| paraffin | <chemical> A mixture of solid hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum. It has a wide range of uses including as a stiffening agent in ointments, as a lubricant, and as a topical anti-inflammatory. It is also commonly used as an embedding material in histology. Pharmacological action: anti-inflammatory agent, topical, pharmaceutic aid, sclerosing solutions. Chemical name: Paraffin waxes and Hydrocarbon waxes (12 Dec 1998) |
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| paraffin cancer | Carcinoma of the skin occurring as an occupational disease in paraffin workers. (05 Mar 2000) |
| paraffin embedding | The infiltrating of tissue specimens with paraffin, as a supporting substance, to prepare for sectioning with a microtome. (12 Dec 1998) |
| paraffin tumour | A tumefaction, usually a granuloma, caused by the prosthetic or therapeutic injection of paraffin into the tissues; sometimes used with reference to similar lesions resulting from the injection of any oil, wax, or the like. See: lipogranuloma. Synonym: paraffin tumour. (05 Mar 2000) |
| paraffin wax | A wax derived from petroleum. Synonym: mineral wax. (05 Mar 2000) |
| chlorinated paraffin | A solvent for dichloramine-T. (05 Mar 2000) |
| white soft paraffin | white petrolatum |
| hard paraffin | A purified mixture of solid hydrocarbons derived from petroleum. Synonym: paraffin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| yellow soft paraffin | <pharmacology> A semisolid unctuous substance, neutral, and without taste or odour, derived from petroleum by distilling off the lighter portions and purifying the residue. It is a yellowish, fatlike mass, transparent in thin layers, and somewhat fluorescent. It is used as a bland protective dressing, and as a substitute for fatty materials in ointments. Petrolatum is the official name for the purified product. Cosmoline and vaseline are commercial names for substances essentially the same, but differing slightly in appearance and consistency or fusibility. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| liquid paraffin | <chemical> A mixture of liquid hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum. It is used as laxative, lubricant, ointment base, and emollient. Pharmacological action: cathartic, emollients, ointment bases. Chemical name: Hydrocarbon oils (12 Dec 1998) |
| Abbott's method | A method of treatment of scoliosis by use of a series of plaster jackets applied after partial correction of the curvature by external force. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Abell-Kendall method | A standard method for estimation of total serum cholesterol involving saponification of cholesterol ester by hydroxide, extraction with petroleum ether, and colour development with acetic anhydride-sulfuric acid; the method avoids interference by bilirubin, protein, and haemoglobin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| activated sludge method | A method of sewage disposal in which the sewage is treated with 15% bacterially active, liquid sludge, which is produced by repeated vigorous aeration of fresh sewage to form floccules or sediment; when this flocculation process is complete, the resulting activated sludge contains large numbers of bacteria, together with yeasts, molds, and protozoa, which actively effect the oxidation of organic compounds; this mixture is piped to a sedimentation tank, the effluent from which is completely treated sewage. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Altmann-Gersh method | The method of rapidly freezing a tissue and dehydrating it in a vacuum. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Anel's method | Ligation of an artery immediately above (on the proximal side of) an aneurysm. (05 Mar 2000) |