| Braasch catheter | A bulb-tipped catheter used for dilation and calibration. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| Braasch, William | <person> U.S. Urologist, 1878-1975. See: Braasch catheter. (05 Mar 2000) |
| braccate | <zoology> Furnished with feathers which conceal the feet. Origin: L. Bracatus wearing breeches, fr. Bracae breeches. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| brace | 1. To furnish with braces; to support; to prop; as, to brace a beam in a building. 2. To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen; as, to brace the nerves. "And welcome war to brace her drums." (Campbell) 3. To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly. "The women of China, by bracing and binding them from their infancy, have very little feet." (Locke) "Some who spurs had first braced on." (Sir W. Scott) 4. To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly; as, he braced himself against the crowd. "A sturdy lance in his right hand he braced." (Fairfax) 5. To move around by means of braces; as, to brace the yards. To brace about, to turn (a yard) by hauling in the weather brace. To brace one's self, to call up one's energies. "He braced himself for an effort which he was little able to make." - To brace to, to turn (a yard) as far forward as the rigging will permit. Origin: Braced; Bracing. 1. That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop. 2. A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension, as a cord on the side of a drum. "The little bones of the ear drum do in straining and relaxing it as the braces of the war drum do in that." (Derham) 3. The state of being braced or tight; tension. "The laxness of the tympanum, when it has lost its brace or tension." (Holder) 4. A piece of material used to transmit, or change the direction of, weight or pressure; any one of the pieces, in a frame or truss, which divide the structure into triangular parts. It may act as a tie, or as a strut, and serves to prevent distortion of the structure, and transverse strains in its members. A boiler brace is a diagonal stay, connecting the head with the shell. 5. A vertical curved line connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be taken together; thus, boll, bowl; or, in music, used to connect staves. 6. A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon. 7. <mechanics> A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock. 8. A pair; a couple; as, a brace of ducks; now rarely applied to persons, except familiarly or with some contempt. "A brace of greyhounds." "He is said to have shot . . . Fifty brace of pheasants." (Addison) "A brace of brethren, both bishops, both eminent for learning and religion, now appeared in the church." (Fuller) "But you, my brace of lords." (Shak) 9. Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders. "I embroidered for you a beautiful pair of braces." (Thackeray) 10. Harness; warlike preparation. "For that it stands not in such warlike brace." (Shak) 11. Armor for the arm; vantbrace. 12. <chemical> The mouth of a shaft. Angle brace. See Angle. Origin: OF. Brace, brasse, the two arms, embrace, fathom, F. Brasse fathom, fr. L. Bracchia the arms (stretched out), pl. Of bracchium arm; cf. Gr. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| bracelet | An appliance for the wrist. Nussbaum's bracelet, an appliance designed for use with writer's cramp. (05 Mar 2000) |
| bracer | 1. That which braces, binds, or makes firm; a band or bandage. 2. A covering to protect the arm of the bowman from the vibration of the string; also, a brassart. 3. A medicine, as an astringent or a tonic, which gives tension or tone to any part of the body. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| braces | Orthopedic appliances used to support, align, or hold parts of the body in correct position. (12 Dec 1998) |
| brach | A bitch of the hound kind. Origin: OE. Brache a kind of scenting hound or setting dog, OF. Brache, braque, fr. OHG. Braccho, G. Bracke; possibly akin to E. Fragrant, fr. L. Fragrare to smell. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| brachelytra | <zoology> A group of beetles having short elytra, as the rove beetles. Origin: NL, fr. Gr. Short + a covering. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| brachia | Plural of brachium. (05 Mar 2000) |
| brachial | Or, [L. Brachialis (bracch-), from bracchium (bracch-) arm: cf. F. Brachial. 1. <anatomy> Pertaining or belonging to the arm; as, the brachial artery; the brachial nerve. 2. Of the nature of an arm; resembling an arm. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| brachial anaesthesia | Anaesthetization of an upper extremity by injection of local anaesthetic solution about the brachial plexus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| brachial artery | <anatomy, artery> The artery that runs from the shoulder down to the elbow. (12 Dec 1998) |
| brachial birth palsy | Paralysis of the infant's arm due to injury received at birth usually resulting from a shoulder dystocia; three types are recognised: 1) whole arm; 2) upper arm (Erb's p.); 3) forearm (Klumpke's paralysis). (05 Mar 2000) |
| brachial cleft cyst | A cervical cyst arising from the persistence of ectodermal brachial cleft (groove) or endodermal pharyngeal pouches. (27 Sep 1997) |