| digest | 1. To distribute or arrange methodically; to work over and classify; to reduce to portions for ready use or application; as, to digest the laws, etc. "Joining them together and digesting them into order." (Blair) "We have cause to be glad that matters are so well digested." (Shak) 2. <physiology> To separate (the food) in its passage through the alimentary canal into the nutritive and nonnutritive elements; to prepare, by the action of the digestive juices, for conversion into blood; to convert into chyme. 3. To think over and arrange methodically in the mind; to reduce to a plan or method; to receive in the mind and consider carefully; to get an understanding of; to comprehend. "Feelingly digest the words you speak in prayer." (Sir H. Sidney) "How shall this bosom multiplied digest The senate's courtesy?" (Shak) 4. To appropriate for strengthening and comfort. "Grant that we may in such wise hear them [the Scriptures], read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them." (Book of Common Prayer) 5. Hence: To bear comfortably or patiently; to be reconciled to; to brook. "I never can digest the loss of most of Origin's works." (Coleridge) 6. <chemistry> To soften by heat and moisture; to expose to a gentle heat in a boiler or matrass, as a preparation for chemical operations. 7. <medicine> To dispose to suppurate, or generate healthy pus, as an ulcer or wound. 8. To ripen; to mature. "Well-digested fruits." (Jer. Taylor) 9. To quiet or abate, as anger or grief. Origin: L. Digestus, p. P. Of digerere to separate, arrange, dissolve, digest; di- = dis- + gerere to bear, carry, wear. See Jest. 1. To undergo digestion; as, food digests well or ill. 2. <medicine> To suppurate; to generate pus, as an ulcer. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| digestant | 1. Aiding digestion. 2. An agent that favours or assists the process of digestion. Synonym: digestive. (05 Mar 2000) |
| digester | 1. One who digests. 2. A medicine or an article of food that aids digestion, or strengthens digestive power. "Rice is . . . A great restorer of health, and a great digester." (Sir W. Temple) 3. A strong closed vessel, in which bones or other substances may be subjected, usually in water or other liquid, to a temperature above that of boiling, in order to soften them. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| digestion | 1. The act or process of digesting; reduction to order; classification; thoughtful consideration. 2. <physiology> The conversion of food, in the stomach and intestines, into soluble and diffusible products, capable of being absorbed by the blood. 3. <medicine> Generation of pus; suppuration. Origin: F. Digestion, L. Digestio. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| digestive | Pertaining to digestion. (18 Nov 1997) |
| digestive apparatus | The digestive tract from the mouth to the anus with all its associated glands and organs. Synonym: apparatus digestorius. (05 Mar 2000) |
| digestive enzymes | Enzymes that are utilised in the digestive system, enzymes that are hydrolases of macromolecules (e.g., amylases, proteinases). (05 Mar 2000) |
| digestive fever | A slight rise of body temperature occurring during the period of digestion. (05 Mar 2000) |
| digestive glycosuria | Glycosuria developing after the ingestion of a moderate amount of sugar or starch, which normally is disposed of without appearing in the urine, because rate of intestinal absorption exceeds capacity of the liver and the other tissues to remove the glucose, thus allowing blood glucose levels to become high enough for renal excretion to occur. Synonym: alimentary diabetes, digestive glycosuria. (05 Mar 2000) |
| digestive leukocytosis | Leukocytosis occurring normally after ingestion of food. (05 Mar 2000) |
| digestive physiology | Functions and activities of the digestive system as a whole or of any of its parts. (12 Dec 1998) |
| digestive system | The organs that are responsible for getting food into and out of the body and for making use of food to keep the body healthy. These include the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, small intestine, colon, and rectum. (12 Dec 1998) |
| digestive system abnormalities | Congenital structural abnormalities of the digestive system. (12 Dec 1998) |
| digestive system fistula | An abnormal passage communicating between any parts of the digestive system or between any part of the digestive system and other organs. (12 Dec 1998) |
| digestive system surgical procedures | Surgery performed on the digestive system or its parts. (12 Dec 1998) |