme>

<cell biology> Precursor protein consists of 352 amino acids, mw 38.479 kD from serratia marcescens; mature protein consists of 300 amino acids mw 32.515 kD with optimal activity at pH 8.0 and 50c; do not confuse with smp protein, a membrane protein from E coli

Registry number: EC 3.4.24.-

Synonyms: smp proteinase

(26 Jun 1999)

1. <computer programming> Said of a program that does the Right Thing in a wide variety of complicated circumstances. There is a difference between calling a program smart and calling it intelligent; in particular, there do not exist any intelligent programs (yet - see AI-complete).

Compare: robust (smart programs can be brittle).

2. <computer hardware> Incorporating some kind of digital electronics.

(01 Mar 1995)

1. Causing a smart; pungent; pricking; as, a smart stroke or taste. "How smart lash that speech doth give my conscience." (Shak)

2. Keen; severe; poignant; as, smart pain.

3. Vigorous; sharp; severe. "Smart skirmishes, in which many fell."

4. Accomplishing, or able to accomplish, results quickly; active; sharp; clever.

5. Efficient; vigorous; brilliant. "The stars shine smarter."

6. Marked by acuteness or shrewdness; quick in suggestion or reply; vivacious; witty; as, a smart reply; a smart saying. "Who, for the poor renown of being smart Would leave a sting within a brother's heart?" (Young) "A sentence or two, . . . Which I thought very smart." (Addison)

7. Pretentious; showy; spruce; as, a smart gown.

8. Brisk; fresh; as, a smart breeze. Smart money. Money paid by a person to buy himself off from some unpleasant engagement or some painful situation.

Vindictive or exemplary damages; damages beyond a full compensation for the actual injury done. . Smart ticket, a certificate given to wounded seamen, entitling them to smart money.

Synonyms: Pungent, poignant, sharp, tart, acute, quick, lively, brisk, witty, clever, keen, dashy, showy.

Smart, Clever. Smart has been much used in new England to describe a person who is intelligent, vigorous, and active; as, a smart young fellow; a smart workman, etc, conciding very nearly with the English sense of clever. The nearest approach to this in England is in such expressions as, he was smart (pungent or witty) in his reply, etc.; but smart and smartness, when applied to persons, more commonly refer to dress; as, a smart appearance; a smart gown, etc.

Origin: OE. Smerte. See Smart.

(01 Mar 1998)

<computer hardware, protocol> (SBD) A method to monitor a rechargeable battery pack, initiated by Duracell and Intel. An special IC in the battery pack monitors the battery and reports information to the SMBus. This information might include: type, model number, manufacturer, characteristics, discharge rate, predicted remaining capacity, almost-discharged alarm so that the PC can shut down gracefully; temperature and voltage to provide safe fast-charging.

Smart Battery System Implementers Forum.

Acronym: SBD

(01 Apr 1999)

Any plastic card (like a credit card) with an embedded integrated circuit for storing information.

Smart cards are being incorporated into soldier's dog-tags and used to store hospital patients' medical records. This way they are always instantly accessible.

Other uses are as a form of token in banking systems. You could store electronic money on the card or less valuable tokens such as those given away by petrol companies which you collect to exchange for free gifts at a later date. The idea being that one smart card is easier to carry around than a multitude of paper tokens.

WWW: alt.technology.smartcards

(01 Jan 1995)

<storage, product> A Microsoft MS DOS disk cache program to speed up disk access.

For most users, a 1MB cache is sufficient. Devoting more memory to the cache offers diminishing returns, since the additional cache hits become fewer (and the extra memory could be better used to reduce swapping).

Typing SMARTDRV /S at a DOS prompt shows the cache size, a hit-and-miss report, and information about which drives are being cached. The hit-and-miss statistics are crucial for gauging the effectiveness of SmartDrive settings. A score in the high 80s shows that SmartDrive is well configured. Run SMARTDRV /S several times during a Windows session and note the-hit-and-miss figures each time. If your percentage usually falls below 80 percent, you should consider increasing the cache size. You can edit the SMARTDRV line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to increase both the InitCacheSize and the WinCacheSize parameters.

SmartDrive Monitor is an undocumented Windows program that comes with DOS 6.0 for logging and controling the cache.

(01 Mar 1995)

Preferred term: Smartdrive

Preferred term: intelligent terminal

<botany> An acrid plant of the genus Polygonum (P. Hydropiper), which produces smarting if applied where the skin is tender.

(01 Mar 1998)

To break up, or to pieces suddenly, as the result of collision or pressure.

(01 Mar 1998)

Preferred term: case sensitivity

Preferred term: coalesced sum

<jargon> In C programming, to corrupt the execution stack by writing past the end of a local array or other data structure. Code that smashes the stack can cause a return from the routine to jump to a random address, resulting in insidious data-dependent bugs.

Variants include "trash" the stack, scribble the stack, mangle the stack.

See spam; See also: aliasing bug, fandango on core, memory leak, memory smash, precedence lossage, overrun screw.

(01 Mar 1995)