Glossary

Author: Glossary

  • Colloidal dispersion

    A mixture containing colloid particles that fail to settle out and are held in suspension. They are common in animal and plant tissues; the protoplasm of cells is an example. Particles of colloidal dispersions are too large to pass through cell membranes. Such dispersions usually appear cloudy.  

  • Dispersion

    The act of dispersing.  

  • Disperse dye

    A textile pigment used to color polyester fabrics. It is a cause of allergic contact dermatitis, especially seen in skin folds, where clothes may chafe against the skin. Allergies to disperse dyes can be avoided by wearing natural fiber clothing.  

  • Dispersate

    A suspension of finely divided particles in a liquid.  

  • Dispensatory

    A publication, in book form, of the description and composition of medicines.  

  • Spatial disorientation

    In aerospace medicine, a term used to describe a variety of incidents occurring in flight, when the pilot fails to sense correctly the position, motion, or attitude of the aircraft or himself or herself within the coordinate system provided by the surface of the earth and gravitation.  

  • Dismutase

    An enzyme that acts on two molecules of the same substance. One of these is oxidized and the other reduced; two new compounds are thus produced.  

  • Dislodgement

    The removal or displacement of a foreign object from a body part, e.g., an endotracheal tube from a patient’s airway.  

  • Traumatic dislocation

    Dislocation due to injury or violence.  

  • Subspinous dislocation

    A dislocation with the head of the humerus resting below the spine of the scapula and medial to the acromion process.