(n.) Any American marsupial of the genera Didelphys and Chironectes. The common species of the United States is Didelphys Virginiana.
Example Sentences:
(1) The anatomic and functional development of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) was studied in the gray short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica.
(2) Circular muscle strips from the opossum esophageal body obtained 3-5 cm above the esophagogastric junction were suspended in organ baths for measurement of isometric tension.
(3) Besides the relative abundance and the high infection rate of the opossum (62.5% by direct methods), its natural association with T. dimidiata was likewise demonstrated.
(4) Two of three noninoculated pouch mates acquired infections during the study based on examinations of feces and tissue sections of all eight opossums.
(5) EFS and VIP both caused relaxation of the resting tone in the opossum-isolated IAS smooth muscle strips.
(6) These findings are discussed with respect to similarities and differences between marsupial and eutherian females and between male and female gray opossums in the hormonal control of sexually dimorphic behavior and morphology.
(7) In the newborn opossum lung, examination of the air chambers with the scanning electron microscope permits the observation of several type II pulmonary epithelial cells in a single field.
(8) We recorded lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressure and myoelectrical activity concurrently from the esophagus, LES, stomach, and proximal small intestine in unanesthetized opossums.
(9) The effects of intracellular pH on an inwardly rectifying K+ channel ("Kin channel") in opossum kidney (OK) cells were examined using the patch-clamp technique.
(10) Using the North American opossum, Didelphis virginiana, we have developed a new model for studying the effects of early fetal urinary obstruction on subsequent renal development.
(11) A study was designed to measure the Toxoplasma gondii-specific IgM and IgG antibody responses of opossums inoculated with tachyzoites of the temperature-sensitive mutant of T. gondii, ts-4, and to examine its persistence in the tissues.
(12) These results indicate that estrogen receptors are present in early development of the Monodelphis brain and may mark the beginning of a critical period for sexual differentiation of the opossum brain.
(13) The large liquor-contacting area in the pineal recess region, as well as the peculiar organization of its surface, suggest a complex interrelationship between the liquor and the pineal gland of the opossum.
(14) The findings suggested that a receptor resembling DA1-type peripheral receptor mediated the effects of dopamine on opossum oesophagus.
(15) Four young opossums seronegative for anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgM and IgG antibodies immediately after capture and 4 wk later were injected subcutaneously with 1.8 x 10(6) ts-4 tachyzoites; a fifth opossum (also seronegative) received an injection of saline only.
(16) The effects of ambient temperature and of sex on nest-building behavior were studied in a laboratory colony of gray short-tailed opossums, small, Brazilian marsupials.
(17) Opossums that ate the cowbirds had prepatent periods of 5 and 10 days and remained patent for at least 105 days.
(18) Volume regulatory responses of OK cells (a continuous epithelioid cell line from opossum kidney) are examined by electronic cell sizing and measurements of intracellular pH in cell suspensions.
(19) We studied the genesis of isolated LES relaxation in anesthetized opossums by observing the response of four components of the deglutition reflex (mylohyoid electrical activity, pharyngeal contraction, esophageal peristalsis, and LES relaxation) to pharyngeal tactile stimulation, electrical stimulation of superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) afferents or cervical vagal efferents, and to balloon distention of the esophageal body.
(20) In some opossums weak relaxations also occurred in the first few strips below the mucosal junction.
Raccoon
Definition:
(n.) A North American nocturnal carnivore (Procyon lotor) allied to the bears, but much smaller, and having a long, full tail, banded with black and gray. Its body is gray, varied with black and white. Called also coon, and mapach.
Example Sentences:
(1) Comparing the data for raccoon MsI with information from the literature for cats and monkeys suggests that the type and amount of somesthetic afferent input to forelimb MsI is related to the behavioral uses to which each animal puts the forelimb.
(3) In 2000 the comic strip Mother Goose and Grimm showed an owl in a tree calling "Whom" and a raccoon on the ground replying "Show-off!"
(4) During 1982 and 1983, the Centers for Disease Control and cooperating Middle Atlantic States and local health departments collected data on 1,610 raccoons that were submitted for rabies testing and on 133 persons who received rabies postexposure prophylaxis as a result of exposure to wild animals.
(5) The raccoon may be an intermediate host for a Sarcocystis sp.
(6) To our knowledge, this is the first documentation of the successful seroconversion of skunks and raccoons vaccinated against rabies in the field.
(7) Nematodes were not recovered from either raccoon when examined at necropsy 223 and 254 days postexposure.
(8) In three cases (fox, raccoon, skunk) SAFA titers were greater than mouse SN titers.
(9) Vaccinated raccoons demonstrated a prominent anamnestic response within 1 wk following challenge.
(10) No immediate ancestor of CPV was observed amongst the mink, cat, or raccoon viruses examined.
(11) Leads I, aVF, V3, and V10 ECG were obtained from 12 healthy raccoons anesthetized with xylazine and ketamine.
(12) The causative agent was demonstrated through direct examination of stained paraffin sections, isolation in pure culture, or examination of stained smears from lesions induced experimentally in rabbits with material from the affected raccoons.
(13) Raccoons on Area 1 were vaccinated with a commercial inactivated rabies virus vaccine administered intramuscularly, whereas on Area 2 raccoons were not vaccinated.
(14) In this investigation, raccoons fed a vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein recombinant virus in a sponge bait developed rabies virus-neutralizing antibody (0.6-54.0 units) and resisted street rabies virus infection 28 and 205 days after feeding.
(15) SA hair-associated afferent fibers, which have been reported previously only in primate hairy skin, were also found in large numbers in the raccoon.
(16) Multiple penetrations in the somatosensory cortex of three anesthetized raccoons 1 week following amputation of the fourth digit provided detailed information about somatotopy and neuronal responsiveness in the deafferented cortex.
(17) Lesions in infected raccoons were associated only with H procyonis.
(18) The pathology of dracunculiasis in the raccoon is described and the transmission of the parasite in the wild is discussed with respect to seasonality and local agricultural practices.
(19) Furthermore, animals developing SNA under such circumstances were capable of withstanding challenge with rabies virus that was fatal for seronegative raccoons.
(20) Raccoons have been used as serologic sentinels for St Louis encephalitis and Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis.