Definition of Fixation
1. Noun. An abnormal state in which development has stopped prematurely.
2. Noun. An unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone.
3. Noun. The activity of fastening something firmly in position.
4. Noun. (histology) the preservation and hardening of a tissue sample to retain as nearly as possible the same relations they had in the living body.
Definition of Fixation
1. n. The act of fixing, or the state of being fixed.
Definition of Fixation
1. the act of fixating [n -S]
Medical Definition of Fixation
1.
1. The act or operation of holding, suturing or fastening in a fixed position. The condition of being held in a fixed position.
2. A term with two related but distinct meanings: 1. Arrest of development at a particular stage, which like regression (return to an earlier stage), if temporary is a normal reaction to setbacks and difficulties but if protracted or frequent is a cause of developmental failures and emotional problems.
3. A close and suffocating attachment to another person, especially a childhood figure, such as one's mother or father. Both meanings are derived from psychoanalytic theory and refer to fixation of libidinal energy either in a specific erogenous zone, hence fixation at the oral, anal or phallic stage or in a specific object, hence mother or father fixation.
4. The use of a fixative to preserve histological or cytological specimens.
5. The process whereby a substance is removed from the gaseous or solution phase and localised, as in carbon dioxide fixation or nitrogen fixation.
6. The direction of the gaze so that the visual image of the object falls on the fovea centralis.
7. In film processing, the chemical removal of all undeveloped salts of the film emulsion, leaving only the developed silver to form a permanent image.
8. A general term for determination of type, whether by designation, or indication.
Origin: L. Fixatio
(09 Jan 1998)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Fixation
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