| matter, white | The part of the brain that contains myelinated nerve fibres. The white matter is white because it is the colour of myelin, the insulation covering the nerve fibres. The white matter is as opposed to the gray matter (the cortex of the brain which contains nerve cell bodies). (12 Dec 1998) |
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| May-White syndrome | <syndrome> Progressive myoclonus epilepsy with lipomas, deafness, and ataxia; probably a familial form of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Vincent's white mycetoma | Mycetoma caused by Actinomadura madurae and occurring in North Africa, India, the Argentine, and Cuba. (05 Mar 2000) |
| methylene white | The reduced and colourless form of methylene blue. Synonym: methylene white. (05 Mar 2000) |
| water-white | <botany> A vinelike plant (Vitis Caribaea) growing in parched districts in the West Indies, and containing a great amount of sap which is sometimes used for quenching thirst. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| white | 1. Reflecting to the eye all the rays of the spectrum combined; not tinted with any of the proper colours or their mixtures; having the colour of pure snow; snowy; the opposite of black or dark; as, white paper; a white skin. "Pearls white." "White as the whitest lily on a stream." (Longfellow) 2. Destitute of colour, as in the cheeks, or of the tinge of blood colour; pale; pallid; as, white with fear. "Or whispering with white lips, "The foe! They come! they come!"" (Byron) 3. Having the colour of purity; free from spot or blemish, or from guilt or pollution; innocent; pure. " White as thy fame, and as thy honor clear." (Dryden) "No whiter page than Addison's remains." (Pope) 4. Gray, as from age; having silvery hair; hoary. "Your high engendered battles 'gainst a head So old and white as this." (Shak) 5. Characterised by freedom from that which disturbs, and the like; fortunate; happy; favorable. "On the whole, however, the dominie reckoned this as one of the white days of his life." (Sir W. Scott) 6. Regarded with especial favor; favorite; darling. "Come forth, my white spouse." (Chaucer) "I am his white boy, and will not be gullet." (Ford) White is used in many self-explaining compounds, as white-backed, white-bearded, white-footed. White alder. A void space of the breadth of a line, on a printed page; a blank line. White meat. Any light-coloured flesh, especially of poultry. Food made from milk or eggs, as butter, cheese, etc. "Driving their cattle continually with them, and feeding only upon their milk and white meats." (Spenser) White merganser, the smew; so called from the white crest and the band of black feathers on the back of its head, which give the appearance of a hood. White oak. <botany> The opium-yielding poppy. See Poppy. White powder, a kind of gunpowder formerly believed to exist, and to have the power of exploding without noise. "A pistol charged with white powder." (Beau. & Fl) White precipitate. The willow warbler; so called from the colour of the under parts. Origin: OE. Whit, AS. Hwt; akin to OFries. And OS. Hwit, D. Wit, G. Weiss, OHG. Wiz, hwiz, Icel. Hvitr, Sw. Hvit, Dan. Hvid, Goth. Hweits, Lith. Szveisti, to make bright, Russ. Sviet' light, Skr. Vta white, vit to be bright. Cf. Wheat, Whitsunday. 1. The colour of pure snow; one of the natural colours of bodies, yet not strictly a colour, but a composition of all colours; the opposite of black; whiteness. See the Note under Colour. "Finely attired in a of white." (Shak) 2. Something having the colour of snow; something white, or nearly so; as, the white of the eye. 3. Specifically, the central part of the butt in archery, which was formerly painted white; the center of a mark at which a missile is shot. "'T was I won the wager, though you hit the white." (Shak) 4. A person with a white skin; a member of the white, or Caucasian, races of men. 5. A white pigment; as, Venice white. 6. <zoology> Any one of numerous species of butterflies belonging to Pieris, and allied genera in which the colour is usually white. See Cabbage butterfly, under Cabbage. Black and white. See Black. Flake white, Paris white, etc. See Flack, Paris, etc. <botany> White of a seed, the white part of the ball of the eye surrounding the transparent cornea. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| white arsenic | As2O3;dissolves in water to give arsenous acid, H3AsO3; used in the treatment of skin diseases and malaria, and as a tonic; also used externally as a caustic. Synonym: arsenous oxide, white arsenic. (05 Mar 2000) |
| white beeswax | Yellow wax bleached by being rolled very thin and exposed to the light and air, or bleached by chemical oxidants; same uses as yellow wax. Synonym: bleached wax, white beeswax. (05 Mar 2000) |
| white bile | Designating the relatively clear, almost colourless, clear viscid fluid that occurs in the gallbladder, intestines, or both as a result of obstruction of the bile ducts in various sites; actually the secretion of the mucous membrane, without the usual colour resulting from bile pigments. Synonym: leukobilin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| white blood cell | <haematology> White corpuscles in the blood. They are spherical, colourless and nucleated masses involved with host defenses. Normal white blood cell counts are variable with age and sex. Normal adult range is 4, 500 to 11,000 cells per cubic millimetre of blood. Slightly higher counts are seen in children. Elevated counts can be seen in cases of inflammation and infection. See: leucocytes, basophils, coelomocytes, eosinophils, haemocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils, monocytes. Acronym: WBC (13 Nov 1997) |
| white blood cell cast | A urinary cast composed of polymorphonuclear leukocytes, characteristic of tubulointerstitial disease, especially pyelonephritis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| white blood cell count | <haematology> A laboratory test which measures the number of white blood cells per cubic millimetre of blood. Normal white blood cell counts are variable with age and sex. Normal adult range is 4, 500 to 11,000 cells per cubic millimetre of blood. Slightly higher counts are seen in children. Elevated counts can be seen in cases of inflammation and infection. (13 Nov 1997) |
| white blood cell differential | <haematology> The white blood cell differential is a percentage of each type of white blood cell based on a count of 100 white cells. A change in the white blood cell type (to neutrophils or bands) can indicate a bacterial infection. Neutrophils, bands, lymphocytes, monocytes, basophils and eosinophils are all included. (13 Nov 1997) |
| white blood cells | White blood cells (WBCs) are cells which circulate in the blood and lymphatic system and harbor in the lymph glands and spleen. They are part of the immune system responsible for both directly (t cells and macrophages) and indirectly (B-cells producing antibodies) attacking foreign invaders of the body. (12 Dec 1998) |
| white cell cast | A cast in the urine composed of white blood cells. (05 Mar 2000) |