colloid

colloid is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 2 senses. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.(Physiol. Chem.) A substance (as albumin, gum, gelatin, etc.) which is of a gelatinous rather than a crystalline nature, and which diffuses itself through animal membranes or vegetable parchment more slowly than crystalloids do; -- opposed to crystalloid.
  2. 2.(Med.) A gelatinous substance found in colloid degeneration and colloid cancer. Styptic colloid (Med.), a preparation of astringent and antiseptic substances with some colloid material, as collodion, for ready use.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

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