See Also: Cryptogamia(medicine)

colloid (iou) and Cryptogamia (medicine)


colloid (iou)



colloid adjective & noun. M19.
[from Greek kolla glue + -OID.]
A. adjective. Of the Nature or appearance of glue; Medicine characterized by the formation of colloid; Chemistry = COLLOIDAL. rare in gen. sense. M19.
b. noun.
Anatomy & Medicine. A jelly-like substance; esp. (a) one characteristic of certain cancers; (b) one normally present in the follicles of the thyroid gland. M19.
Chemistry. A non-crystalline substance consisting of ultramicroscopic particles (often large single molecules); such a substance dispersed in another phase, esp. to form a viscous solution having special properties. M19.
protective colloid: see PROTECTIVE adjective 3a.

Cryptogamia (medicine)


Cryptogamia


A montaxonomic division of the plant kingdom containing all forms of plant life that do not reproduce by means of seeds; included are the algae, bacteria, fungi, lichens, mosses, liverworts, ferns, horsetails, and club mosses.

Origin: crypto-+ G. Gamos, Marriage