1. A to-and-fro movement. 2. A stage in the vascular changes in inflammation in which the accumulation of leukocytes in the small vessels arrests the passage of blood and there is simply a to-and-fro movement at each cardiac contraction. [L. oscillatio, fr. oscillo, to swing]
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os·cil·la·tion .äs-ə-'lā-shən n
1) the action or state of oscillating
2) a flow of electricity changing periodically from a maximum to a minimum esp a flow periodically changing direction
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os·cil·la·tion (os″ĭ-laґshən) [L. oscillare to swing] a backward and forward motion, like a pendulum; see also vibration, fluctuation, and variation.Medical dictionary. 2011.