| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| basal metabolic rate | |
| —n | |
| BMR the rate at which heat is produced by the body at rest, 12 to 14 hours after eating, measured in kilocalories per square metre of body surface per hour | |
| basal metabolic rate
The rate at which energy is used by an organism at complete rest, measured in humans by the heat given off per unit time, and expressed as the calories released per kilogram of body weight or per square meter of body surface per hour. |
basal metabolic rate
index of the general level of activity of an individual's body metabolism, determined by measuring his oxygen intake in the basal state-i.e., during absolute rest, but not sleep, 14 to 18 hours after eating. The higher the amount of oxygen consumed in a certain time interval, the more active is the oxidative process of the body and the higher is the rate of body metabolism. The BMR has been used in measuring the general metabolic state during therapy. It was formerly widely used to assess thyroid function, since the thyroid hormones are prime regulators of tissue oxidation and metabolism; but, since the advent of radioactive-isotope tests and thyroid-hormone studies, BMR measurements have fallen into disuse.
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