Ectopic

Ectopic
In the wrong place. Out of place. An ectopic kidney, for example, is one that is not in the usual location. The term "ectopic" comes from the Greek "ektopis" meaning "displacement" ("ek", out of + "topos", place = out of place). The first person to use "ectopic" in a medical context was the English obstetrician Robert Barnes (1817-1907) who applied it to an extrauterine pregnancy: an ectopic pregnancy.
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1. Out of place; said of an organ not in its proper position, or of a pregnancy occurring elsewhere than in the cavity of the uterus. SYN: aberrant (3), heterotopic (1). 2. In cardiography, denoting a heartbeat that has its origin in some abnormal focus; developing from a focus other than the sinoatrial node. [see ectopia]

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ec·top·ic ek-'täp-ik adj
1) occurring in an abnormal position <an \ectopic kidney> compare ENTOPIC
2) originating in an area of the heart other than the sinoatrial node <\ectopic beats> also initiating ectopic heartbeats <an \ectopic pacemaker>
ec·top·i·cal·ly -i-k(ə-)lē adv

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ec·top·ic (ek-topґik) 1. pertaining to or characterized by ectopia. 2. located away from normal position, as in ectopic pregnancy. 3. arising in an abnormal site or tissue.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • ectopic — ECTÓPIC, Ă, ectopici, ce, adj. (med.; despre organe) Care are o poziţie anormală. – Din fr. ectopique. Trimis de LauraGellner, 10.06.2004. Sursa: DEX 98  ectópic adj. m., pl. ectópici; f. sg. ectópic …   Dicționar Român

  • Ectopic — Ec*top ic, a. (Med.) Out of place; congenitally displaced; as, an ectopic organ. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ectopic — 1873, from ectopia (1847), coined in Mod.L. from Gk. ektopos away from a place, from ek out + topos place …   Etymology dictionary

  • ectopic — ► ADJECTIVE Medicine ▪ in an abnormal place or position. ORIGIN from Greek ektopos out of place …   English terms dictionary

  • ectopic — adjective Etymology: Greek ektopos out of place, from ex out + topos place Date: 1873 occurring in an abnormal position or in an unusual manner or form < ectopic lesions > • ectopically adverb …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • ectopic — adj. Ectopic is used with these nouns: ↑pregnancy …   Collocations dictionary

  • ectopic — ec|top|ic [ ek tapık ] adjective MEDICAL an ectopic PREGNANCY is one in which a baby starts to grow outside its mother s WOMB …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • ectopic — [[t]ektɒ̱pɪk[/t]] ADJ: usu ADJ n An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg becomes implanted outside a woman s womb, for example in one of her fallopian tubes …   English dictionary

  • ectopic — adj. (Medicine) outside of the normal place, outside of the normal place (as in an ectopic pregnancy) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • ectopic — UK [ekˈtɒpɪk] / US [ekˈtɑpɪk] adjective medical an ectopic pregnancy is one in which a baby starts to grow outside its mother s womb …   English dictionary

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