Clock
Clock (medical)
Clock (pronunciation: /klɒk/) is a term used in the medical field to describe the biological processes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle in the human body, influencing hormone production, cell regeneration, and other biological activities. This is often referred to as the circadian rhythm.
Etymology
The term "clock" in this context is derived from the Latin word circadian, which means "around a day". It is used to describe the internal body processes that operate on a roughly 24-hour cycle.
Related Terms
- Circadian rhythm: The physical, mental, and behavioral changes in the body that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle, responding primarily to light and darkness in an organism's environment.
- Chronobiology: A field of biology that examines periodic (cyclic) phenomena in living organisms and their adaptation to solar- and lunar-related rhythms.
- Melatonin: A hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. It is primarily released by the pineal gland.
- Sleep cycle: A period of approximately 90 minutes during which we move through five stages of sleep: four stages of non-REM sleep and one stage of REM sleep.
- Jet lag: A physiological condition that results from alterations to the body's circadian rhythms caused by rapid long-distance trans-meridian (east–west or west–east) travel.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Clock
- Wikipedia's article - Clock
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