projection

(prŏ-jek′shŏn)

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[L. projectio, a throw forward]

1. The act of throwing forward.
2. A part extending beyond the level of its surroundings.
3. The mental process by which sensations are referred to the sense organs or receptors stimulated, or outside the body to the object that is the stimulus.
4. The distortion of a perception as a result of its repression, resulting in such a phenomenon as hating without cause one who has been dearly loved, or attributing to others one's own undesirable traits. These are characteristics of the paranoid reaction.
SYN: SEE: projective identification
5. In radiology, the path of the central ray of radiation from entry to exit of the body. In an anteroposterior projection, for example, the beam enters the anterior surface of the body and exits the posterior surface.
6. Speaking clearly and loudly enough to be heard at a distance.

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