mitotic index

index /in·dex/ (in´deks) pl. indexes, in´dices   [L.]

1. forefinger.

2. a unitless quantity, usually a ratio of two measurable quantities having the same dimensions, or such a ratio multiplied by 100.

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body mass index  (BMI) the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters, used in the assessment of underweight and obesity.

cardiac index  (CI) cardiac output per unit time divided by body surface area.

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.

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.

mitotic index  the ratio of the number of cells in a population undergoing mitosis to the number not undergoing mitosis.

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  the average number of bacteria ingested per leukocyte of the patient's blood.

Quetelet index  body mass i.

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

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.

vital index  the ratio of births to deaths within a given time in a population.

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mitotic index,

the number of cells per unit (usually 1000 cells) undergoing mitosis during a given time. The ratio is used primarily as an estimation of the rate of tissue growth.

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mitotic index

(mītot´ik),
n the number of cells per unit undergoing mitosis during a given time. The ratio is used primarily as an estimation of the rate of tissue growth.

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mitotic

pertaining to mitosis.

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mitotic activity

degree to which a cell population is proliferating; used as an index of tumor aggression. Can be quantified by counting the percentage of cells showing mitotic figures, or by flow cytometry.

mitotic figure

the condensed chromosomes by which a cell that is undergoing mitosis can be identified.

mitotic index

the percentage of cells simultaneously in the process of division, normally calculated after counting 1000 cells. Used in morbid pathology as a measure of the malignancy of a tumor, and in clinical pathology as an index of survival time of a neoplasm.

mitotic metaphase chromosomes

chromosomes in metaphase manifesting as mitotic figures.

mitotic nondisjunction

failure of proper disjunction of the paired chromosomes during metaphase which results in the chromosomal abnormalities of monosomy or trisomy.

mitotic potential

estimate of the cell's potential reproductive capacity.