unit

[u´nit]

1. a single thing; one segment of a whole that is made up of identical or similar segments.

2. a specifically defined amount of anything subject to measurement, as of activity, dimension, velocity, volume, or the like.

3. a distinct part of a hospital, usually having a specific physical location and serving a defined function; see under names of specific units.

Ångström unit angstrom.

atomic mass unit (u) (amu) the unit of mass equal to ¹⁄₁₂ the mass of the nuclide of carbon 12. Called also dalton.

autonomous nursing unit a nursing unit under a decentralized administration system in which the staff is responsible for all aspects of unit functioning.

British thermal unit (BTU) a unit of heat formerly widely used, being the amount necessary to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water from 39° to 40°F., equal to approximately 252 calories.

CH50 unit the amount of complement that will lyse 50 per cent of a standard preparation of sheep red blood cells coated with antisheep erythrocyte antibody.

continuing education unit (CEU) a unit of credit for educational offerings given to professional persons, determined by a professional organization according to a mathematical formula after a thorough review of the program of study, the qualifications of the instructors, and the program objectives.

critical care unit intensive care unit.

electrostatic u's (esu) that system of units that is based on the fundamental definition of a unit charge as one that will repel a similar charge with a force of 1 dyne when the two charges are 1 cm apart in a vacuum.

environmental control unit a computerized system that allows the handicapped individual to operate several different appliances using a keyboard or other input device.

heat unit the amount of heat energy that is produced by one kVp (kilovolt peak) and one mA (milliampere) for one second with single phase, full wave rectified radiographic equipment.

Hounsfield unit an arbitrary unit of x-ray attenuation used for CT scans. Each voxel is assigned a value on a scale in which air has a value of −1000; water, 0; and compact bone, +1000.

intensive care unit see intensive care unit.

International unit (IU)

1. a unit of enzyme activity equal to the amount of enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of one micromole of substrate or coenzyme per minute under specified conditions (temperature, pH, and substrate concentration) of the assay method. Abbreviated U.

2. any of several arbitrary units that have been adopted by international bodies to express the quantities of certain vitamins (A, C, D, and thiamine hydrochloride), hormones (androgen, chorionic gonadotropin, estradiol benzoate, estrone, insulin, progesterone, and prolactin), and drugs (digitalis and penicillin).

Kienböck's unit a unit of x-ray exposure equal to 0.1 erythema dose; symbol X.

motor unit the unit of motor activity formed by a motor nerve cell and its many innervated muscle fibers.

postanesthesia care unit (PACU) a specialty unit in a hospital for giving postanesthesia care (care of patients recovering from anesthesia and intravenous sedation); formerly called recovery room.

radiologic u's units used to measure radiation, including roentgens, rads, rems, and curies.

u's of service (UOS)

1. the number of procedures done by a department.

2. individuals or groups of individuals who are the recipients of nursing care.

short procedures unit (short term care unit) a nursing unit where patients are briefly cared for following a medical or surgical procedure and are then discharged without spending the night.

SI unit any unit of the International System of units (the metric system); see also si units.

step-down unit a nursing unit designated to provide care for patients who are stable enough to be discharged from the intensive care unit but are not yet ready to be cared for on a medical-surgical unit.

Svedberg unit (S) a unit equal to 10⁻¹³ second used for expressing sedimentation coefficients of macromolecules.

Svedberg flotation unit (S_f) a unit equal to 10⁻¹³ second used for expressing negative sedimentation coefficients of macromolecules that float rather than sink in a centrifuge, e.g., lipoproteins.

terminal respiratory unit the functional unit of the lung, including a respiratory bronchiole, alveolar ducts and sacs, and alveoli; called also primary lobule of lung and primary respiratory lobule.

USP unit one used in the United States Pharmacopeia for expressing potency of drugs and other preparations.

mo·tor u·nit

a single somatic motor neuron and the group of muscle fibers innervated by it.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

mo·tor u·nit

(mō'tŏr yū'nit)

A single somatic motor neuron and the group of muscle fibers innervated by it.

Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012

motor unit

a motor neurone and its associated muscle fibres.

Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005

motor unit

A group of muscle fibres that respond to a stimulus from a single motor neuron. In the extraocular muscles a motor unit consists of less than a dozen small fibres, that is considered to be a small unit. It produces a finer degree of neural control over contraction than a larger unit, which produces more powerful gross movements when activated. See neuron.

mo·tor u·nit

(mō'tŏr yū'nit)

A single somatic motor neuron and the group of muscle fibers innervated by it.

Medical Dictionary for the Dental Professions © Farlex 2012

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References in periodicals archive

However, this study showed that increases in muscle strength and endurance after resistance training were not associated with the CNTF genotype; however, difference in motor unit potential of the biceps brachii muscle based on the CNTF genotype was observed during isokinetic 180[degrees]/s exercises.

Effects of resistance training on muscle strength, endurance, and motor unit according to ciliary neurotrophic factor polymorphism in male college students

[6.] Farina D (2008) Counterpoint: Spectral properties of the surface EMG do not provide information about motor unit recruitment and muscle fiber type.

Nonparametric decomposition of electromyographic wavelet spectra during concentric and eccentric muscle actions

maximal motor unit activation was most accurately described as an

A critical analysis of a review on strength training in the military

(13.) Kaczmarek P, Celichowski J, Drzymala-Celichowska H, Kasinski A (2009) The image of motor units architecture in the mechanomygraphic signal during the single motor unit contraction: in vivo and simulation study.

Mechanomyographic amplitude and mean power frequency versus isometric force relationships detected in two axes

Motor unit firing frequency refers to the number of impulses per second that the muscle fibre of a motor unit receives from the motoneuron.

The potential neural mechanisms of acute indirect vibration

In this study, we determined the MUNE of ADM and AH using the manual incremental method [21], in which the assumption is made that each small, stepwise increase in CMAP amplitude with slight increments of stimulus intensity represented the addition of another single motor unit potential (SMUP) to the growing waveform [22].

Association between Early Neuroretinal Dysfunction and Peripheral Motor Unit Loss in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Given that the neural drive to muscle is the net activity of all the innervating motoneurons, the best estimate of the neural drive is derived from the motoneuron (and, consequently, motor unit) spike trains themselves [25].

New Perspectives for Computer-Aided Discrimination of Parkinson's Disease and Essential Tremor

Amplitude, duration, area, and phases of motor unit potential (MUP) are parameters studied conventionally.

Quantitating Changes in Jitter and Spike Number Using Concentric Needle Electrodes in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients

There is a strong likelihood that it comes from either motor unit synchronization, or (more likely) in unison fluctuations in motor unit firing rates combined with simultaneous recruitment patterns.

Frequency-specific coherence in surface electromyographic signals from the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis

The main confounding factor in sEMG spectral analysis is the distance-dependent filtering effect introduced by the muscle volume conductor: namely, that the contribution of a given motor unit to the spectrum depends on the distance from this unit to the recording electrodes (Dimitrova, 1973).

Limitations of spectral electromyogramic analysis to determine the onset of neuromuscular fatigue threshold during incremental ergometer cycling

Place your ingredients in one of the two portable bottles, screw the blade unit on and attach it to the motor unit. Then just press down on the bottle quickly making up your favourite blend.

GADGETS; HEALTHY HELPERS