Index 



a — a number or constant; acceleration; mo- 

 lecular extinction coefficient; activity or 

 effective concentration 

 .-1 — a reactant; area; activation heal of 



muscle 

 A — angstrom unit (10~ cm) 

 Absorption, of electromagnetic radiation, 

 80-82 



of matter (acoustic) waves, 53 

 Acceleration, definition, 27 



due to gravity, 30 



in a centrifuge, 30, 137 

 Acetylcholine, ACh, as substrate for acetyl- 

 cholinesterase, ACE, 276 



in nerve, 275 ff 



thermodynamics of hydrolysis of, 172 

 Acetylsalicylic acid, formula, 84 



infrared absorption spectrum of, 84 

 Acoustic transducers, 51 

 Acoustic waves, nature of, 48-49 



absorption of, 52, 54 



cavitation by, 61 



clinical applications of, 62-65 



decibel scale for, 55 



detection by ear, 56 ff 



penetration of, 54 



physiological effects of, 60-62 



reflection of, 53 



therapy by, 62-65 



velocity, 50 

 Actin, 286 



Action potential (See Nerve propagation) 

 Activity, specific, 1 13 



of strontium and radium, 113 



thermodynamic (effective concentration), 

 176 

 Activation energy, and rates of physical and 

 chemical processes, 198-200 



table of values for catalyzed and un- 

 catalyzed reactions, 201 



enthalpy, defined, 200 



entropy, defined, 200 

 Acuity, visual, 87-90 



and scanning by the eyeball, 90 



Adaptation, dark-, 88 

 Adenine, 149 



Adenosine triphosphate, 29, 177 

 as mobile power supply, 177, 178 

 in Krebs cycle, 178 

 in muscle, 282 

 in nerve, 268 



in protein and DNA synthesis, 151, 156 

 hydrolysis by myosin, 177, 286, 288 

 thermodynamics of binding to myosin, 288 

 Adrenalin, isomers of, 144, 156 

 All-or-none law, 263, 305 



and binary number system, 307 

 Alpha amino acids, 127 



polymerization of, into helices, 130 

 Alpha helix of proteins, 131 



in myoglobin, 132 

 Alpha keratin, 130 

 Alpha radiograph, principle, 107 

 of demineralized bone, 108 

 of filiform papillae of tongue, 108 

 Alpha rays or particles, 102 

 absorption of, 105 



energy distribution of, from a source, 1 13 

 ionization by, 104, 105 

 penetration of, 116-118 

 physical properties of, 103, 104-105 

 Alpha waves (in EEC), 274 

 Amplitude of matter (acoustic) waves, 55 

 Anemias, hemolytic and unnamed, 158 



sickle cell, 157-159 

 Anticipation, by brain and computers, 302 

 Aperture, numerical, of microscope, 98 

 Arrhenius' equation, 198 

 Arterial pressure, 218 



Assimilation, impaired by ionizing radia- 

 tions, 252 

 Astigmatism, 90 

 Ashby's computer, 296, 304 

 Astronauts, acceleration of, 30 



weightlessness of, 45, 231 

 Atom, structure of, 71 

 Atomic nucleus, structure of, 73, 103 

 Atomic orbitals, or electron shells, 71 



321 



