index

index

 (pl. indexes, in´dices) (L.)

1. the numerical ratio of measurement of any part in comparison with a fixed standard.

2. forefinger.

Barthel index an objective, standardized tool for measuring functional status. The individual is scored in a number of areas depending upon independence of performance. Total scores range from 0 (complete dependence) to 100 (complete independence).

bleeding index any of various methods of assessing bleeding in the gingival sulcus before or after treatment.

body mass index (BMI) the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters, a measure of body fat that gives an indication of nutritional status.

cardiac index cardiac output corrected for body size.

cephalic index 100 times the maximum breadth of the skull divided by its maximum length.

citation index an index listing all publications appearing in a set of source publications (e.g., articles in a defined group of journals) that cite a given publication in their bibliographies.

Colour index a publication of the Society of Dyers and Colourists and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists containing an extensive list of dyes and dye intermediates. Each chemically distinct compound is identified by a specific number, the C.I. number, avoiding the confusion of trivial names used for dyes in the dye industry.

erythrocyte indices the mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. These are all useful for evaluating anemias because they provide information on the size of the erythrocytes and the concentration of hemoglobin. Called also red cell or red blood cell indices.

glycemic index a ranking of foods based on the response of postprandial blood sugar levels as compared with a reference food, usually either white bread or glucose. See table.

left ventricular stroke work index (LVSWI) an index of the amount of work performed by the heart.

leukopenic index a fall of 1000 or more in the total leukocyte count within 1.5 hours after ingestion of a given food; it indicates allergic hypersensitivity to that food.

index Medicus a monthly publication of the national library of medicine in which the world's leading biomedical literature is indexed by author and subject.

opsonic index a measure of opsonic activity determined by the ratio of the number of microorganisms phagocytized by normal leukocytes in the presence of serum from an individual infected by the microorganism, to the number phagocytized in serum from a normal individual.

phagocytic index any arbitrary measure of the ability of neutrophils to ingest native or opsonized particles determined by various assays; it reflects either the average number of particles ingested or the rate at which particles are cleared from the blood or culture medium.

red blood cell indices (red cell indices) erythrocyte indices.

refractive index the refractive power of a medium compared with that of air (assumed to be 1).

short increment sensitivity index (SISI) a hearing test in which randomly spaced, 0.5-second tone bursts are superimposed at 1- to 5-decibel increments in intensity on a carrier tone having the same frequency and an intensity of 20 decibels above the speech recognition threshold.

therapeutic index originally, the ratio of the maximum tolerated dose to the minimum curative dose; now defined as the ratio of the median lethal dose (LD₅₀) to the median effective dose (ED₅₀). It is used in assessing the safety of a drug.

Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

in·dex

, gen.

in·di·cis

, pl.

in·di·ces

,

in·dex·es

(in'deks, -di-sis, -di-sēz, -dek-sĕz), Index of suspicion is jargon and says no more than simple suspicion.

1.
See also: quotient, ratio. Synonym(s): index finger

2. A guide, standard, indicator, symbol, or number denoting a relationship with respect to size, capacity, or function, of one part or thing to another.
See also: quotient, ratio.

3. A core or mold used to record or maintain the relative position of a tooth or teeth to one another and/or to a cast.

4. A guide, usually made of plaster, used to reposition teeth, casts, or parts.

5. In epidemiology, a rating scale.

[L. one that points out, an informer, the forefinger, an index, fr. in-dico, pp. -atus, to declare]

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

index

1. A table of contents.

2. A guiding principle.

3. A formula expressing the relationship of one value, property, form, or ratio to another. See Ankle-brachial index, Atherogenic index, Barthel index, Bessman index, Biotechnology index, Bispectral index, Body mass index, Cardiac index, Case-mix index, Cephalic index, Clamp-derived insulin-sensitivity index, DNA index, Duke Activity Status index, England index, Family suffering index, Foam stability index, Free thyroxine index, Framingham Physical Activity index, Geographic practice cost index, Glycemic index, Greenhouse index, Heat index, Hemacytology index, Hemogram index, Hepatic iron index, HERP index, Hollingshead index, Icterus index, IgG index, IgM index, International sensitivity index, Insulin sensitivity index, Krimsky index, Labeling index, Lesquesne index, Life Events index, Locomotion index, Maturation index, Medicare Economic index, Mentzler index, Merck index, Misery index, Mitotic activity index, Mother index, National Death index, Nuclear contour index, Obstructive apnea-hypopnea index, Organism-specific antibody index, Pearl index, Phagocytic index, Pollution Standards index, Poverty index, Prognostic nutritional index, Proliferation index, Singh index, Psoriasis Area and Severity index, Quetelet index, Rate-adjusted mortality index, Shine & Lal index, Side Effects & Symptoms Distress index, Sleep Impairment index, Splenic index, Standard deviation index, Stress index, Therapeutic index, Thymidine labeling index, Transitional-dyspnea index, Uncitedness index, UV index.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

in·dex

, gen. indicis, pl. indices, pl. indexes (indeks, -di-sis, -di-sēz, -deks-ĕz) [TA]

1. [TA]
Synonym(s): index finger.

2. A guide, standard, indicator, symbol, or number denoting the relation in respect to size, capacity, or function, of one part or thing to another.
See also: quotient, ratio

3. A core or mold used to record or maintain the relative position of a tooth or teeth to one another or to a cast.

4. A guide, usually made of plaster, used to reposition teeth, casts, or parts.

5. epidemiology A rating scale.

Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012

in·dex

, pl. indices, pl. indexes (indeks, -di-sēz, -deks-ĕz) [TA]

1. A core or mold used to record or maintain the relative position of a tooth or teeth to one another and/or to a cast.

2. A guide, usually made of plaster, used to reposition teeth, casts, or parts.

Medical Dictionary for the Dental Professions © Farlex 2012

Patient discussion about index

Q. how can i know my body mass index? how do they calculate it.thank you. this is bse i have a problem with my weight and the right diet to take.i wana have some tips on that bse its too much for me.new year.

A. BMI is a simple method to have an estimation of your body weight. because just measuring weight is not enough because it differentiate between people due to their hight. a 5 footer does not have normal weight as a 6 footer...
here is a link to the WHO site that explains how to calculate it and what the results mean:
http://www.who.int/bmi/index.jsp?introPage=intro_3.html

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