canalization
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canalization
[‚kan·əl·ə′zā·shən] (engineering)
Any system of distribution canals or conduits for water, gas, electricity, or steam.
(evolution)
The effect of natural selection on development to produce pathways that are insensitive to minor genetic or environmental variation; results in the phenotypic norm of the species.
(medicine)
Surgical method of wound drainage without tubes by forming channels.
(physiology)
The formation of new channels in tissues, such as the formation of new blood vessels through a thrombus.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.