1. A living, sentient organism that has membranous cell walls, requires oxygen and organic foods, and is capable of voluntary movement, as distinguished from a plant or mineral. 2. One of the lower a. organisms as distinguished from humans. [L.]
- cold-blooded a. SYN: poikilotherm.
- control a. in research, an a. submitted to the same conditions as the others used for the experiment, but with the crucial factor (such as the injection of antitoxin, the administration of a drug, etc.) omitted. SEE ALSO: control, control experiment.
- conventional a. an a. colonized by the burden of resident microorganisms normally associated with its particular species.
- Houssay a. an a. that has been pancreatectomized and hypophysectomized. Named after the discoverer of the principle that animals are more sensitive to insulin after removal of the pituitary, and that after this operation the intensity of diabetes in depancreatized animals is diminished.
- normal a. in research, an experimental a. that has neither suffered an attack of a particular disease nor received an injection of a specific microorganism or its toxin.
- sentinel a. an a. deliberately placed in a particular environment to detect the presence of an infectious agent, such as a virus.
- warm-blooded a. SYN: homeotherm.
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automatic nonlinear image matching and anatomical labeling
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an·i·mal 'an-ə-məl n
1) any of a kingdom (Animalia) of living things including many-celled organisms and often many of the single-celled ones (as protozoans) that typically differ from plants in having cells without cellulose walls, in lacking chlorophyll and the capacity for photosynthesis, in requiring more complex food materials (as proteins), in being organized to a greater degree of complexity, and in having the capacity for spontaneous movement and rapid motor response to stimulation
2 a) one of the lower animals as distinguished from human beings
animal adj
1) of, relating to, or derived from animals
2) of or relating to the animal pole of an egg or to the part from which ectoderm normally develops
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an·i·mal (anґĭ-məl) [L. animalis, from anima life, breath] 1. a living organism having sensation and the power of voluntary movement and requiring for its existence oxygen and organic food; animals constitute one of the five kingdoms of living organisms. 2. pertaining to such an organism. 3. any animal organism other than a human being.Medical dictionary. 2011.