- absent s. SYN: dreamy s..
- activated s. SYN: excited s..
- apallic s. 1. diffuse, bilateral cerebral cortical degeneration caused by head injury, anoxia, or encephalitis; 2. a s. of persistent unresponsiveness, such as akinetic mutism, caused by brain damage. SEE ALSO: vegetative. SYN: apallic syndrome, apallic.
- carrier s. the s. of being a carrier of pathogenic organisms; i.e., one who is infected but free of disease.
- central excitatory s. the building up of excitatory influences produced by individual impulses finally causes firing of the next neuron.
- convulsive s. SYN: epilepsy.
- decerebrate s. SYN: decerebrate rigidity.
- decorticate s. SYN: decorticate rigidity.
- eunuchoid s. an imprecisely delineated condition of a male manifesting signs of inadequate androgen secretion during adolescent growth, regardless of the cause; usually referring to long legs, short trunk, and boyish beardless faces.
- excited s. the condition of an atom or molecule after absorbing energy, which may be the result of exposure to light, electricity, elevated temperature, or a chemical reaction; such activation may be a necessary prelude to a chemical reaction or to the emission of light. SYN: activated s..
- ground s. the normal, inactivated s. of an atom from which, on activation, the singlet, triplet, and other excited states are derived.
- hypnoid s. a drowsy or sleeplike s. artificially induced by a hypnotist in individuals of higher than average levels of suggestibility. See hypnosis.
- hypometabolic s. a rare s. of reduced metabolism with symptoms resembling hypothyroidism but with some tests for thyroid gland function normal; also used to describe the reduced metabolic activity seen in true hypothyroidism.
- imperfect s. in fungi, the s. or stage at which only asexual spores such as conidia are formed; most such species are classified as Deuteromycetes (Fungi Imperfecti).
- lacunar s. the presence of lacunes in the brain. One of the major factors underlying cerebrovascular disease; high correlation with hypertension and atherosclerosis. Symptomatic forms include pure motor hemiplegia and pure hemisensory syndrome; multiple lacunar infarcts are the most common cause of pseudobulbar palsy.
- local excitatory s. increased irritability of a nerve fiber or muscle fiber which is produced by a subthreshold electrical stimulus; summation of the stimuli may occur, resulting in a propagated impulse if two or more subliminal stimuli are applied in rapid succession.
- multiple ego states various psychological organizational states reflecting different personas or life experiences.
- perfect s. in fungi, that portion of the life cycle in which spores are formed after nuclear fusion.
- persistent vegetative s. (PVS) vegetative s. (q.v.) of prolonged duration (defined in different sources as duration of greater than 1 month, 1 year, or 2 years); usually permanent. SEE ALSO: vegetative.
- post–steady s. any period of time, particularly in an enzyme-catalyzed reaction, after the steady-s. interval; e.g., when the rate of product formation is declining in an enzyme-catalyzed reaction.
- refractory s. subnormal excitability immediately following a response to previous excitation; the s. is divided into absolute and relative phases.
- singlet s. a transient, excited s. of a molecule ( e.g., of chlorophyll, upon absorbing light) that can release energy as heat or light (fluorescence) and thus return to the initial (ground) s.; it may alternatively assume a slightly more stable, but still excited s. (triplet s.), with an electron still dislocated as before but with reversed spin.
- steady s. (ss, s) 1. a s. obtained in moderate muscular exercise, when the removal of lactic acid by oxidation keeps pace with its production, the oxygen supply being adequate, and the muscles do not go into debt for oxygen; 2. any condition in which the formation or introduction of substances just keeps pace with their destruction or removal so that all volumes, concentrations, pressures, and flows remain constant; 3. in enzyme kinetics, conditions such that the rate of change in the concentration of any enzyme species ( e.g., free enzyme or the enzyme-substrate binary complex) is zero or much less than the rate of formation of product. [often subscript s or ss]
- triplet s. a second excited s. of a molecule ( e.g., chlorophyll) produced by absorption of light to produce the singlet s., then loss of some energy (fluorescence) to arrive at the longer-lived triplet s. The molecule may remain sufficiently long in the triplet s. for a second activating light quantum to be effective in producing a “second triplet” s., obviously at still a higher level of excitation, hence reactivity. Alternatively, it may lose the triplet s. energy directly and return to the ground s..
- twilight s. a condition of disordered consciousness during which actions may be performed without the conscious volition of the individual and with no memory of such actions. Cf.:somnambulic epilepsy.
- vegetative s. a clinical condition in which there is complete absence of awareness of the self and the environment, accompanied by sleep-wake cycles, but with either partial or complete preservation of hypothalamic and brainstem autonomic functions; may be transient or permanent. There are multiple causes, all involving the brain, including traumatic and nontraumatic injuries, metabolic and degenerative disorders, and congenital malformations.
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a) condition of mind or temperament <a manic \state>
b) a condition or stage in the physical being of something <the gaseous \state of water>
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(stāt) [L. status] 1. condition or situation; see also status. 2. the crisis, or the turning point of an attack of disease.Medical dictionary. 2011.