O
- oligosaccharides
- A small chain of carbohydrate monomers.
- omasum
- One of the ruminant forestomachs.
- omentum
- Sections of peritoneum that extend from the stomach to other abdominal organs and to the abdominal wall.
- omnivore
- An animal that eats both plants and other animals. Examples include humans, pigs and chickens.
- ontogeny
- Developmental biology. The ontogeny of the brain refers to the events and processes by which the brain develops to attain its mature form and function.
- orexigenic
- Capable of stimulating or increasing appetite.
- osmolarity
- A measure of solute concentration in aqueous solution. A 1 M solution of a single non-dissociating solute has an osmolarity of 1 osmol. A physiologic osmolarity is about 300 mOs, roughly equivalent to 150 mM NaCl (NaCl dissociates into Na+ and Cl-, both of which contibute to osmolarity).
- osmosis and osmotic pressure
- Osmosis is the movement of water across a selectively permiable membrane (a membrane through which water but not solutes can flow) caused by a difference in concentration of water on the two sides of the membrane. Water flows into the compartment having higher concentration of solute and in the process generates "osmotic pressure".
- osteostatin
- A peptide hormone derived from parathyroid hormone-related protein.
- ovine
- Pertaining to sheep.
- oxidation
- Loss of electrons (or electron density) from an atom, most commonly due to addition of oxygen or removal of hydrogen from a molecule. The opposite of reduction.
- oxyntomodulin
- A peptide generated in the small intestine from proglucagon; probably not of physiological significance.
- oxytocin
- A peptide hormone secreted from the posterior pituitary that plays an important role in birth, lactation and maternal behavior.
Last updated on 1/17/2005