| black bass | <zoology> 1. An edible, fresh water fish of the United States, of the genus Micropterus. The small-mouthed kind is M. Dolomiei; the largemouthed is M. Salmoides. 2. The sea bass. See Blackfish. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| black book | 1. One of several books of a political character, published at different times and for different purposes; so called either from the colour of the binding, or from the character of the contents. 2. A book compiled in the twelfth century, containing a description of the court of exchequer of England, an official statement of the revenues of the crown, etc. 3. A book containing details of the enormities practiced in the English monasteries and religious houses, compiled by order of their visitors under Henry VIII, to hasten their dissolution. 4. A book of admiralty law, of the highest authority, compiled in the reign of Edw. III. 5. A book kept for the purpose of registering the names of persons liable to censure or punishment, as in the English universities, or the English armies. 6. Any book which treats of necromancy. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| black box | (Jargon) descriptive of a method of reasoning or studying a problem, in which the methods and procedures, as such, are not described, explained, or perhaps even understood: conclusions relate solely to the empirical relationships observed, in some contexts, the term can mean a piece of apparatus or an experimental animal in which the pharmacologic or toxicologic pathway has not yet been worked out. CAAT box, a sequence of nucleotides found in a conserved region of DNA located "upstream" (5' direction) of the start points of eukaryotic transcription units; specific transcription factors appear to associate with it; found in many promoters at -75 bp with the consensus sequence: GG(T/C)CAATCT. Fracture box, an obsolete means of supporting a fractured leg, consisting of a container with only bottom and sides. (05 Mar 2000) |
| black cataract | A cataract in which the lens is hardened and of a dark brown colour. In the 19th century, German black cataract meant gutta severa (q.v.). Synonym: cataracta brunescens, cataracta nigra. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Black Death | <disease, organism> Yersinina pestis is a gram-negative, rod-shaped, faculatively anaerobic bacterial species in the family Enterobacteriaceae. It causes bubonic plaque, which is transmitted by rodent fleas. Historically known as the Black Plague, this disease devastated Europe and Asia in the 1300s. It still exists today and is characterised by sudden high fever, chills, excessively swollen and tender lymph nodes (buboes), followed by tissue bleeding and gangrene. Other complications include pneumonia and septicaemia. (12 Nov 1997) |
| black disease | A disease of sheep caused by the bacterium Clostridium novyi, which invades livers damaged by the fluke Fasciola hepatica and causes severe necrosis and death; this disease occurs in nearly all parts of the world, including the U.S. Sometimes called black disease because of the extensive haemorrhages seen on the inner surface of the pelt when it is removed. Synonym: black disease. (05 Mar 2000) |
| black-dot ringworm | Tinea capitis due most commonly to Trichophyton tonsurans or T. Violaceum. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Black, Douglas | <person> Scottish physician, *1909. See: Black's formula. (05 Mar 2000) |
| black eye | Ecchymosis of the lids and their surroundings. (05 Mar 2000) |
| black fever | An acute tick-borne illness caused by the bacteria Rickettsia rickettsii. The disease is characterised by sudden onset of headache, chills and fever which can persist for 2-3 weeks. A characteristic rash appears on the extremities and trunk about the 4th day of illness. (27 Sep 1997) |
| black friar | A friar of the Dominican order; called also predicant and preaching friar; in France, Jacobin. Also, sometimes, a Benedictine. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| Black, Greene | <person> U.S. Dentist, 1836-1915. See: Black's classification. (05 Mar 2000) |
| black-hearted | Having a wicked, malignant disposition; morally bad. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| black heel | Traumatic haemorrhage into the stratum corneum of the heel which may persist for several weeks as centrally confluent black dots. Synonym: black heel. (05 Mar 2000) |
| black hole | A dungeon or dark cell in a prison; a military lock-up or guardroom; now commonly with allusion to the cell (the Black Hole) in a fort at Calcutta, into which 146 English prisoners were thrust by the nabob Suraja Dowla on the night of June 20, 17656, and in which 123 of the prisoners died before morning from lack of air. "A discipline of unlimited autocracy, upheld by rods, and ferules, and the black hole." (H. Spencer) Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |