| birdseed | <ornithology> Canary seed, hemp, millet or other small seeds used for feeding caged birds. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| birdseed agar | Media prepared from Guizottia abyssinica seeds used in culturing and in the presumptive diagnosis of Cryptococcus neoformans. (05 Mar 2000) |
| birefringence | <chemistry> Optical property of a material in which the refractive index is different for light polarized in one plane compared to the orthogonal plane. May arise from molecular organisation of the material (form birefringence.), alignment of molecules due to tension (stress birefringence.) or alignment of rod like particles in flow (flow birefringence). With crossed Nicoll prisms a birefringent material appears bright against a dark background. (19 Jan 1998) |
| birefringent | Refracting twice; splitting a ray of light in two. (05 Mar 2000) |
| birk | A birch tree. "The silver birk." See: Birch. <zoology> A small European minnow (Leuciscus phoxinus). Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| birnaviridae | A family of bisegmented, double-stranded RNA viruses causing infection in fish, mollusks, fowl, and drosophila. There are three genera: aquabirnavirus, avibirnavirus, and entomobirnavirus. Horizontal and vertical transmission occurs for all viruses. (12 Dec 1998) |
| birnaviridae infections | Virus diseases caused by the birnaviridae. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Birnavirus | A virus in the family Birnaviridae that includes infectious bursal disease virus of chickens and infectious pancreatic necrosis virus of fish. Origin: bi-+ RNA + virus (05 Mar 2000) |
| birotation | <chemistry> Name given to the phenomenon that occurs when glucose is dissolved in water. There is an equilibrium that is formed between the open-chain form and the alpha and beta pyranose forms. The beta is the most stable conformation because it puts the -OH in an equatorial position and thus most of the glucose in the aqueous solution is in the beta form. (09 Jan 1998) |
| birt | <zoology> A fish of the turbot kind; the brill. Alternative forms: burt, bret, or brut. Origin: OE. Byrte; cf. F. Bertonneau. Cf. Bret, Burt. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| birth | 1. The act or fact of coming into life, or of being born; generally applied to human beings; as, the birth of a son. 2. Lineage; extraction; descent; sometimes, high birth; noble extraction. "Elected without reference to birth, but solely for qualifications." (Prescott) 3. The condition to which a person is born; natural state or position; inherited disposition or tendency. "A foe by birth to Troy's unhappy name." (Dryden) 4. The act of bringing forth; as, she had two children at a birth. "At her next birth." 5. That which is born; that which is produced, whether animal or vegetable. "Poets are far rarer births that kings." (B. Jonson) "Others hatch their eggs and tend the birth till it is able to shift for itself." (Addison) 6. Origin; beginning; as, the birth of an empire. New birth, regeneration, or the commencement of a religious life. Synonym: Parentage, extraction, lineage, race, family. Origin: OE. Burth, birth, AS. Beor, gebyrd, fr. Beran to bear, bring forth; akin to D. Geboorate, OHG. Burt, giburt, G. Geburt, Icel. Burr, Skr. Bhrti bearing, supporting; cf. Ir. & Gael. Beirthe born, brought forth. 92. See 1st Bear, and cf. Berth. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| birth amputation | Amputation produced in utero; attributed to the pressure of constricting bands (amniotic); autosomal recessive inheritance. Synonym: amniotic amputation, amputation, birth amputation, intrauterine amputation, spontaneous amputation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| birth canal | Cavity of the uterus and vagina through which the foetus passes. Synonym: parturient canal. (05 Mar 2000) |
| birth certificates | Official certifications by a physician recording the individual's birth date, place of birth, parentage and other required identifying data which are filed with the local registrar of vital statistics. (12 Dec 1998) |
| birth control | Restriction of the number of offspring by means of contraceptive measures, projects, programs, or methods to control reproduction, by either improving or diminishing fertility. (05 Mar 2000) |