flow

1. To bleed from the uterus less profusely than in flooding. 2. The menstrual discharge. 3. Movement of a liquid or gas; specifically, the volume of liquid or gas passing a given point per unit of time. In respiratory physiology, the symbol for gas f. is V and for blood f. is Q, followed by subscripts denoting location and chemical species. 4. In rheology, a permanent deformation of a body that proceeds with time. [A.S. flowan]

- Bingham f. the f. characteristics exhibited by a Bingham plastic.

- Doppler color f. a computer-generated color image produced by Doppler ultrasonography in which different directions of f. are represented by different hues. See Doppler ultrasonography.

- effective renal blood f. (ERBF) the amount of blood flowing to the parts of the kidney that are involved with production of constituents of urine.

- effective renal plasma f. (ERPF) the amount of plasma flowing to the parts of the kidney that have a function in the production of constituents of urine; the clearance of substances such as iodopyracet and p-aminohippuric acid, assuming that the extraction ratio in the peritubular capillaries is 100%.

- forced expiratory f. (FEF) expiratory f. during measurement of forced vital capacity; subscripts specify the exact parameter measured, e.g., peak instantaneous f., the instantaneous f. at some specified point on the curve of volume expired versus time, or on the f.-volume curve, the mean f. between two expired volumes.

- gene f. changes over time in the genetic composition of a population as a result of migration rather than of mutation and selection.

- laminar f. the relative motion of elements of a fluid along smooth parallel paths, which occurs at lower values of Reynolds number.

- newtonian f. the type of f. characteristic of a newtonian fluid.

- peak expiratory f. the maximum f. at the outset of forced expiration, which is reduced in proportion to the severity of airway obstruction, as in asthma.

- shear f. a f. of a material in which parallel planes in the material are displaced in a direction parallel to each other.

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flow 'flō vi

1) to move with a continual change of place among the constituent particles <blood \flows toward the heart in veins>

2) MENSTRUATE

flow n

1) the quantity that flows in a certain time

2) MENSTRUATION

3) the motion characteristic of fluids

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(flo) 1. the movement of a liquid or gas. 2. the rate at which a fluid passes through an organ or part, expressed as volume per unit of time. Called also flow rate.