Category: B

  • Boric acid

    White, odorless powder once commonly used as an eyewash and topical antiseptic. A white crystalline substance, H3B03, that in water forms a very weak acid solution poisonous to plants and animals. It is soluble in water, alcohol, and glycerin.  

  • Borde

    Common term for the margin of a part (e.g., vermilion border, the deeper colored portion of the lip).  

  • Booster injection

    Supplementary dose (booster shot) of a vaccine or other immunizing substance, given to raise or restore the presumably waning effectiveness of a previous dose.  

  • Bone powder

    Bone tissue (usually from cadavers), which is reduced to a powder, treated with hydrochloric acid to remove minerals, dried, and sterilized, for implanting into areas where original bone has been injured and removed.  

  • Bone marrow aspiration

    With drawal through a special needle of a sample of bone marrow tissue for examination, especially in the diagnosis of certain blood disorders and malignancies. Procedure to remove red bone marrow from the posterior iliac crest of the hipbone. Removal of bone marrow from the breast bone or hip bone by aspiration through a needle.…

  • Bone cancer

    Malignant tumor of bone. Various types can occur. Symptoms include pain and spontaneous fractures; treatment involves surgery and sometimes chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Cancer that originates in bone tissue. Some cancers can spread to the bones and erroneously are called bone cancer. Also called primary bone cancer, cancer that first develops in bone tissue is…

  • Bone age

    Age determined by comparison of a person’s bone development, as shown on X rays, with that of average persons of the same chronological age. An estimate of biological age based on radiological studies of the developmental stage of ossification centers of the long bones of the extremities.   Bone age serves as a means to…

  • Blood-letting

    Process of removing blood from the body. An ancient practice, generally discarded for centuries, it has recently become the object of renewed interest, esp. in the form of plasmapheresis, the removal of the fluid plasma from the blood.  

  • Blood substitute

    Substance (e.g., plasma, packed blood cells) used to replace or expand the volume of blood. An oxygen-carrying fluid that can be used in place of human blood products for transfusion therapy. Candidate substances that have been investigated for this purpose include polymerized hemoglobin and fluorinated hydrocarbons.  

  • Blood crossmatching

    Mixing of the red blood cells (erythrocytes) of a donor with the blood serum of a potential recipient to determine whether the blood is compatible and can be used for transfusion.