This is a list of terminology that has appeared in APS journals, with notes on
spelling, meaning, context and usage.
Note that some terms are shown as highlighted APS Toolkit codes (e.g.,
«obar»), because the symbols they represent cannot be displayed in a web
browser.
If you find any errors in this list or think of a term that should be on it,
contact the Web Copy Editor.
| α1(I), α2(IV) |
collagens |
| α1-receptor |
|
| α1-tubulin |
|
| α-chloralose |
|
| α-amylase |
|
| A-23187 |
Ca2+ ionophore |
| A-65186 |
|
| A-431 |
human epidermoid cell line CRL 1555 |
| A band |
|
| actin |
F-actin |
| A.L.F. DNA Sequencer |
Pharmacia |
| A1 receptor |
noun |
| A1-receptor |
adjective (The hyphen is preferred but not required. Follow author's
style and make it consistent within the paper.) |
| abluminal |
|
| about |
change to "sim" before numerals |
| abscissa |
horizontal; change to "x-axis" |
| acepromazine maleate |
|
| N-acetyl-l-cysteine |
|
| actin |
α-actin, β-actin |
| actomyosin |
|
| actinomycin |
|
adenylate cyclase
adenylyl cyclase |
both are correct; follow author's usage |
| ad libitum |
"ad lib" is incorrect |
| adrenalectomy |
|
| adrenaline |
British; change to epinephrine |
| adventitia |
|
| adventitial |
|
| aequorin |
|
| afebrile |
|
| affect |
verb — to influence, to pretend, to alter |
| afterload |
|
| Ag-AgCl electrodes |
|
| airflow |
|
| air space |
in the lung (space filled with air) |
| airspace |
space through which airplanes fly (above a territory) |
| airstream |
|
| airtight |
|
| Alconox |
|
| aldosterone |
|
| allele |
T allele, G allele |
| allopurinol |
|
| alphaxalone-alphadolone acetate |
analogue of chromakalim |
| AM |
not "a.m." or "A.M." |
| Amberlite |
|
| Ameroid |
|
| amniotic |
|
| among |
used for three or more objects |
| Ampholine |
|
| amphotericin B |
|
| analgesia |
|
| analytic |
|
| anaphylactic |
|
| anastomose |
|
| anatomic |
|
| angioplasty |
|
| anhydrases |
|
| anterocaudal |
|
| anti-insulin |
|
| arachidonic acid |
|
| arcuate |
|
| arrhythmias |
|
| arteriolar |
|
| arteriovenous |
not arterial-venous |
| associated |
|
| asymmetric |
|
| atherosclerotic |
|
| atlantooccipital |
|
| atrioventricular |
|
| autofluorescence |
|
| autoregulation |
|
| autoregulatory |
|
| AvaII |
|
| Avertin (M9525) |
|
| axis |
x-axis (horizontal), y-axis (vertical), z-axis |
| C-3, C-4 |
etc., denotes carbon atom no. 3 or 4 |
| CA I, CA II, CA IV |
carbonic anhydrase I, etc. |
| C57BL/6J-Lepob mice |
|
| C5a |
|
| Caco-2 |
cells |
| Caldini |
|
| calmodulin |
|
| cannulas |
e.g, "PE-50"; "PE-205–PE-240" |
| cannulation |
|
| Canon |
|
| Carbamalyte |
|
| carbon-14 or 14C |
make consistent within a paper (e.g., "[14C]cyanate") |
| carboxy |
not carboxyl terminal |
| carboxymethylcellulose |
|
| carboxypeptidase N |
|
| cardiorespiratory |
|
| cardiotachometer |
|
| cardiotonic |
|
| cardiotoxic |
|
| cardiotoxicity |
|
| CArG box |
|
| caspase |
|
| cavae |
|
| cc |
change to ml |
| C2C12 myoblasts |
|
| CD4+ |
|
| cells of Cajal |
|
| center line |
|
| centripetal |
|
| cerebrocortical |
|
| cerulein |
change to caerulein (per Sigma) |
| C fibers |
noun |
| C-fiber |
adjective |
| c-fos |
lowercase f & italics indicates gene |
| c-Fos |
uppercase F & roman indicates protein |
| channel blocker |
|
| Charles River rats |
|
| chem point • |
no space before or after |
| chi square test |
change to χ2-test (use
lowercase Greek letter chi) |
| chloral hydrate |
|
| choline |
|
| chondroitin sulfate A, B, or C |
|
| ChoRE |
|
| chronotropic |
|
| cis compartment |
|
| cisternae |
|
| c-jun |
lowercase j & italics indicates gene |
| c-Jun |
uppercase F & roman indicates protein |
| c-Jun NH3 |
terminal kinase |
| ClaI |
gene |
| Clarke oxygen electrode |
|
| Cl–/HCO–3 exchanger |
|
| clear-cut |
|
| closed-chest dogs |
|
| c-met |
|
| cobalamin |
|
| collagen-α1 |
e.g., collagen-α1(I), collagen-α1(IV) |
| colorimetric |
|
| compared with |
generally, an experimental group vs. a control group is
expressed as "compared with", but "compared to" may be correct if 2 items
are remarkably dissimilar |
| compliance |
|
| comprises |
the whole comprises the parts, the parts compose
the whole |
| concentrations |
intracellular has a sub i and extracellular has a sub o; use
brackets only with element symbol or abbreviation, not with written out
words, e.g., [C2+]i, [C2+]o |
| concomitant |
|
| concussive |
|
| congener |
|
| connexin32 |
|
| contractures |
|
| control |
do not capitalize as a group name |
| COOH-terminal |
(adj.) not C-terminal (carboxy, not carboxyl) |
| COOH terminus |
(noun) |
| Coomassie blue |
Coomassie® of ICI America |
| Coomassie brilliant blue |
|
| CO-oximeter |
|
| Cosmos |
|
| cotransporters |
use hyphen (e.g., Na+-glucose
cotransporter) |
| cotyledons |
|
| coverslip |
|
| coworker |
|
| Coxsackie virus |
|
| Crohn's disease |
|
| cross bridge |
(noun) |
| cross-bridge |
(adj.) |
| cross hairs |
|
| crosshatch |
|
| cross-link |
(noun, verb, adj.) |
| cross-linker |
|
| crossover |
(noun, adj.) |
| cross-reaction |
|
| cross-reactivity |
|
| cross section |
(noun) |
| cross-section |
(verb) |
| cross-sectional |
(adj.) |
| cross talk |
(noun) |
| current |
Change to "present" except when referring
to electricity; change "current study" to "present study" when referring to
the article being edited. |
| cutdown |
|
| cutoff |
|
| cuvette |
|
| cyclic |
|
| cyclopentyladenosine |
|
| cyclosporin |
|
| cyproheptadine |
|
| cysteine-HCl |
|
| cytochalasin B |
|
| cytochrome aa3 |
|
| cytochrome c |
|
| cytochrome-c oxidase |
note hyphen |
| cytochrome c reductase |
no hyphen |
| cytochrome P-450 |
|
| Cytodex |
|
| cytological |
|
| cytoplasmic |
|
| cytotoxic |
|
| Eagle's |
solution |
| Earle's balanced salts |
|
| Earth |
capitalize when refering to the planet |
| E-box |
|
| echocardiography |
|
| E. coli |
Escherichia coli |
| Ecolume |
|
| EcoRI |
gene |
| effect |
as a verb — to accomplish, complete, bring about
as a noun — an intent, basis meaning, a cause or agent, appearance,
fulfillment, the influence, moveable property |
| effectors |
|
| EF-hand domain |
|
| eicosanoid |
|
| elastomer |
|
electric
electrical |
follow author's style |
| electrophysiological |
|
| eledoisin |
|
| Elk-1 |
|
| eluate |
|
| eluent |
|
| eluting |
|
| elution |
|
| E-mail |
|
| EMD-53998 |
|
| end point |
noun |
| end-expiratory pressure |
|
| end inspiration |
nount |
| endoplasmic |
|
| endotracheal |
|
| end plate |
noun end-plate |
| end-plate |
adjective |
| ensure |
|
| enzyme Mn |
|
| epidemiologic |
|
| epididymis |
|
| epifluorescence |
|
| epi-illumination |
|
| Eppendorf |
|
| Epson |
|
| erythrocytes |
change to "red blood cell" if used inconsistently |
| esterases |
|
| ETA receptor |
ETB receptor |
| ethrane |
|
| etiologic |
|
| ets protein |
|
| euthanized |
"killed" is preferred, but do not change if author uses
"euthanized" |
| Evans blue |
|
| everted |
|
| ExcelGel |
|
| exercise-heat stress |
|
| exsanguinated |
|
| exsanguination |
|
| extracorporeal |
|
| F test |
|
| face mask |
|
| facilitatory |
|
| F-actin |
|
| Fair Lawn, NJ |
|
| fast-twitch muscle |
cf. "slow-twitch muscle". Do not use "fast muscle"
or "slow muscle". |
| fiber optic |
noun |
| fiber type |
adjective & noun |
| fiber-optic |
adjective |
| fibers |
when referring to muscle, can be type IIa, IIb, IIx, IId, etc. |
| Ficoll |
|
| Ficoll-Paque |
|
| Finapres |
|
| Fischer 344 rats |
|
| Fishers |
|
| Fishers protected least significant differences test |
|
| flow probe |
|
| flowmeter |
|
| flt-1 |
|
| fluorescein |
|
| fluorochrome |
|
| fluoroscopic |
|
| Fluosol |
|
| -fold |
onefold, twofold, threefold; 10-fold, 15-fold, 50-fold; "fold
difference", "fold change" |
| footplate |
|
| Formalin |
|
| formate |
|
| forskolin |
|
| fourth |
change to "one-fourth" when used as a fraction; not "a
fourth" or "one-quarter" |
| 7-Fr |
|
| fragments |
Fc, Fab, Fab2, F(ab´)2 |
| free radical |
noun & adjective |
| free-living |
adjective |
| freeze-dry |
|
| Freon |
|
| fritted |
|
| fucoidan |
|
| fura-2 |
|
| fura-2 AM |
|
| further |
change to "furthermore" when used to mean "in
addition" |
| I bands |
|
| ibuprofen |
|
| 125I-labeled albumin |
|
| 125I-labeled ANG II |
not "[125I]ANG II"; that would implie that ANG
contains iodine, which it does not |
| 125I-labeled goat anti-rabbit IgG |
|
| imidazole |
|
| Immobilon-P, Immobilon-NC |
|
| immunologic |
|
| 111In |
|
| Inactin |
|
| inbreedings |
|
| indexes |
"indices" is a mathematical term |
| India ink |
|
| indicator-dilution method |
|
| indo-1 |
|
| indomethacin |
|
| in-flight |
|
| inflowing |
|
| in-line |
|
| Innovar-Vet |
|
| in order to |
change to "to" when beginning a phrase |
| inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) |
|
| in spite of |
change to "despite" |
| Instech |
|
| interstitium |
|
| intra-arterial |
|
| intraperitoneal |
|
| intraperitoneally |
|
| intrascapular |
|
| [14C]inulin |
|
| invasively |
|
| Invitrogen |
|
| 125I-[Sar1,Ala8]ANG II |
|
| ischemia-reperfusion |
|
| isoflurane |
|
| isoforms |
|
| ISO-NO electrode |
from WPI |
| isosmotic |
not "isoosmotic" |
| isosmotically |
|
| isothiocyanate |
|
| isotonicity |
|
| isotopes |
|
| L3, L4, L5, etc. |
|
| L-364,718 |
|
| L-365,260 |
|
| L-659,877 |
|
| labeled |
|
| labeling |
|
| lactalbumin |
|
| LabVIEW |
|
| lane 1 |
always make electrophoresis lanes italic |
| Langendorff |
|
| l-[ring-2,3,4,5,6-3H]phenylalanine |
|
| lavage |
|
| lay |
to cause to recline; transitive, passive; past tense = "laid",
past participle = "laid", present participle =
"laying" |
| l-cis-diltiazem |
|
| lead II |
|
| less than |
change to symbol ("<") when used before a number |
| [Leu13-(CH2NH)-Leu14 ]bombesin |
|
| Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm |
|
| Lex-O2-Con |
|
| lie |
to recline; intransitive, active; past tense = "lay", past
participle = "lain", present participle = "laying"
|
| -like |
2 syllables or less bump; 3 syllables or more hyphenate |
| likewise |
change to "similarly" |
| linear regression analysis |
no hyphen |
| Lineweaver-Burk |
analysis; no "e" at the end of "Burk" |
| lipolytic |
|
| littermate |
|
| lobar |
|
| Locke |
solution |
| Long-Evans rats |
|
| losartan |
generic for DuP 753 |
| loudspeaker |
|
| L-type channels |
|
| lumen |
noun, singular |
| lumens |
noun, plural |
| luminal |
adjective |
| luminally |
|
| LY-262691 |
|
| lyophilized |
|
| μBondapak C18 |
|
| Mac-3 |
|
| Mac-3+ |
|
| malpighian tubules |
|
| Mann-Whitney's rank sum test |
for paired data |
| Mantel-Haenzel procedure |
|
| marathon |
"marathon race" is redundant |
| mathematical |
|
| MaxEPA |
tradename for cod liver oil concentrate containing (as % total fatty
acid) 18% eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), 12% docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) |
| MAXIscript |
|
| M current |
|
| mdx mouse |
|
| meclofenamate |
|
| medium 199 |
|
| MEN-10207 |
|
| 2-mercaptoethanol |
|
| Merck Sharp & Dohme |
|
| metallurgical |
|
| Met-enkephalin |
"Met" = "methionine" |
| methacholine |
|
| methylglucamine |
|
| methysergide |
|
| metyrosine |
|
| mg% |
Change to "mg/100 ml" or "mg/100 mg", query author |
| MgSO4•7H2O |
|
| Michaelis-Menten kinetics |
|
| microcautery |
|
| microfibril |
|
| Microfuge |
Beckman; generic term is "microcentrifuge" |
| micron |
change to "micrometer" |
| micropipettes |
|
| mini |
bump when used as a prefix |
| minoxidil |
|
| mitogenic |
|
| mixed expired |
adjective |
| mixed venous |
adjective |
| MK-329 |
|
| ml H2O |
|
| mM/l |
change to "mM" |
| mmHg (beats/min) |
not "mmHg beats/min" (avoid having two units of measure side
by side without some sort of intervening punctuation) |
| modeled |
|
| modeling |
|
| molality |
moles per kilogram water; "mol/kgH2O" |
| molar |
mM or mmol/l; M or mol/l are acceptable abbreviations |
| molar solution |
ratio of solute to solvent molecule |
| molarity |
moles per liter of solution; use "mosM" (concentration), not
"mosmol/l" |
| molecular mass |
unit of measure in Daltons (Da) |
| molecular weight |
also "mol wt" (this value has no unit of measure — e.g,
"mol wt 7,000") |
| monoacylglycerol |
|
| monoglyceride |
|
| monomethylarginine |
|
| morphogenesis |
|
| morphological |
|
| morphometric |
|
| mOsm |
Change to "mosM" (molarity, milliosmoles per liter) or "mosmol/kgH2O"
(molality) |
| mosmol |
change to "mosmol/kgH2O" |
| motoneuron |
not "motor neuron" |
| mouthpiece |
|
| Msc I |
gene |
| mucous |
adjective (e.g., "mucous membrane") |
| mucus |
noun |
| multichannel |
|
| multiple pulse-injection method |
|
| M wave |
noun |
| myf-5 |
|
| MyoD |
|
| myofibrillar |
|
| myogenically |
|
| myograph |
|
| p21 |
|
| p25A |
|
| p60src |
|
| pack•yr |
packs/day × yr of smoking |
| pampiniform |
|
| pancuronium |
|
| paraformaldehyde |
|
| paramagnetic |
|
| pathological |
|
| Pavulon |
|
| pBluescript |
|
| PC-12 cells (ATCC 160) |
|
| pCLAMP software |
|
| PD-123177 |
|
| Pearson R correlation |
|
| pendelluft |
lowercase |
| penicillin G |
|
| pentane |
|
| pentobarbital sodium |
not "sodium pentobarbital" |
| Pentothal Sodium |
|
| peptide N-glycosidase |
|
| percent |
adjective |
| percentage of |
noun |
| perchloric |
|
| Percoll |
|
| periluminal |
|
| perinuclear |
|
| peristalsis |
|
| peristaltic |
|
| peritubular |
|
| Perpex |
|
| petri dish |
|
| pGEM3 plasmid |
|
| pharmacokinetic |
|
| pharmacological |
|
| Pharmalyte |
|
| phase 1, phase 2, etc |
set roman if used in reference to oxygen update |
| PhastGel |
|
| PhastSystem |
|
| phenobarbital |
|
| phentolamine |
|
| phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride |
|
| Philips |
|
| phosphodiesterase |
|
| phosphoenolpyruvate |
|
| phospholipase A2 |
PLA2 |
| phosphorous |
adjective |
| phosphorus |
noun |
| phosphorylase b |
|
| physiological |
may be used with "anatomic" in same sentence; follow author's
style but make consistent throughout paper |
| physostigmine |
|
| Pilot |
|
| pipette |
|
| pipetted |
|
| pJG418 |
|
| planimetry |
|
| plethysmography |
|
| Plexiglas |
|
| plFhGH2 |
|
| Pluronic |
|
| PM |
not "p.m." or "P.M." |
| PN 200-110 |
|
| 31P-NMR |
also "31P nuclear magnetic resonance" |
| poly(A) + RNA |
|
| poly(dI-dC) |
|
| Polybuffer |
|
| polycarbonate |
|
| Polysciences |
Warrington, PA |
| poly-(stylene-co-maleic acid) butyl ester |
linked derivative of SOD–SM-SOD |
| polyvinylpyrrolidone |
|
| Ponceau S staining |
|
| post hoc |
adjective, not hyphenated |
| postganglionic |
|
| postmortem |
|
| postrace |
|
| pp60src |
|
| pp125FAK |
|
| prazosin |
|
| preemergent |
|
| preepithelial |
|
| preganglionic |
|
| preincubated |
|
| prerace |
|
| presynaptically |
|
| prior to |
change to "before" |
| problematic |
|
| Procter and Gamble |
|
| proenkephalin |
also "preporenkephalin" |
| Pronase |
|
| propanol |
|
| propranolol |
|
| protein A/G agarose |
|
| protooncogene |
|
| Protosol |
|
| p21s |
|
| Psa I |
gene |
| Pst I |
gene |
| pterin |
|
| pTRPLEscript |
|
| pT7T3 |
|
| pullulanase |
|
| pulsatile |
|
| purine |
|
| Purkinje |
|
| Pvu I |
gene |
| Pyrex |
|
| pyruvate |
|
| S-adenosyl-l-[ 3H]methionine |
|
| Sal I |
gene |
| salbutamol |
|
| saphenous |
|
| Sarns |
|
| scatterplot |
|
| Sch-28080 |
|
| Scheffé's test |
|
| scintillator |
|
| second messenger |
do not hyphenate when used as a modifier |
| senescence |
|
| separatory |
|
| Sepharose |
|
| Sep-Pak C18 |
|
| serotonergic |
|
| serotonin |
same as "5-HT" (5-hydroxytryptamine) |
| servo-controlled |
adjective |
| servomechanism |
|
| servomotor |
|
| servo-null |
|
| servo-pump |
|
| servo-ventilation |
|
| set point |
noun |
| setup |
e.g., "experimental setup" |
| severalfold |
|
| SH2, SH3 |
|
| sialic |
|
| side chain |
|
| side effect |
|
| side hole |
|
| sidearm |
|
| sidestream |
|
| sigmoidal |
|
| signaling |
|
| signal-to-noise ratio |
|
| signed-rank test |
|
| silanized, silanization |
from sialane; the process of rendering hydrophobic a glass surface |
| Silastic |
|
| Silgel |
|
| sinoaortic |
|
| sinoatrial |
|
| Skylab |
|
| Sma I |
gene |
| SmithKline Beecham |
|
| so |
change to "hence" |
| sodium molybdate |
|
| solvating |
|
| solvation |
|
| sonicate |
|
| sorbent |
|
| SP6 |
|
| space shuttle mission |
|
| spaceflight |
|
| spectrophotometer |
|
| spectroscopy |
|
| spermatogenesis |
|
| spermatogenic |
|
| spermine NONOate |
|
| spillover |
|
| Sprague-Dawley rats |
|
| square-wave |
|
| 85Sr |
|
| SR-44866 (6-cyano-2,2-dimethyl-4-(1,2-dihydro-2-oxo-1-pyridyl)chromene |
analog of chromakalim |
| stainless steel |
do not hyphenate as noun or adjective |
| Staphylococcus aureus |
|
| Statham model P23 Db |
|
| StatView |
|
| steady state |
noun |
| steady-state |
adjective |
| stepwise |
|
| stereospecific |
|
| sternotomy |
|
| stopwatch |
|
| strain gauge |
do not hyphenate as noun or adjective |
| Stratagene |
|
| streamline |
|
| streptomycin |
|
| Student's t-test |
|
| subdermally |
|
| submucosal plexus |
also " plexus submucosus" |
| substance P |
|
| sucrase α-dextrinase |
also "sucrase-isomaltase" |
| sulfonylurea |
|
| sulfoxide |
|
| Survanta |
|
| [35S]UTP |
|
| SV40 |
|
| SYBRgreen |
|
| Sylgard |
|
| symmetrical |
use "symmetric" if "asymmetric" is used in the same
paper; make consistent throughout |
| sympathoadrenal |
|
| sympathoexcitation |
|
| sympathoinhibition |
|
| sympathoinhibitory |
|
| systematic |
|
| systemic vascular resistance |
measured in dyn•s•cm–5 |