1. An organized constellation of feelings, thoughts, perceptions, and memories that may be in part unconscious and may strongly influence associations and attitudes. 2. In chemistry, the relatively stable combination of two or more compounds into a larger molecule without covalent binding. 3. A composite of chemical or immunologic structures. 4. A structural anatomic entity made up of three or more interrelated parts. 5. An informal term used to denote a group of individual structures known or believed to be anatomically, embryologically, or physiologically related. [L. complexus, woven together]
- aberrant c. an anomalous electrocardiographic c., more specifically an abnormal ventricular c. caused by abnormal intraventricular conduction of a supraventricular impulse.
- AIDS dementia c. (ADC) a subacute or chronic HIV-1 encephalitis, the most common neurologic complication in the later stages of HIV infection; manifested clinically as a progressive dementia, accompanied by motor abnormalities. SYN: AIDS dementia, HIV encephalopathy.
- AIDS-related c. (ARC) manifestations of AIDS in persons who have not yet developed major deficient immune function, characterized by fever with generalized lymphadenopathy, diarrhea, weight loss, minor opportunistic infections, cytopenias.
- amygdaloid c. [TA] SYN: amygdaloid body.
- anomalous c. a c. in the electrocardiogram differing significantly from the physiologic type in the same lead.
- antigenic c. a composite of different antigenic structures, such as a cell or a bacterium, or, by extension, a molecule containing two or more determinant groups of different antigenic specificities.
- apical c. a set of anterior structures that characterize one or several developmental stages of members of the protozoan phylum Apicomplexa; includes the following structures, visible by electron microscopy : polar ring, conoid, rhoptries, micronemes, and subpellicular tubules.
- binary c. a noncovalent c. of two molecules; often referring to the enzyme-substrate c. in an enzyme-catalyzed reaction. Cf.:central c., Michaelis c.. SYN: enzyme-substrate c..
- brain wave c. a specific combination of fast and slow electroencephalographic activity that recurs frequently enough to be identified as a discrete phenomenon.
- brother c. SYN: Cain c..
- Cain c. a rarely used term for extreme envy or jealousy of a brother, leading to hatred. SYN: brother c.. [Cain, biblical personage]
- Carney c. an autosomal dominant condition of Cushing syndrome due to immunoglobulin-mediated ACTH receptor inhibition, cardiac and cutaneous myxomas, lentigines, melanotic schwannomas, and pituitary and testicular tumors.
- castration c. 1. a child's fear of injury to the genitals by the parent of the same sex as punishment for unconcious guilt over oedipal feelings; 2. fantasied loss of the penis by a female or fear of its actual loss by a male; 3. unconscious fear of injury from those in authority. SYN: castration anxiety.
- caudal pharyngeal c. the ultimobranchial body associated with the embryonic fourth and transitory fifth pharyngeal pouches.
- central c. in an enzyme-catalyzed reaction, the structural c. of the enzyme and all of the enzyme's substrates (or the enzyme with all of the enzyme's products) equivalent to the binary c. for a one-substrate enzyme. Cf.:binary c., Michaelis c..
- charge transfer c. 1. a c. between two organic molecules in which an electron from one (the donor) is transferred to the other (the acceptor), becoming generally distributed throughout the latter; subsequent transfer of a hydrogen atom completes the reduction of the acceptor; such complexes are generally highly colored and may be so observed; 2. a network of hydrogen bridges at the catalytic center of certain proteases. SYN: charge transfer system.
- Diana c. a rarely used term for ideas leading to the adoption of masculine traits and behavior in a female. [Diana, L. myth. char.]
- EAHF c. a combination of allergies consisting of eczema, asthma and hay fever.
- Eisenmenger c. the combination of ventricular septal defect with pulmonary hypertension and consequent right-to-left shunt through the defect, with or without an associated overriding aorta. SYN: Eisenmenger defect, Eisenmenger disease, Eisenmenger tetralogy.
- Electra c. female counterpart of the Oedipus c. in the male; a term used to describe unresolved conflicts during childhood development toward the father which subsequently influence a woman's relationships with men. SYN: father c.. [Electra, daughter of Agamemnon]
- equiphasic c. SYN: isodiphasic c..
- father c. SYN: Electra c..
- femininity c. in psychoanalysis, the unconscious fear, in boys and men, of castration at the hands of the mother with resultant identification with the aggressor and envious desire for breasts and vagina.
- histocompatibility c. a family of fifty or more genes on the sixth human chromosome that code for cell surface proteins and play a role in the immune response.Histocompatibility genes control the production of proteins on the outer membranes of tissue and blood cells, especially lymphocytes, and are essential elements in cell-cell recognition and interaction. Surface proteins also determine the level and type of immune response, are involved in the presentation of antigens to the immune system, and may serve other biochemical and immunologic functions. In the case of allografts, the greater the histocompatibility (i.e., the closer the match between donor and recipient cell surface antigens), the less the likelihood of rejection. The major histocompatibility determinants are the human leukocyte antigens (HLA). HLA typing of a potential marrow donor and a potential transplant recipient is used to predict graft rejection and graft-versus-host disease.
- HLA c. the major histocompatibility c. in humans. SEE ALSO: human leukocyte antigens, under antigen.
- immune c. antigen combined with specific antibody, to which complement may also be fixed, and which may precipitate or remain in solution. Frequently associated with autoimmune disease.
- inferiority c. a sense of inadequacy which is expressed in extreme shyness, diffidence, or timidity, or as a compensatory reaction in exhibitionism or aggressiveness.
- inferior olivary c. [TA] the three nuclei that collectively form what is commonly called the inferior olivary nucleus. These are the principal olivary nucleus (with its dorsal, ventral, and lateral lamellae) and the medial accessory and posterior (dorsal) accessory olivary nuclei. SEE ALSO: principal olivary nucleus. SYN: complexus olivaris inferior [TA].
- iron-dextran c. a colloidal solution of ferric hydroxide in c. with partially hydrolyzed dextran; used in the treatment of iron deficiency anemias by intramuscular injection.
- isodiphasic c. a diphasic c. whose positive and negative deflections are approximately equal. SYN: equiphasic c..
- j-g c. SYN: juxtaglomerular c..
- Jocasta c. a rarely used term for a mother's libidinous fixation on a son. [Jocasta, mother and wife of Oedipus]
- junctional c. the attachment zone between epithelial cells, typically consisting of the zonula occludens, the zonula adherens, and the macula adherens (desmosome).
- juxtaglomerular c. a c. consisting of the juxtaglomerular cells, which are modified smooth muscle cells in the wall of the afferent glomerular arteriole and sometimes also the efferent arteriole; extraglomerular mesangium lacis cells, which are located in the angle between the afferent and efferent glomerular arterioles; the macula densa of the distal convoluted tubule; and granular epithelial peripolar cells located at the angle of reflection of the parietal to the visceral capsule of the renal corpuscle; believed to provide some feedback control of extracellular fluid volume and glomerular filtration rate. SYN: j-g c., juxtaglomerular apparatus.
- K c. high amplitude, diphasic frontocental slow waves in the electroencephalogram related to arousal from sleep by a sound; characteristic of sleep stages 2, 3, and 4.
- α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase c. SYN: α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase.
- Lear c. a rarely used term for a father's libidinous fixation on a daughter. [Lear, Shakespearean character]
- major histocompatibility c. (MHC) a group of linked loci, collectively termed H-2 c. in the mouse and HLA c. in humans, that codes for cell-surface histocompatibility antigens and is the principal determinant of tissue type and transplant compatibility. SEE ALSO: human leukocyte antigens, under antigen.
- membrane attack c. (MAC) a c. of complement components (C5–C9) that, when activated, bind to the membrane of a target cell, penetrating it with a hydrophobic residue exteriorly and a hydrophilic residue in the interior of the cell; this allows passage of ions and water, swelling of the cell and subsequent lysis. SYN: MAC c..
- Meyenburg c. clusters of small bile ducts occurring in polycystic livers, separate from the portal areas.
- minor histocompatibility c. (MHC) genes outside of MHC that are present on various chromosomes that encode antigens contributing to graft rejection.
- multienzyme c. a structurally distinct and ordered collection of enzymes, often catalyzing successive steps in a metabolic pathway ( E.G., pyruvate dehydrogenase c.).
- Oedipus c. a developmentally distinct group of associated ideas, aims, instinctual drives, and fears generally observed in male children 3 to 6 years old: coinciding with the peak of the phallic phase of psychosexual development, the child's sexual interest is attached primarily to the parent of the opposite sex and is accompanied by aggressive feelings toward the parent of the same sex; in psychoanalytic theory, it is replaced by the castration c.. [Oedipus, G. myth. char.]
- ostiomeatal c. point where the frontal and maxillary sinuses normally drain into the nasal cavity; obstruction produces inflammation of affected sinus cavities. SYN: ostiomeatal unit.
- persecution c. a feeling that others have evil designs against one's well-being.
- QRS c. portion of electrocardiogram corresponding to the depolarization of ventricular cardiac cells.
- Ranke c. the typical lesions of primary pulmonary tuberculosis, consisting of a small peripheral focus of infection (Ghon focus), with hilar or paratracheal lymph node involement. SYN: primary c..
- ribosome-lamella c. a cylindric cytoplasmic inclusion composed of concentrically arranged sheets of membranes alternating with rows of ribosomes; characteristic of the hairy cell in leukemic reticuloendotheliosis.
- Shone c. an obstructive lesion of the mitral valve c. with left ventricular outflow obstruction and coarctation of the aorta.
- sicca c. dryness of the mucous membranes, as of the eyes and mouth, in the absence of a connective tissue disease such as rheumatoid arthritis.
- spike and wave c. a generalized, synchronous pattern seen on the electroencephalogram, consisting of a sharply contoured fast wave followed by a slow wave; particularly found in patients with generalized epilepsies. Spike and wave complexes are often characterized by their frequency, e.g., slow spike and wave, fast spike and wave.
- superiority c. term sometimes given to the compensatory behavior, e.g., aggressiveness, self-assertion, associated with inferiority c..
- synaptinemal c. a submicroscopic structure interposed between the homologous chromosome pairs during synapsis. SYN: synaptonemal c..
- synaptonemal c. SYN: synaptinemal c..
- Tacaribe c. of viruses a group of arenaviruses (New World) that includes the antigenically related arboviruses Amapari, Junin, Latino, Machupo, Parana, Pichinde, Tacaribe, and Tamiami.
- ternary c. term used to describe the tripartite combination of, for example, enzyme-cofactor-substrate or enzyme-substrate1-substrate2 for a multisubstrate enzyme, the active form involved in many enzyme-catalyzed reactions.
- triple symptom c. SYN: Behçet syndrome.
- VATER c. a constellation of vertebral defects, anal atresia, tracheoesophageal fistula with esophageal atresia, and renal and radial anomalies; associated with Fanconi anemia.
- ventrobasal c. [TA] the large posterior part of the ventral nucleus of the thalamus receiving the somatic sensory lemnisci (medial lemniscus, spinothalamic tract, trigeminal lemniscus) and the ascending gustatory (taste) lemniscus and projecting in turn by way of the internal capsule to the cortex of the postcentral gyrus. This c. of nuclei is somatotopically organized and subdivided into a ventral posterolateral nucleus [TA] (nucleus ventralis posterolateralis [TA]) representing the leg, a ventral posterior intermediate nucleus representing the arm, and a ventral posteromedial nucleus [TA] (nucleus ventralis posteromedialis [TA]) representing the face and an arcuate nucleus of thalamus receiving the gustatory lemniscus. SYN: nuclei ventrobasales [TA], ventrobasal nuclei (c.) [TA], nucleus ventralis posterior thalami.
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com·plex käm-'pleks, kəm-', 'käm-. adj
1) having many varied interrelated parts, patterns, or elements and consequently hard to understand <\complex behavior> <a \complex personality> <\complex plants and animals>
2) formed by the union of simpler chemical substances <\complex proteins>
com·plex 'käm-.pleks n
1) a group of repressed memories, desires, and ideas that exert a dominant influence on the personality and behavior <a guilt \complex> see CASTRATION COMPLEX, ELECTRA COMPLEX, INFERIORITY COMPLEX, OEDIPUS COMPLEX, PERSECUTION COMPLEX, SUPERIORITY COMPLEX
3) a chemical association of two or more species (as ions or molecules) joined usu. by weak electrostatic bonds rather than by covalent bonds
4) the sum of the factors (as symptoms and lesions) characterizing a disease <primary tuberculous \complex>
com·plex käm-'pleks, kəm-', 'käm-. vt
1) to form into a complex <RNA \complexed with protein>
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n.
(in psychoanalysis) an emotionally charged and repressed group of ideas and beliefs that is capable of influencing an individual's behaviour. The term in this sense was originally used by Jung, but it is now widely used in a looser sense to denote an unconscious motive.
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com·plex (komґpleks) [L. complexus woven together, encompassing] 1. the sum, combination, or collection of various things or related factors, like or unlike, e.g., a complex of symptoms. See also syndrome. 2. sequence (def. 2). 3. a group of interrelated ideas, mainly unconscious, that have a common emotional tone and strongly influence a person's attitudes and behavior. 4. the portion of an electrocardiographic tracing that represents the systole of an atrium or ventricle.Medical dictionary. 2011.