Category: Mg-Mo

1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and containing the teeth, gums, and tongue. Foodstuffs are broken down mechanically in the mouth by chewing and saliva is added as a lubricant. Saliva contains amylase, an enzyme that digests starch. 2. Any opening or aperture in the body. The mouth in both senses of the word is also…

Something that produces or refers to motion. For example, a motor neuron is a nerve cell that conveys an impulse to a muscle for contraction, which then moves a joint.

A disorder of the sense of balance and equilibrium and, hence, the sense of spatial orientation that is caused by repeated motion such as from the swell of the sea, the movement of a car, or the motion of a plane in turbulent air. Motion sickness is due to irritation of a portion of the inner ear called the…

(1) The female parent. (2) To produce offspring as a female. To attribute the maternity of. (3) A cell or other structure from which similar cells or structures are formed. Accordingly, such a cell might be referred to as the mother cell.(4) To provide maternal protection, guidance, and nurturing to children.

A person or a tissue that contains two or more types of genetically different cells. All females are mosaics because of X-chromosome inactivation (lyonization). Mosaic patterns can affect the way genetic disorders are expressed. For example, about 5 percent of people with Down syndrome have a mosaic variant in which only some cells have an extra chromosome…

The science of structure and form of organisms without regard to function.

A powerful narcotic agent that has strong analgesic (pain relief) action and other significant effects on the central nervous system. It is dangerously addicting. Morphine is a naturally occurring member of a large chemical class of compounds called alkaloids. The name, which derives from Morpheus (the mythologic god of dreams) was coined in 1805 by German apothecary Adolf Serturner to designate the main alkaloid in opium. Opium comes…

In Greek and Roman mythology, the son of sleep and the god of dreams who lay on an ebony bed in a dim-lit cave, surrounded by poppies. (Opium is derived from poppies, Genus Papaver somniferum.) Morpheus was the son of Hypnos from whence comes hypnosis. To be in the arms of Morpheus is to be asleep. The drug morphine is named after…

MSG, a sodium salt of the amino acid glutamic acid that enhances the flavor of certain foods. Originally isolated from seaweed, MSG is now made by fermenting corn, potatoes and rice. It does not enhance the four basic tastes (bitter, salty, sour, sweet) but it does enhance the complex flavors of meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetables. MSG is…

Infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV, human herpesvirus 4, HHV-4) in which there is an increase of white blood cells that have a single nucleus (monocytes). The infection can be spread by saliva. Its incubation period is four to eight weeks. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, sore throat, and swollen lymph glands. Mononucleosis can cause liver inflammation (hepatitis) and spleen enlargement; vigorous contact sports should be…