| capillary | <anatomy> Any one of the minute vessels that connect the arterioles and venules, forming a network in nearly all parts of the body. Their walls act as semipermeable membranes for the interchange of various substances, including fluids, between the blood and tissue fluid. Synonym: vas capillare. Origin: L. Capillaris = hair like (16 Dec 1997) |
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| capillary action | The phenomenon of a liquid such as water spontaneously creeping up thin tubes and fibres, this is caused by adhesive and cohesive forces and surface tension. (09 Oct 1997) |
| capillary angioma | <dermatology> Red or purple-coloured vascular skin markings that develop shortly after birth. Most are usually painless and benign and sharply demarcated from surrounding skin, usually located on the head and neck, and grow rapidly. It is caused by proliferation of immature capillary vessels in active stroma, and is usually present at birth or occurs within the first two or three months of life. Some lesions (cavernous haemangioma) will disappear or become harder to see as the child approaches school age. Localised steroid injections have been used successfully to reduce the size of a birthmark but generally they undergo spontaneous regression and involution without scarring and normally require no treatment. (07 Mar 2000) |
| capillary arteriole | A minute artery that terminates in a capillary. (05 Mar 2000) |
| capillary attraction | The force that causes fluids to rise up very fine tubes or through the pores of a loose material. (05 Mar 2000) |
| capillary bed | The capillaries considered collectively and their volume capacity for blood. (05 Mar 2000) |
| capillary circulation | The course of the blood through the capillaries. (05 Mar 2000) |
| capillary drainage | Drainage by means of a wick of gauze or other material. (05 Mar 2000) |
| capillary electrophoresis | A technique for separating compounds, a sample of a compound to beseparated is placed in a capillary tube, which is then subjected to ahigh voltage current that separates its chemical components. (09 Oct 1997) |
| capillary fracture | A fracture without separation of the fragments, the line of break being hairlike, as seen sometimes in the skull. Synonym: capillary fracture. (05 Mar 2000) |
| capillary fragility | The lack of resistance, or susceptibility, of capillaries to damage or disruption under conditions of increased stress. (12 Dec 1998) |
| capillary fragility test | A tourniquet test used to determine presence of vitamin C deficiency or thrombocytopenia; a circle 2.5 cm in diameter, the upper edge of which is 4 cm below the crease of the elbow, is drawn on the inner aspect of the forearm, pressure midway between the systolic and diastolic blood pressure is applied above the elbow for 15 minutes, and a count of petechiae within the circle is made: 10, normal; 10 to 20, marginal zone; over 20, abnormal. See: Rumpel-Leede test. Synonym: capillary resistance test, vitamin C test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| capillary fringe | A zone immediately above the water table in which water is drawn upward from the water table by capillary action. (09 Oct 1997) |
| capillary haemangioma | <dermatology> Red or purple-coloured vascular skin markings that develop shortly after birth. Most are usually painless and benign and sharply demarcated from surrounding skin, usually located on the head and neck, and grow rapidly. It is caused by proliferation of immature capillary vessels in active stroma, and is usually present at birth or occurs within the first two or three months of life. Some lesions (cavernous haemangioma) will disappear or become harder to see as the child approaches school age. Localised steroid injections have been used successfully to reduce the size of a birthmark but generally they undergo spontaneous regression and involution without scarring and normally require no treatment. (07 Mar 2000) |
| capillary lake | The total mass of blood contained in capillary vessels. (05 Mar 2000) |