resistance
(ri-zis'tăns 
)
[L. resistere, to remain stand ing]
- Opposition to a disease, a toxin, or to a physical force.
- In psychoanalysis, a condition in which the ego avoids bringing into consciousness conflicts and unpleasant events responsible for neurosis; the reluctance of a patient to give up old patterns of thought and behavior. It may take various forms such as silence, failure to remember dreams, forgetfulness, and undue annoyance with trivial aspects of the treatment situation.
- Force applied to a body part by weights, machinery, or another person during strength-building exercise.
acquired r.Drug resistance that results from treatment.
airway r.The impedance to the flow of air into and out of the respiratory tract, measured in cm H2O/L/s. Normal airway resistance is 4 cm H2O/L/s.
antibiotic r.The ability of microorganisms to survive in the presence of antibiotics. Mutations have provided some bacteria with genes for enzymes that destroy antibiotics such as penicillins, cephalosporins, or aminoglycosides. Other mutations have changed the structure of bacterial cell walls formerly penetrable by antibiotics or have created new enzymes for cellular functions previously blocked by drugs. SYN: antibiotic nonsusceptibility; antimicrobial resistance.
SEE: vancomycin-resistant enterococci ; resistance transfer factor ; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
The indiscriminate use of antibiotics provides the selection pressure that creates ever more resistant strains.antimicrobial r.Antibiotic resistance.
antiviral r.The developed resistance of a virus to specific antiviral therapy.
bacterial r.The ability of bacteria to survive and cause continuous infection in the presence of antibiotics.
SEE: antiviral resistance ; antibiotic resistance ; multidrug resistance ; transfer factor .
bedtime r.Misbehaving, stalling tactics, or temper tantrums used by children to avoid going to bed on time. Bedtime resistance may be caused by a variety of emotional or psychological factors, e.g., fear of the dark, loneliness, or the desire for more attention.
beta-lactamase r.The ability of microorganisms that produce the enzyme beta-lactamase (penicillinase) to resist the action of certain types of antibiotics, including some but not all forms of penicillin. Beta-lactamases make these microorganisms resistant to antibiotics by catalyzing the destruction of the beta-lactam ring that is essential for their antibacterial activity.
colonization r.Competitive exclusion.
cross r.The ability of bacteria, viruses, or cancer cells to live and reproduce despite treatment with more than one drug. In cancer therapy, resistance to a wide range of unrelated drugs may occur after resistance to a single agent has developed. SYN: multidrug resistance; multiple drug resistance.
SEE: gene amplification.
diuretic r.The inability of a diuretic to improve fluid management, esp. to reduce peripheral edema or other forms of fluid overload.
drug r.The ability of a disease, esp. one caused by infectious pathogens, to withstand drug treatment.
expiratory r.1The impedence to airflow from the trachea, bronchi, mouth, or nose during exhalation.2The use of a restricted orifice, or flow resistor, during positive-pressure ventilation to retard the flow of exhaled gases.3An objective measure of bronchospasm.
extended-spectrum beta-lactamase r.
ABBR: ESBL
An enzymatically mediated antibiotic resistance found in gram-negative bacilli (such as Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), that make these bacteria resistant to cephalosporins and penicillin antibiotics.glucocorticoid r.1A rare genetically inherited insensitivity of peripheral tissues to the effects of steroid hormones produced by the adrenal cortex. Affected patients produce excessive compensatory quantities of adrenocorticotropic hormone and may be affected by hyperand rogenism or mineralocorticoid excess.2Insensitivity to treatment with glucocorticoid drugs, e.g., prednisone for asthma or Crohn disease.
insulin r.Cellular phenomena that prevent insulin from stimulating the uptake of glucose from the bloodstream and the synthesis of glycogen. Insulin resistance is one of the fundamental metabolic defects found in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. It can be treated with drugs (such as metformin) or sometimes reversed with significant (>10%) weight loss.
SEE: resistance exercise .
SEE: resistance exercise .
ABBR: MDR
Cross resistance.multiple drug r.Cross resistance.
peripheral r.The resistance of the arterial vascular system, esp. the arterioles and capillaries, to the flow of blood.
ABBR: SVR
The resistance to the flow of blood through the body's blood vessels. SVR increases as vessels constrict (as when a drug like norepinephrine is given) and decreases when vessels dilate (as in septic shock). Any change in the diameter, elasticity, or number of vessels recruited can influence the measured amount of resistance to the flow of blood through the body.threshold r.The amount of pressure necessary to overcome resistance to flow.
transmitted r.Drug resistance after infection with a known drug-resistant microorganism.
transthoracic r.The amount of resistance to the flow of electrical energy across the chest. This is an important factor to consider when electrical therapies such as defibrillation, cardioversion, and transthoracic pacing are used to treat abnormal cardiac rhythms.
viscous r.Nonelastic opposition of tissue to ventilation due to the energy required to displace the thorax and airways.