Medical Definition of Oxygen radical
1.
Any oxygen species that carries an unpaired electron (except free oxygen).
Examples are the hydroxyl radical and the superoxide anion. These radicals are very powerful oxidizing agents and cause structural damage to proteins and nucleic acids. They mediate the damaging effects of ionising radiation.
This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology
(11 Mar 2008)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Oxygen Radical
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