| fang | 1. <zoology> The tusk of an animal, by which the prey is seized and held or torn; a long pointed tooth; especially, one of the usually erectile, venomous teeth of serpents. Also, one of the falcers of a spider. "Since I am a dog, beware my fangs." (Shak) 2. Any shoot or other thing by which hold is taken. "The protuberant fangs of the yucca." (Evelyn) 3. <anatomy> The root, or one of the branches of the root, of a tooth. See Tooth. 4. <chemical> A niche in the side of an adit or shaft, for an air course. 5. <mechanics> A projecting tooth or prong, as in a part of a lock, or the plate of a belt clamp, or the end of a tool, as a chisel, where it enters the handle. 6. The valve of a pump box. A bend or loop of a rope. In a fang, fast entangled. To lose the fang, said of a pump when the water has gone out; hence: To fang a pump, to supply it with the water necessary to make it operate. Origin: From Fang,; cf. AS. Fang a taking, booty, G. Fang. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
|---|---|
| black widow spider venom | Potent neurotoxin that induces catastrophic release of acetylcholine from presynaptic terminals of cholinergic chemical synapses. (18 Nov 1997) |
| venom | <chemical> A toxic secretion in animals that is actively delivered to the target organism, either to paralyse or incapacitate or else to cause pain as a defence mechanism. Commonly include protein and peptide toxins. (12 Jan 1998) |
| venom haemolysis | That caused by haemolytic material in the venom of various species of snakes or other venomous animals. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Russell's viper venom | A venom used as a coagulant in the arrest of haemorrhage from accessible sites in haemophilia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Russell's viper venom clotting time | A clotting time determination performed on citrated platelet-poor plasma using Russell's viper venom as an activating agent. This allows activation of factor X directly without the need for other coagulation factors and is used to confirm factor X defects. See: Stypven time test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cobra venom cofactor | <enzyme> A glycine-rich, heat-labile beta-glycoprotein found in blood. It is a proactivator of complement 3 in the alternate pathway of complement activation. Factor b is converted by factor d to c3 convertase. Registry number: EC 3.4.21.47 (12 Dec 1998) |
| cobra venom factor | A component of cobra venom that renders C3 proactivator (properdin factor B) susceptible to factor D of the properdin system, leading to activation of C3 and other components of complement and lysis of unsensitised erythrocytes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| crotalid venom | <herpetology> Venoms from snakes of the subfamily crotalinae or pit vipers, found mostly in the americas. They include the rattlesnake, cottonmouth, fer-de-lance, bushmaster, and american copperhead. Their venoms contain nontoxic proteins, cardio-, haemo-, cyto-, and neurotoxins, and many enzymes, especially phospholipases a. Many of the toxins have been characterised. (12 Dec 1998) |
| direct lytic factor of cobra venom | A polypeptide of 62 residues; action on cells is similar to that of melittin in that it promotes disruption of membranes; used as an investigational antirheumatic agent. Synonym: cobra toxin, direct lytic factor of cobra venom. (05 Mar 2000) |
| kokoi venom | A potent neurotoxin found in the frog Phyllobates bicolor; it is a nonprotein compound with a molecular weight of approximately 400, and is lethal in microgram quantities. (05 Mar 2000) |