Vector
In medicine, a carrier of disease or of medication. For example, in malaria a mosquito is the vector that carries and transfers the infectious agent. In molecular biology, a vector may be a virus or a plasmid that carries a piece of foreign DNA to a host cell.
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- Vector, cloning
A fragment of DNA into which another DNA fragment can be integrated. Cloning vectors are used to introduce foreign DNA into host cells, where that DNA can be reproduced (cloned) in large quantities. Examples of cloning vectors are plasmids, cosmids, bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs), and yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs).
- Vectrin
Brand name for minocycline.
- VEGF
Vascular endothelial growth factor, a substance made by cells that stimulates the formation of new blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis. VEGF also acts as a mitogen for vascular endothelial (vessel lining) cells, stimulating these cells to divide and multiply. VEGF is a polypeptide. It is structurally related to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). The gene […]
- Vein
A blood vessel that carries blood that is low in oxygen content from the body back to the heart. The deoxygenated form of hemoglobin (deoxy-hemoglobin) in venous blood makes it appear dark. Veins are part of the afferent wing of the circulatory system, which returns blood to the heart. In contrast, an artery is a […]
- Vein of Galen aneurysm
A congenital malformation of blood vessels of the brain. Specifically, an arteriovenous (AV) malformation in which blood shunts from cerebral arteries into a dilated vein of Galen (an internal cerebral vein). In newborns this shunt can cause high cardiac output and heart failure. In infants this AV malformation can obstruct the Aqueduct of Sylvius, a […]