Redundancy
Redundancy (medicine)
Redundancy (pronounced: /rɪˈdʌndənsi/) in the field of medicine refers to the duplication or repetition of certain biological structures or functions that can serve as a backup in case of failure or damage to the primary structure or function. The term is derived from the Latin word redundans, meaning "overflowing".
Biological Redundancy
Biological redundancy is a common phenomenon in nature and is often seen as a survival strategy. It ensures that if one part of a system fails, there is another part that can take over its function. This is particularly important in the human body, where certain organs like the kidneys and lungs are duplicated, and certain genes can perform the same function.
Genetic Redundancy
Genetic redundancy refers to the existence of multiple genes in a genome that perform the same function. This means that if one gene is damaged or mutated, another gene can take over its function, ensuring the survival of the organism.
Redundancy in Medical Procedures
In medical procedures, redundancy can refer to the practice of having multiple checks and balances in place to ensure patient safety. For example, in surgery, there may be multiple checks of a patient's identity and the planned procedure to ensure that the correct operation is performed on the correct patient.
Related Terms
- Backup: In computing, a backup refers to the copying of data so that these additional copies may be used to restore the original after a data loss event.
- Fail-safe: A fail-safe in engineering is a design feature or practice that in the event of a specific type of failure, inherently responds in a way that will cause minimal or no harm to other equipment, the environment or to people.
- Fault tolerance: Fault tolerance is the property that enables a system to continue operating properly in the event of the failure of (or one or more faults within) some of its components.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Redundancy
- Wikipedia's article - Redundancy
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