- suspension
- 1. A temporary interruption of any function. 2. A hanging from a support, as used in the treatment of spinal curvatures or during the application of a plaster jacket. 3. Fixation of an organ, such as the uterus, to other tissue for support. 4. The dispersion through a liquid of a solid in finely divided particles of a size large enough to be detected by purely optical means; if the particles are too small to be seen by microscope but still large enough to scatter light (Tyndall phenomenon), they will remain dispersed indefinitely and are then called a colloidal s. SYN: coarse dispersion. 5. A class of pharmacopoeial preparations of finely divided, undissolved drugs ( e.g., powders for s.) dispersed in liquid vehicles for oral or parenteral use. [L. suspensio, fr. sus-pendo, pp. -pensus, to hang up, suspend]- chromic phosphate 32P colloidal s. a pure β-emitting colloidal, nonabsorbable radiopharmaceutical administered into body cavities such as the pleural or peritoneal spaces to control malignant effusions. SEE ALSO: sodium phosphate 32P.- Coffey s. an operative technique following partial excision of the cornu, as in salpingectomy, whereby the broad and the round ligaments are sutured over the cornual wound to restore continuity of the peritoneum and to suspend the uterus on the operated side.- extended insulin zinc s. a long-acting insulin s., obtained from beef, with an approximate time of onset of 7 hours and a duration of action of 36 hours. SYN: crystalline insulin zinc s..- insulin zinc s. a sterile buffered s. with zinc chloride, usually containing 100 units per ml; the solid phase of the s. consists of a mixture of 7 parts of crystalline insulin and 3 parts of amorphous insulin. SYN: lente insulin.- magnesia and alumina oral s. a mixture of magnesium hydroxide and variable amounts of aluminum oxide; used as an antacid.- prompt insulin zinc s. sterile s. of insulin in buffered water for injection, modified by the addition of zinc chloride such that the solid phase of the s. is amorphous; it usually contains 100 units per ml; the duration of action is equivalent to that of insulin injection. SYN: amorphous insulin zinc s., semilente insulin.
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sus·pen·sion sə-'spen-chən n1 a) the state of a substance when its particles are mixed with but undissolved in a fluid or solid2) a system consisting of a solid dispersed in a solid, liquid, or gas usu. in particles of larger than colloidal size* * *
sus·pen·sion (səs-penґshən) [L. suspensio] 1. a condition of temporary cessation, as of animation, of pain, or of any vital process. 2. attachment of an organ or other body part to a supporting structure, as of the uterus or bladder in the correction of a hernia or prolapse. 3. a liquid preparation consisting of solid particles dispersed throughout a liquid phase in which they are not soluble.
Medical dictionary. 2011.
