All articles starting with M

Microstructured optical fiber

Microstructured optical fiber, also known as microstructured fiber or photonic crystal fiber, is an optical fiber with tiny air holes in its cladding, first demonstrated in 1996.

Oct 15, 2026

Microsurfacing

Microsurfacing is a preventive maintenance treatment for asphalt pavements, mixing polymer-modified asphalt emulsion, aggregate, and filler on site into a thin layer that fills ruts and seals cracks.

Microsurgery

Microsurgery is a surgical technique that uses an operating microscope and fine instruments to join blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatic vessels below about 3 mm in diameter.

Microsurgical reconstruction uses an operating microscope to reattach or transplant blood vessels with lumens under 3 mm, so a transferred flap or amputated part regains a blood supply; it underpins microsurgical breast reconstruction.

Microswimmer

A microswimmer is a microscopic object, biological or artificial, that propels itself through fluid at scales of a few to tens of micrometers, where viscosity dominates over inertia.

Oct 15, 2026

MicroTCA

MicroTCA (µTCA) is a PICMG standard, first ratified in 2006, for building compact, high-performance switched-fabric computer systems around Advanced Mezzanine Cards that plug into a passive backplane.

Microteaching

Microteaching is a teacher-training technique developed at Stanford University in 1963 by Dwight W. Allen, in which trainees teach 5-20 minute single-skill lessons to 6-10 peers, then receive feedback and reteach, now also delivered online and used in medical education.

Oct 22, 2026

Microtearing mode

The microtearing mode is a short-wavelength electromagnetic plasma instability of tokamak discharges, first described in 1980, which enhances electron heat transport and dominates in spherical tokamaks.

MicroTech Medical (微泰医疗)

MicroTech Medical (微泰医疗) is a Hangzhou-based medical-device company founded in 2011 by Dr. Zheng Pan that makes diabetes devices, including CGM systems and patch insulin pumps, listed in Hong Kong since 2021.

Microtia

Microtia is a congenital underdevelopment of the external ear, ranging from a small malformed auricle to anotia; about 1 in 3,800 US births, usually unilateral, treated by rib cartilage or porous polyethylene reconstruction and bone conduction hearing devices.

Microtia reconstruction

Microtia reconstruction is a surgical procedure that builds an external ear for patients with microtia, using rib cartilage or a porous polyethylene implant, typically around age 8.

Microtome

A microtome is an instrument that cuts extremely thin slices, from tens of nanometres to hundreds of micrometres, from a specimen for examination under a microscope, central to histology and diagnostic pathology.

Microtomography

Microtomography, or micro-CT, is a non-destructive X-ray imaging technique that reconstructs three-dimensional maps of small objects' internal structure, with typical resolution of 1 to 100 micrometers.

Microtomy

Microtomy is the laboratory technique of cutting tissue, usually embedded in paraffin wax, into thin slices with a microtome for examination under a light or electron microscope.

Microtransaction

Microtransaction: small in-game purchase in video games and apps, also called in-app purchases or MTX. Spans cosmetics, pay-to-win items, and loot boxes; began with Oblivion's 2006 horse armor; linked to problem gaming and gambling and now regulated in the UK, EU, and US.

Microtransplantation

Microtransplantation (MST) is a transplantation technique, born in China, that infuses small amounts of HLA-mismatched donor stem cells after chemotherapy to fight acute myeloid leukemia with low graft-versus-host disease.

MicroTransponder

MicroTransponder, also known as Mobia Medical, is an Austin, Texas medical device company whose Vivistim system, FDA-approved in 2021, is the first approved neuromodulation therapy for chronic stroke survivors with arm impairment.

Microtubule

Microtubule: hollow cytoskeletal filament of α/β-tubulin dimers, 13 protofilaments, showing dynamic instability (catastrophe/rescue) driven by GTP hydrolysis; nucleated at centrosomes and other MTOCs; forms mitotic spindle and transport tracks.

Microtubule associated protein 1

Microtubule associated protein 1 (MAP1) is a family of microtubule-stabilizing proteins comprising MAP1A, MAP1B, and MAP1S, expressed mainly in neurons, where MAP1A and MAP1B support axon and dendrite development.

Oct 22, 2026

Microtubule-kinesin active liquid crystals

Microtubule-kinesin active liquid crystals are synthetic active-matter systems where kinesin motor clusters, fueled by ATP, slide bundled microtubules past each other, creating self-stirred nematic fluids with active turbulence and topological defects.

Microtunneling

Microtunneling is a trenchless construction method in which a remotely controlled, laser-guided microtunnel boring machine excavates a bore while product pipe is hydraulically jacked into place behind it.

Microtus

Microtus (Schrank, 1798) is the genus of Holarctic voles, Arvicolinae, with about 60 species in six subgenera, ever-growing molars, rapid 1.3-million-year radiation, 2-5 year population cycles, and major crop-pest species like the common and meadow voles.

Microvascular anastomosis

Microvascular anastomosis is the surgical connection of blood vessels under 3 mm wide, done under magnification to restore blood flow in free flap and replantation surgery.

Microvascular decompression

Microvascular decompression is a neurosurgical operation that moves an offending blood vessel away from a compressed cranial nerve, most often to relieve trigeminal neuralgia, hemifacial spasm, or glossopharyngeal neuralgia.

Microvascular Density

Microvascular density (MVD, microvessel density) is the measured density of microvessels in a tissue field, a surrogate biomarker of angiogenesis. Developed by Weidner et al. in 1991, it is assessed by endothelial immunohistochemistry (factor VIII, CD31, CD34, CD105) and studied as a prognostic marker in solid tumors.

Microvascular endothelial cell

Microvascular endothelial cell: endothelial cell lining vessels under 100 μm (arterioles, capillaries, venules), where blood-tissue exchange occurs. Marked organ- and bed-specific heterogeneity in structure, gene expression, permeability, and inflammation; central to diabetes, tumor angiogenesis, and tissue engineering.

Microvascular imaging

Microvascular imaging (MVI) is a Doppler ultrasound technique that detects low-velocity blood flow in vessels too small for conventional Doppler, without contrast agents, used to assess tissue perfusion and tumor vascularity.

Oct 15, 2026

MicroVAX

The MicroVAX was a family of low-cost VAX computers built by Digital Equipment Corporation from the mid-1980s, implementing the 32-bit VAX architecture in microprocessor chips rather than multi-board designs.

Microvenular hemangioma

Microvenular hemangioma (MVH, microvenular haemangioma) is a rare benign acquired vascular tumor of the skin, first named by Hunt et al. in 1991, presenting as a small purple-red plaque on the trunk or limbs and distinguished histologically by branching venules with pericyte layers.