| bent | 1. Changed by pressure so as to be no longer straight; crooked; as, a bent pin; a bent lever. 2. Strongly inclined toward something, so as to be resolved, determined, set, etc.; said of the mind, character, disposition, desires, etc, and used with on; as, to be bent on going to college; he is bent on mischief. 3. <botany> A reedlike grass of the genus Agrostis, especially. Agrostis vulgaris, or redtop. The name is also used of many other grasses, esp. In America. 4. <agriculture> Any neglected field or broken ground; a common; a moor. "Bowmen bickered upon the bent." Origin: AS. Beonet; akin to OHG. Pinuz, G. Binse, rush, bent grass; of unknown origin. (06 Aug 1998) |
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| bent grass | <botany> A reedlike grass of the genus Agrostis, especially. Agrostis vulgaris, or redtop. The name is also used of many other grasses, especially in the US. (06 Aug 1998) |
| benthos | <ecology> Animals and plants living on or within the substrate of a water body (freshwater, estuarine or marine). (06 Aug 1998) |
| bentiromide | 4-[[(2-Benzoylamino)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1-oxopropyl]amino ]benzoic acid;a peptide used as a screening test for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and to monitor the adequacy of supplemental pancreatic therapy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| bentiromide test | A test of pancreatic exocrine function that does not require duodenal intubation: orally administered bentiromide is cleaved by chymotrypsin within the lumen of the small intestine, releasing p-aminobenzoic acid which is absorbed and excreted in the urine; diminished urinary excretion of p-aminobenzoic acid suggests pancreatic insufficiency. (05 Mar 2000) |
| bentonite | <chemical> Bentonite. A native, colloidal, hydrated aluminum silicate which, on the addition of water, swells to produce a slippery paste. Its chief pharmaceutical use is as a suspending agent and it has also been used as a bulk laxative. Chemical name: Bentonite (12 Dec 1998) |
| bentonite flocculation test | A flocculation test for rheumatoid arthritis in which sensitised bentonite particles are added to inactivated serum; the test is positive if half of the particles are clumped while the other half remain in suspension. (05 Mar 2000) |