online medical dictionary | definition of gen

<suffix>

1. A suffix used in scientific words in the sense of producing, generating: as, amphigen, amidogen, halogen.

2. A suffix meaning produced, precursor of, generated; as, exogen.

See: pro-.

Origin: From Gr. -gen-, from the same root as genos race, stock. From Gr. suffix -genhs born.

(06 Feb 2009)

<prefix>

A combining form or prefix meaning born, producing, coming to be.

Origin: G. Genos, birth

(05 Mar 2000)

1. <zoology> The cheek; the feathered side of the under mandible of a bird.

2. <entomology> The part of the head to which the jaws of an insect are attached.

Origin: L, the cheek.

(01 Mar 1998)

Relating to the gena, or cheek.

(05 Mar 2000)

Preferred term: buccal glands

A database of nucleic acid and protein sequences at the National Library of Medicine in the United States of America, compiled from international sources. It has sequence data in 13 different categories: primate, mammal, rodent, vertebrate, invertebrate, organelle, RNA, bacteria, plant, virus, bacteriophage, synthetic, and other. It is similar to the European Molecular Biology Lab gene bank in Germany.

WWW: Genebank

(09 Oct 1997)

1. Kind; sort. "One gender of herbs."

2. Sex, male or female.

3. A classification of nouns, primarily according to sex; and secondarily according to some fancied or imputed quality associated with sex. "Gender is a grammatical distinction and applies to words only. Sex is natural distinction and applies to living objects." (R. Morris)

Adjectives and pronouns are said to vary in gender when the form is varied according to the gender of the words to which they refer.

Origin: OF. Genre, gendre (with excrescent d), F.genre, fr. L. Genus, generis, birth, descent, race, kind, gender, fr. The root of genere, gignere, to beget, in pass, to be born, akin to E. Kin. See Kin, and cf. Generate, Genre, Gentle, Genus.

(01 Mar 1998)

<syndrome>

A syndrome in which an individual experiences marked personal stress due to feelings that despite having the genitalia and secondary sexual characteristics of one gender there is a sense of compatibility and greater belonging to the other gender class; one may undergo surgery to reconstruct anatomy to that of the other gender.

(05 Mar 2000)

<psychiatry> A person's concept of himself as being male and masculine or female and feminine, or ambivalent, usually based on the physical characteristics, parental attitudes and expectations, and psychological and social pressures to which the individual is subjected. It is the private experience of gender role.

(12 Dec 1998)

<psychiatry> A class of mental disorders characterised by an incongruity between an assigned culturally determined set of attitudes, behaviour patterns, and physical characteristics associated with masculinity or femininity and gender identity.

See: transsexualism.

(05 Mar 2000)

<computer hardware> A cable connector shell with either two male or two female connectors on it, used to correct the mismatches that result when some loser didn't understand the EIA-232C specification and the distinction between DTE and DCE. Used especially for EIA-232C parts in either the original D-25 or the IBM PC's D-9 connector.

There appears to be some confusion as to whether a "male homosexual adaptor" has pins on both sides (is doubly male) or sockets on both sides (connects two males).

Synonyms: gender bender, gender blender, sex changer, homosexual adaptor

(01 Mar 1995)

The sex of a child assigned by a parent; when opposite to the child's anatomical sex (e.g., due to genital ambiguity at birth or to the parents' strong wish for a child of the opposite sex), the basis is set for postpubertal dysfunctions.

See: sex role, sex reversal.

(05 Mar 2000)

<cell biology, molecular biology> Originally defined as the physical unit of heredity, it is probably best defined as the unit of inheritance that occupies a specific locus on a chromosome, the existence of which can be confirmed by the occurrence of different allelic forms.

Genes are formed from DNA, carried on the chromosomes and are responsible for the inherited characteristics that distinguish one individual from another. Each human individual has an estimated 100,000 separate genes.

Given the occurrence of split genes, it might be redefined as the set of DNA sequences (exons) that are required to produce a single polypeptide.

(09 Oct 1997)

The process of activation of a gene so that it is expressed at a particular time. This process is crucial in growth and development.

(05 Mar 2000)

<biology> Alternate generation. See Generation.

Origin: Gr. Race + E. Genesis.

(01 Mar 1998)

Of or pertaining to genealogy; as, a genealogical table; genealogical order. Genealog"ically, Genealogical tree, a family lineage or genealogy drawn out under the form of a tree and its branches.

Origin: Cf. F. Genealogique.

(01 Mar 1998)

1. Heredity.

2. The explicit assembly of the descent of a person or family; it may be of any length.

Origin: G. Genea, descent, + logos, study

(05 Mar 2000)

<person>

A former IBM engineer who founded Amdahl Corporation.

(01 Mar 1995)

<molecular biology> Selective replication of DNA sequence within a cell, producing multiple extra copies of that sequence. The best known example occurs during the maturation of the oocyte of Xenopus, where the set (normally 500 copies) of ribosomal RNA genes is replicated some 4,000 times to give about 2 million copies.

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

(11 Mar 2008)

A group of genes which are coordinately controlled.

(09 Oct 1997)

<molecular biology> The insertion of a DNA sequence into a vector that can then be propagated in a host organism, generating a large number of copies of the sequence.

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

(11 Mar 2008)

A set of closely related genes that code for the same or similar proteins and which are usuallygrouped together on the same chromosome.

(09 Oct 1997)

<study>

The scientific study of genetic variation within a species as it relatesto the environment.

(09 Oct 1997)

<molecular biology> A phenomenon in which alleles are segregated in a 3:1 not 2:2 ratio in meiosis. May be a result of DNA polymerase switching templates and copying from the other homologous sequence or a result of mismatch repair (nucleotides being removed from one strand and replaced by repair synthesis using the other strand as template).

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

(11 Mar 2008)

The total loss (or absence) of a gene. Gene deletion plays a role in birth defects and in the development of cancer.

(12 Dec 1998)

Hereditary disorder caused by a mutant allele of a single gene (e.g., Duchenne muscular dystrophy, retinoblastoma, sickle cell disease).

Compare polygenic disorders.

(05 Mar 2000)

Use of both in vitro and in vivo recombination to substitute an easily selected mutant gene for a wild-type gene.

(09 Oct 1997)

The difference (expressed as a percentage) in the nucleotide sequencesbetween two related genes that developed from the same ancestral gene.

(09 Oct 1997)

<molecular biology> Number of copies of a particular gene locus in the genome, in most cases either one or two.

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

(11 Mar 2008)

The putative mechanism that adjusts the X-linked phenotypes of males and females to compensate for the haploid state in males and the diploid state in females. It is now largely ascribed to lyonization which compensates the mean of the dose but not its variance, which is greater in females.

(05 Mar 2000)

In codominant alleles, the more or less linear relationship between the phenotypic value and the number of genes of one type substituted by another type.

(05 Mar 2000)

<molecular biology> A class of DNA rearrangement that generates a supernumerary copy of a gene in the genome. This would allow each gene to evolve independently to produce distinct functions. Such a set of evolutionarily related genes can be called a gene family.

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

(11 Mar 2008)

A gene that has remained essentially unchanged throughout evolution. Conservation of a gene indicates that it is unique and essential. There is not an extra copy of that gene with which evolution can tinker. And changes in the gene are likely to be lethal.

(12 Dec 1998)

<molecular biology> The full use of the information in a gene via transcription and translation leading to production of a protein and hence the appearance of the phenotype determined by that gene. Gene expression is assumed to be controlled at various points in the sequence leading to protein synthesis and this control is thought to be the major determinant of cellular differentiation in eukaryotes.

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

(11 Mar 2008)

Any of the processes by which nuclear, cytoplasmic, or intercellular factors influence the differential control of gene action at the level of transcription or translation. These processes include gene activation and genetic induction.

(12 Dec 1998)

Any of the processes by which cytoplasmic or intercellular factors influence the differential control of gene action in archaea.

(12 Dec 1998)

Any of the processes by which cytoplasmic or intercellular factors influence the differential control of gene action in bacteria.

(12 Dec 1998)

Any of the processes by which nuclear, cytoplasmic, or intercellular factors influence the differential control of gene action during the developmental stages of an organism.

(12 Dec 1998)

Any of the processes by which nuclear, cytoplasmic, or intercellular factors influence the differential control of gene action in enzyme synthesis.

(12 Dec 1998)

Any of the processes by which nuclear, cytoplasmic, or intercellular factors influence the differential control of gene action in fungi.

(12 Dec 1998)

Any of the processes by which nuclear, cytoplasmic, or intercellular factors influence the differential control of gene action in leukaemia.

American spelling: gene expression regulation, leukemic

(12 Dec 1998)

Any of the processes by which nuclear, cytoplasmic, or intercellular factors influence the differential control of gene action in neoplastic tissue.

(12 Dec 1998)

Any of the processes by which nuclear, cytoplasmic, or intercellular factors influence the differential control of gene action in plants.

(12 Dec 1998)

Any of the processes by which cytoplasmic factors influence the differential control of gene action in viruses.

(12 Dec 1998)

Groups of closely related genes that makesimilar products.

(09 Oct 1997)

<molecular biology> A set of genes coding for diverse proteins which, by virtue of their high degree of sequence similarity, are believed to have evolved from a single ancestral gene. An example is the immunoglobulin family where the characteristic features of the constant domains are found in various cell surface receptors.

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

(11 Mar 2008)

The movement of genes from one population to another viainterbreeding.

(09 Oct 1997)

The relative occurence (expressed as a percentage) of a gene in a given population.

(09 Oct 1997)

Fusion of structural genes to analyze protein behaviour or fusion of regulatory sequences with structural genes to determine mechanisms of regulation.

(12 Dec 1998)

The addition of one or more genesinto a genome from an externalsource.

(09 Oct 1997)

A condition caused by a pair of alleles that, when present in the heterozygous form, inhibit the fertility of the organism that possessesthem.

(09 Oct 1997)

<molecular biology> A collection of cloned DNA fragments that contains all the genetic information of a particular organism.

(09 Oct 1997)

A computerised device for synthesizing genes by combining nucleotides (bases) in a specified order.

(14 Nov 1997)

Determination of the relative positions of genes on a DNA molecule (chromosome or plasmid) and of the distance, in linkage units or physical units, between them.

(09 Oct 1997)

Detectable genetic traits or distinctive segments of DNA that serve as landmarks for a target gene. Markers are on the same chromosome as the target gene. They must be near enough to the target gene to be genetically linked to it: to be inherited usually together with that gene, and so serve as signposts to it.

(12 Dec 1998)

Preferred term: mosaic

The total sum of genetic information present in a population at anygiven moment.

(09 Oct 1997)

A biomolecule that islabelled with radioactive isotopes or with a fluorescent marker that selectively binds to a specific gene so it can be isolated or identified.

(09 Oct 1997)

The biochemical material, either RNA or protein, resulting from expression of a gene. The amount of gene product is used to measure how active a gene is, abnormal amounts can be correlated with disease-causing alleles.

(09 Oct 1997)

Retroviral proteins, often glycosylated, coded by the envelope (env) gene. They are usually synthesised as protein precursors (polyproteins) and later cleaved into the final products by a viral protease.

(12 Dec 1998)

Proteins coded by the retroviral gag gene. The products are usually synthesised as protein precursors or polyproteins, which are then cleaved by viral proteases to yield the final products. Many of the final products are associated with the nucleoprotein core of the virion. Gag is short for group-specific antigen.

(12 Dec 1998)

Products of the HIV nef gene (formerly 3'-orf gene). The products trans-suppress viral replication and function as negative regulators of transcription. Nef stands for negative factor.

(12 Dec 1998)

Retroviral proteins coded by the pol gene. Often synthesised as a gag-pol fusion protein (fusion proteins, gag-pol) and later cleaved into final products that include reverse transcriptase, endonuclease/integrase, and viral protease. Pol is short for polymerase, the enzyme class of reverse transcriptase.

(12 Dec 1998)

Trans-acting nuclear proteins whose functional expression are required for HIV viral replication. Specifically, the rev gene products are required for processing and translation of the HIV gag and env mRNAs, and thus rev regulates the expression of the viral structural proteins. Rev can also regulate viral regulatory proteins. A cis-acting antirepression sequence (car) in env, also known as the rev-responsive element (rre), is responsive to the rev gene product. Rev is short for regulator of virion.

(12 Dec 1998)

Post-transcriptional regulatory proteins required for the accumulation of mRNAs that encode the gag and env gene products in HTLV-I and HTLV-II. The rex (regulator x; x is undefined) products act by binding to elements in the ltr.

(12 Dec 1998)

Trans-acting transcription factors. Nuclear proteins whose expression is required for HIV viral replication. The tat protein stimulates HIV-ltr-driven RNA synthesis for both viral regulatory and viral structural proteins. Tat stands for trans-activation of transcription.

(12 Dec 1998)

Transcriptional trans-acting proteins of the promoter elements found in the long-terminal repeats (ltr) of HTLV-I and HTLV-II. The tax (trans-activator x; x is undefined) proteins act by binding to enhancer elements in the ltr.

(12 Dec 1998)

A 23 kD regulatory protein important for virion infectivity in HIV. The protein is found in the cytoplasm of HIV-infected cells and is not absolutely required for virion formation.

(12 Dec 1998)

Trans-acting proteins which accelerate virus replication in HIV. The vpr proteins act in trans to increase the levels of HIV specified proteins. Vpr is short for viral protein r, where r is undefined.

(12 Dec 1998)

Non-glycosylated, membrane-associated, 16 kD proteins which are expressed in large amounts in cells infected with HIV-1. The proteins are required for efficient virion maturation and release. They are not present in HIV-2 nor in siv. Vpu is short for viral protein u, with u undefined.

(12 Dec 1998)

Plural of genus.

(05 Mar 2000)

1. Relating to a genus or kind; pertaining to a whole class or order; as, a general law of animal or vegetable economy.

2. Comprehending many species or individuals; not special or particular; including all particulars; as, a general inference or conclusion.

3. Not restrained or limited to a precise import; not specific; vague; indefinite; lax in signification; as, a loose and general expression.

4. Common to many, or the greatest number; widely spread; prevalent; extensive, though not universal; as, a general opinion; a general custom. "This general applause and cheerful sout Argue your wisdom and your love to Richard." (Shak)

5. Having a relation to all; common to the whole; as, Adam, our general sire.

6. As a whole; in gross; for the most part. "His general behavior vain, ridiculous." (Shak)

7. Usual; common, on most occasions; as, his general habit or method.

The word general, annexed to a name of office, usually denotes chief or superior; as, attorney-general; adjutant general; commissary general; quartermaster general; vicar-general, etc. General agent, a warrant, now illegal, to apprehend suspected persons, without naming individuals.

Synonyms: General, Common, Universal.

Common denotes primarily that in which many share; and hence, that which is often met with. General is stronger, denoting that which pertains to a majority of the individuals which compose a genus, or whole. Universal, that which pertains to all without exception. To be able to read and write is so common an attainment in the United States, that we may pronounce it general, though by no means universal.

1. The whole; the total; that which comprehends or relates to all, or the chief part; opposed to particular. "In particulars our knowledge begins, and so spreads itself by degrees to generals." (Locke)

2. One of the chief military officers of a government or country; the commander of an army, of a body of men not less than a brigade. In European armies, the highest military rank next below field marshal.

In the United States the office of General of the Army has been created by temporary laws, and has been held only by Generals U. S. Grant, W. T. Sherman, and P. H. Sheridan. Popularly, the title General is given to various general officers, as General, Lieutenant general, Major general, Brigadier general, Commissary general, etc. See Brigadier general, Lieutenant general, Major general, in the Vocabulary.

3. The roll of the drum which calls the troops together; as, to beat the general.

4. The chief of an order of monks, or of all the houses or congregations under the same rule.

5. The public; the people; the vulgar. In general, in the main; for the most part.

Origin: F. General, fr. L. Generalis. See Genus.

(01 Mar 1998)

A catalytic reaction that involves the tranfer of a proton to or from anon-water molecule.

(09 Oct 1997)

<simulation, library> (GASP) A set of discrete system simulation subroutines for Fortran.

(01 Aug 2003)

<syndrome>

The sum of all non-specific systemic reactions of the body to long-continued exposure to systemic stress.

(12 Dec 1998)

<simulation> (GASP)

MORE.

[Summary?]

(01 Aug 2003)

A form of anaesthesia that results in putting the patient to sleep. Total body anaesthesia.

Origin: Gr. Aisthesis = sensation

American spelling: general anesthesia

(27 Sep 1997)

A compound that produces loss of sensation associated with loss of consciousness.

American spelling: general anesthetic

(05 Mar 2000)

The study of gross and microscopic structures as well as of the composition of the body, its tissues and fluids.

(05 Mar 2000)

Removing blood by arteriotomy or phlebotomy.

(05 Mar 2000)

Nurse who accepts assignment to any unit of a hospital other than an intensive care unit.

(05 Mar 2000)

A component of the undergraduate curriculum designed to provide breadth to the curriculum and a common undergraduate experience for all students. It is usually defined on an institution-wide basis and involves study in several subject area.

(14 Jan 2009)

<company>

(GE) A US company that manufactured computers from 1956 until 1970, when it sold its computer division to Honeywell and left the computer business. Notable GE computers were the GE-265, which supported the Dartmouth Time-sharing System (DTSS), and the GE-645 used for Multics development.

See also: GCOS.

Not to be confused with the General Electric Company (GEC) in the UK (where FOLDOC's first seeds were sown).

Acronym: GE

(01 Jul 2002)

Preferred term: GCOS

A refined measure of fertility in a population; the numerator is the number of live births in a year, the denominator is the number of females of child-bearing age, usually defined as ages 15-44 (but increasingly recognised as extending to age 49).

(05 Mar 2000)

Any large civilian hospital that is equipped to care for medical, surgical, maternity, and psychiatric cases, and usually has a resident medical staff.

(05 Mar 2000)

Immunity associated with widely diffused mechanisms that tend to protect the body as a whole, as compared with local immunity.

(05 Mar 2000)

<psychology> The phenomenon of an organism's responding to all situations similar to one in which it has been conditioned.

(12 Dec 1998)

<zoology> Comprising structural characters which are separated in more specialized forms; synthetic; as, a generalised type.

(01 Mar 1998)

The immediate response, involving smooth muscles and capillaries throughout the body of a sensitised individual, that follows intravenous (and occasionally intracutaneous) injection of antigen (allergen).

See: anaphylactic shock.

Synonyms: systemic anaphylaxis.

(05 Mar 2000)

Chronic, repeated episodes of anxiety reactions; a psychological disorder in which anxiety or morbid fear and dread accompanied by autonomic changes are prominent features.

See: anxiety.

(05 Mar 2000)

Preferred term: relapsing polychondritis

Preferred term: van Buchem's syndrome

Preferred term: cutis laxa

Preferred term: panlobular emphysema

Preferred term: bullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma

A major category of epilepsy syndromes characterised by one or more types of generalised seizures.

(05 Mar 2000)

A rare recurring generalised eruption in adults of flesh coloured or erythematous papules remaining localised to the skin and consisting of dermal nodules of mononuclear histiocytes that do not stain for lipid.

Synonyms: nodular non-X histiocytosis.

(05 Mar 2000)

Preferred term: gM1 gangliosidosis

Preferred term: type 2 glycogenosis

Widespread myokymia, present in multiple limbs and often the face; of various causes, including Isaac's syndrome, uraemia, thyrotoxicosis and gold toxicity (gold-myokymia syndrome).

(05 Mar 2000)

Preferred term: global paralysis

Preferred term: pustular psoriasis

Preferred term: tonic-clonic seizure

Seizures characterised by generalised cerebral onset clinically and on EEG.

(05 Mar 2000)

When both the primary injection of endotoxin-containing filtrate and the secondary injection are given intravenously 24 hours apart, the animal usually dies within 24 hours after the second inoculation; the characteristic lesions in the rabbit include widespread haemorrhages in the lung, liver, and other organs and bilateral cortical necrosis of the kidney. This reaction has no immunological basis.

Synonyms: Sanarelli phenomenon, Sanarelli-Shwartzman phenomenon.

(05 Mar 2000)

<radiology> Hypoproteinaemia, sprue, Whipple

(12 Dec 1998)

The most common type of tetanus, often with trismus as its initial manifestation; the muscles of the head, neck, trunk and limbs become persistently contracted, and then painful paroxysmal tonic contractions (tetanic seizures) are superimposed; the high mortality rate (50%) is due to asphyxia or cardiac failure.

(05 Mar 2000)

Preferred term: generalised tonic-clonic seizure

Preferred term: tonic-clonic seizure

Secondary lesions of the skin following vaccination which may occur in subjects with previously healthy skin but are more common in the case of traumatised skin, especially in the case of eczema (eczema vaccinatum). In the latter instance, generalised vaccinia may result from mere contact with a vaccinated person. Secondary vaccinial lesions may also occur following transfer of virus from the vaccination to another site by means of the fingers.

(05 Mar 2000)

<specialist>

A general physician or family physician; a physician trained to take care of the majority of nonsurgical diseases, sometimes including obstetrics.

(05 Mar 2000)

1. Rendering or becoming general, diffuse, or widespread, as when a primarily local disease becomes systemic.

2. The reasoning by which a basic conclusion is reached, which applies to different items, each having some common factor.

(05 Mar 2000)

A software company based in Mountain View, California. Products released in 1994 after four years in development include: Telescript - a communications-oriented programming language; Magic Cap - an OOPS designed for PDAs; and a new, third generation GUI. Motorola's Envoy, due for release in the third quarter of 1994, will use Magic Cap as its OS.

What PostScript did for cross-platform, device-independent documents, Telescript aims to do for cross-platform, network-independent messaging. Telescript protects programmers from many of the complexities of network protocols.

Competitors for Magic Cap include Microsoft's Windows for Pens/Winpad, PenPoint, Apple Computer's Newton Intelligence and GEOS by GeoWorks.

MORE.

(01 Feb 1995)

A practical qualification which is both a route to Further Education and a preparation for employment in a broad vocational area. There are two levels of GNVQ - Intermediate and Advanced.

See: Advanced Vocational Certificate of Education

Acronym: GNVQ

(14 Jan 2009)

<communications> (GPRS) A GSM data transmission technique that does not set up a continuous channel from a portable terminal for the transmission and reception of data, but transmits and receives data in packets. It makes very efficient use of available radio spectrum, and users pay only for the volume of data sent and received.

See also: packet radio.

Acronym: GPRS

(01 Apr 1999)

A part of late ( tertiary ) syphilis a decade or more after the initial infection, due to chronic inflammation of the covering and substance of the brain (meningoencephalitis) which results in progressive dementia and generalised paralysis.

(12 Dec 1998)

Peritonitis throughout the peritoneal cavity.

Synonyms: diffuse peritonitis.

(05 Mar 2000)

<study>

The science of the functions or vital processes common to almost all living things, whether animal or plant, as opposed to aspects of physiology peculiar to particular types of animals or plants, or to the application of physiology to applied sciences such as medicine and agriculture.

(05 Mar 2000)

A term for physicians who care for all types of medical problems, including internal medical, paediatric, obstetrical, and surgical diseases. Post-graduate training for general practitioners was limited and there was no specialty certification; the field has been replaced by more extensively trained family practitioners.

(05 Mar 2000)

Nonspecialised dental practice which is concerned with providing primary and continuing dental care.

(12 Dec 1998)

(GP) a medically qualified doctor who practices general medicine as a family practitioner. Some GPs are also qualified in specialised medicine and in Malaysia, the majority of specialists also practise as general practitioners although the trend may be changing.

(16 Dec 1997)

<medical training>

This entry has no definition yet.

Acronym: GPT

(14 Jan 2009)

(GPF, or General Protection Fault) An addressing error, caught by the processor's memory protection hardware, that cannot be attributed to any expected condition such as a page fault.

(01 Mar 1995)

Preferred term: General Protection Failure

<spelling> It's spelled "General Public License".

(In the UK, "licence" is a noun and "license" is a verb (like "advice"/"advise") but in the US both are spelled "license").

(01 Mar 1995)

<legal> (GPL, note US spelling) The licence applied to most software from the Free Software Foundation and the GNU project and other authors who choose to use it.

The licences for most software are designed to prevent users from sharing or changing it. By contrast, the GNU General Public License is intended to guarantee the freedom to share and change free software - to make sure the software is free for all its users. The GPL is designed to make sure that anyone can distribute copies of free software (and charge for this service if they wish); that they receive source code or can get it if they want; that they can change the software or use pieces of it in new free programs; and that they know they can do these things. The GPL forbids anyone to deny others these rights or to ask them to surrender the rights. These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for those who distribute copies of the software or modify it.

See also: General Public Virus.

(01 Mar 1994)

<software, legal> A pejorative name for some versions of the GNU project copyleft or General Public License (GPL), which requires that any tools or application programs incorporating copylefted code must be source-distributed on the same terms as GNU code. Thus it is alleged that the copyleft "infects" software generated with GNU tools, which may in turn infect other software that reuses any of its code.

Copyright law limits the scope of the GPL to "programs textually incorporating significant amounts of GNU code" so GPL is only passed on if actual GNU source is transmitted. This used to be the case with the Bison parser skeleton until its licence was fixed.

MORE.

Acronym: GPV

(01 Apr 1999)

["A General Purpose Graphic Language", H.E. Kulsrud, CACM 11(4) (Apr 1968)].

(02 Feb 2009)

Preferred term: IEEE 488

(GPL) An ALGOL 60 variant with user-definable types and operators.

[Sammet 1969, p. 195].

["The GPL Language", J.V. Garwick et al, TER-05, CDC, Palo Alto 1969].

(02 Feb 2009)

<programming language>

(GPM) An early text-processing language similar to TRAC, implemented on the Atlas 2 by Christopher Strachey.

["A General Purpose Macrogenerator", C. Strachey, Computer J 8(3):225-241, Oct 1965].

Acronym: GPM

(01 Nov 2006)

<mathematics> Cantor's theorem, originally stated for ordinals, which extends inductive proof to recursive construction. The proof is by pasting together "attempts" (partial solutions).

[Better explanation?]

(01 Mar 1995)

In the embryo, a column of gray matter in the hindbrain and spinal cord, represented in the adult by the sensory nuclei of the trigeminal nerve and relay cells in the dorsal horn.

(05 Mar 2000)

A column of gray matter in the embryo, represented in the adult by the nuclei of the oculomotor, trochlear, abducens, and hypoglossal nerves and by motor neurones of the ventral horn of the spinal cord.

(05 Mar 2000)

A stimulant that affects the entire body.

(05 Mar 2000)

<specialist>

A physician specialist expert in the surgical management of disease.

(27 Sep 1997)

<specialty>

A surgical specialty that involves largely the surgical management of diseases of the bowel, gallbladder, stomach and other digestive organs.

(27 Sep 1997)

Transduction in which the transducing bacteriophage is able to transfer any gene of the donor bacterium.

(05 Mar 2000)

Preferred term: miliary tuberculosis

A column of gray matter in the hindbrain and spinal cord of the embryo, developing into the nucleus of the solitary tract and relay cells of the spinal cord.

(05 Mar 2000)

A column of gray matter in the hindbrain and spinal cord of the embryo, represented in the adult by the dorsal nucleus of the vagus, the superior and inferior salivatory and Edinger-Westphal nuclei and the visceral motor neurones of the spinal cord.

(05 Mar 2000)

Generative; producing; especially.

<geometry> .

Acting as a generant.

Origin: L. Generans, p. Pr. Of generare.

1. That which generates.

2. <geometry> A generatrix.

(01 Mar 1998)

To produce something according to an algorithm or program or set of rules, or as a (possibly unintended) side effect of the execution of an algorithm or program.

The opposite of parse.

(01 Mar 1995)

1. To beget; to procreate; to propagate; to produce (a being similar to the parent); to engender; as, every animal generates its own species.

2. To cause to be; to bring into life.

3. To originate, especially by a vital or chemical process; to produce; to cause. "Whatever generates a quantity of good chyle must likewise generate milk." (Arbuthnot)

4. <mathematics> To trace out, as a line, figure, or solid, by the motion of a point or a magnitude of inferior order.

Origin: L. Generatus, p. P. Of generare to generate, fr. Genus. See Genus, Gender.

(01 Mar 1998)

A registration of the path's of movement of the occlusal surfaces of mandibular teeth on a plastic or abrasive surface attached to the maxillary arch.

See: functional chew-in record.

(05 Mar 2000)

An attempt to classify the degree of sophistication of programming languages.

See First generation language -- Fifth generation language.

(01 Mar 1995)

1. The act of generating or begetting; procreation, as of animals.

2. Origination by some process, mathematical, chemical, or vital; production; formation; as, the generation of sounds, of gases, of curves, etc.

3. That which is generated or brought forth; progeny; offspiring.

4. A single step or stage in the succession of natural descent; a rank or remove in genealogy. Hence: The body of those who are of the same genealogical rank or remove from an ancestor; the mass of beings living at one period; also, the average lifetime of man, or the ordinary period of time at which one rank follows another, or father is succeeded by child, usually assumed to be one third of a century; an age. "This is the book of the generations of Adam." (Gen. V. 1) "Ye shall remain there [in Babylon] many years, and for a long season, namely, seven generations." (Baruch vi. 3) "All generations and ages of the Christian church." (Hooker)

5. Race; kind; family; breed; stock. "Thy mother's of my generation; what's she, if I be a dog?" (Shak)

6. <geometry> The formation or production of any geometrical magnitude, as a line, a surface, a solid, by the motion, in accordance with a mathematical law, of a point or a magnitude; as, the generation of a line or curve by the motion of a point, of a surface by a line, a sphere by a semicircle, etc.

7. <biology> The aggregate of the functions and phenomene which attend reproduction.

There are four modes of generation in the animal kingdom: scissiparity or by fissiparous generation, gemmiparity or by budding, germiparity or by germs, and oviparity or by ova.

<biology> Alternate generation, the fancied production of living organisms without previously existing parents from inorganic matter, or from decomposing organic matter, a notion which at one time had many supporters; abiogenesis.

Origin: OE. Generacioun, F. Generation, fr.L. Generatio.

(01 Mar 1998)

Pertaining to generations, i.e., the discrete staging in genealogical descent.

(05 Mar 2000)

Variation in health status arising from the different causal factors of disease to which each successive generation born is exposed as it passes through life.

(05 Mar 2000)

<cell biology> Time taken for a cell population to double in numbers and thus equivalent to the average length of the cell cycle.

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

(11 Mar 2008)

Pertaining to the process of generating.

(05 Mar 2000)

The inner experience of sharing in and comprehending the momentary psychologic state of another person.

(05 Mar 2000)

1. One who, or that which, generates, begets, causes, or produces.

2. An apparatus in which vapor or gas is formed from a liquid or solid by means of heat or chemical process, as a steam boiler, gas retort, or vessel for generating carbonic acid gas, etc.

3. The principal sound or sounds by which others are produced; the fundamental note or root of the common chord.

Synonyms: generating tone.

Origin: L.

(01 Mar 1998)

Local depolarisation of the membrane potential at the end of a sensory neurone in graded response to the strength of a stimulus applied to the associated receptor organ, e.g., a pacinian corpuscle; if the generator potential becomes large enough (because the stimulus is at least of threshold strength), it causes excitation at the nearest node of Ranvier and a propagated action potential.

(05 Mar 2000)