calcitonin

n. a hormone produced by the parafollicular (or C) cells of the thyroid gland. It controls calcium and phosphate levels in the blood by promoting the resorption of calcium and phosphate by bone tissue, thus lowering their concentrations in the blood. See calcium regulation.

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Psychology term of the day

December 26th 2024

factor method

any means by which latent variables (factors) are extracted or identified in factor analysis. Widely used factor methods include principal components analysis, which seeks to find a set of linear combinations called components that help explain the correlations among variables; and principal-axis factor analysis, in which underlying dimensions or factors are sought to explain the correlations among variables after separating out communality and putting aside the error variance in a set of variables.