Medical Term:
decay
Pronunciation: de-ka'
Definition:
- Destruction of an organic substance by slow combustion or gradual oxidation.
- To deteriorate; to undergo slow combustion or putrefaction.
- In dentistry, caries.
- psychology loss of information registered by the senses and processed into short-term memory.
- Loss of radioactivity with time; spontaneous emission of radiation or charged particles or both from an unstable nucleus.
Synonym(s): putrefaction
[L. de, down, + cado, to fall]
See Also: memory
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Examples: glitazone, GI cocktail, etc.
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