nonvital en · ADJ
Etymology
From non- + vital.
Meanings
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(not-comparable) Not vital (in various senses); thus, often not essential for life
The eye is a nonvital organ.
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(not-comparable) Not containing living nerve tissue
Such an occurrence could provoke a vital response from a patient when a nonvital tooth was being tested (a "false-positive").
1998, J.W. Myers, “Demonstration of a possible source of error with an electric pulp tester”, in Journal of Endodontics, volume 24, number 3: