| Ayre brush | A device, consisting of a long flexible tube with a brush at the distal end, for collecting gastric mucosal cells in cancer detection studies; after positioning in the stomach the brush is rotated and "sweeps" cells from the mucosa. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| bronchoscopic brush | A small brush for insertion through a bronchoscope to wipe off cells for microscopic identification in suspected bronchial carcinoma. (05 Mar 2000) |
| brush | 1. An instrument composed of bristles, or other like material, set in a suitable back or handle, as of wood, bone, or ivory, and used for various purposes, as in removing dust from clothes, laying on colours, etc. Brushes have different shapes and names according to their use; as, clothes brush, paint brush, tooth brush, etc. 2. The bushy tail of a fox. 3. <zoology> A tuft of hair on the mandibles. 4. Branches of trees lopped off; brushwood. 5. A thicket of shrubs or small trees; the shrubs and small trees in a wood; underbrush. 6. <physics> A bundle of flexible wires or thin plates of metal, used to conduct an electrical current to or from the commutator of a dynamo, electric motor, or similar apparatus. 7. The act of brushing; as, to give one's clothes a brush; a rubbing or grazing with a quick motion; a light touch; as, we got a brush from the wheel as it passed. "[As leaves] have with one winter's brush Fell from their boughts." (Shak) 8. A skirmish; a slight encounter; a shock or collision; as, to have a brush with an enemy. "Let grow thy sinews till their knots be strong, And tempt not yet the brushes of the war." (Shak) 9. A short contest, or trial, of speed. "Let us enjoy a brush across the country." (Cornhill Mag) Electrical brush, a form of the electric discharge characterised by a brushlike appearance of luminous rays diverging from an electrified body. Origin: OE. Brusche, OF. Broche, broce, brosse, brushwood, F. Brosse brush, LL. Brustia, bruscia, fr. OHG. Brusta, brust, bristle, G. Borste bristle, burste brush. See Bristle, and cf. Browse. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| brush biopsy | Biopsy obtained by passing a bristled catheter into the ureter or pyelocalyceal system to remove cells from suspected areas of disease by entrapping them in the bristles. (05 Mar 2000) |
| brush border | <pathology> The densely packed microvilli on the apical surface of, for example: intestinal epithelial cells. (18 Nov 1997) |
| brush burn | A burn caused by friction of a rapidly moving object against the skin or ground into the skin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| brush catheter | A ureteral catheter with a finely bristled brush tip that is endoscopically passed into the ureter or renal pelvis and by gentle to-and-fro movement brushes cells from the surface of suspected tumours. (05 Mar 2000) |
| brush habitat | <ecology> Includes a wide variety of plant and animal life dominated by and associated with coastal scrub and chaparral. (09 Oct 1997) |
| brush heap structure | Haphazard interlocking of fibrils in a gel or hydrocolloid impression material. (05 Mar 2000) |
| brush layering | <ecology> Placing horizontal layers of tree branches or twigs in a gully or along a slope and then partially covering the branches with soil, the branches act to hold the soil in place and to absorb momentum from water flowing over the area. (09 Oct 1997) |
| brush turkey | <zoology> A large, edible, gregarious bird of Australia (Talegalla Lathami) of the family Megapodidae. Also applied to several allied species of new Guinea. The brush turkeys live in the "brush," and construct a common nest by collecting a large heap of decaying vegetable matter, which generates heat sufficient to hatch the numerous eggs (sometimes half a bushel) deposited in it by the females of the flock. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| polishing brush | A brush usually mounted in a rotating instrument, used to polish teeth or artificial replacements. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cytology brush | A small brush which is used to collect cells during the course of a biopsy. (09 Oct 1997) |
| end-brush | An anomalous term that refers to the terminal arborization of an axon. Synonym: end-brush. Origin: G. Telos, end, + dendron, tree (05 Mar 2000) |
| Kruse's brush | A bunch of fine platinum wires attached to a holder; used in bacteriological work to spread material over the surface of a culture medium. (05 Mar 2000) |