| black plague | In 14th-century Europe, the victims of the black plague had bleeding below the skin (subcutaneous haemorrhage) which made darkened ( blackened ) their bodies. Black plague can lead to black death characterised by gangrene of the fingers, toes, and nose. Black plague is caused by a bacterium (Yersinia pestis) which is transmitted to humans from infected rats by the oriental rat flea. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| black pudding | A kind of sausage made of blood, suet, etc, thickened with meal. "And fat black puddings, proper food, For warriors that delight in blood." (Hudibras) Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| black root | <botany> Dried rhizome and roots of Veronicastrum virginicum (family Serophulariaceae). Indigenous to North America. Formerly used as a cathartic. Synonym: black root, Culver's root. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Black's classification | A classification of cavities of the teeth based upon the tooth surface(s) involved. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Black's formula | A translation of Pignet's formula into British measurements: F = (W + C) -H; F is the empirical factor, W is the weight in pounds, C the chest girth in inches at full inspiration, and H the height in inches; a man is classed as very strong when F is over 120, strong between 110 and 120, good 100 to 110, fair 90 to 100, weak 80 to 90, very weak under 80. (05 Mar 2000) |
| black sickness | A chronic disease, occurring in India, Assam, China, the area formerly known as the Mediterranean littoral areas, the Middle East, India, Pakistan, China, South and Central America, Asia, Africa caused by Leishmania donovani and transmitted by the bite of an appropriate species of sandfly of the genus Phlebotomus or Lutzomyia; the organisms grow and multiply in macrophages, eventually causing them to burst and liberate amastigote parasites which then invade other macrophages; proliferation of macrophages in the bone marrow causes crowding out of erythroid and myeloid elements, resulting in leukopenia, and anaemia, splenomegaly, and hepatomegaly which are characteristic, along with enlargement of lymph nodes; fever, fatigue, malaise, and secondary infections also occur; different strains of leishmaniasis donovani occur; leishmaniasis infantum in Eurasia, leishmaniasis chagasi in Latin America. Synonym: Assam fever, black sickness, Burdwan fever, cachectic fever, Dumdum fever, kala azar, tropical splenomegaly. (05 Mar 2000) |
| black smoker | An undersea thermal vent emitting very hot (270-380 degrees C) water and minerals. (09 Oct 1997) |
| black spore | A degenerating malarial or other blood parasite in the body of the mosquito. (05 Mar 2000) |
| black tarantula | Sericopelma communis, a large black tarantula of Panama and the Canal Zone, whose bite is poisonous, although the effect is localised. (05 Mar 2000) |
| black tongue | In canines, a disorder associated with a deficency of nicotinic acid. Black to yellowish brown discoloration of the dorsum of the tongue due to staining by exogenous material such as the components of tobacco; usually superimposed on hairy tongue. Synonym: lingua nigra, melanoglossia, nigrities linguae. (05 Mar 2000) |
| black-tongue disease | A disease of dogs similar to human pellagra and due to niacin deficiency. (05 Mar 2000) |
| black urine | The dark urine of melanuria or haemoglobinuria. (05 Mar 2000) |
| black vomit | <medicine> A copious vomiting of dark-coloured matter; or the substance so discharged; one of the most fatal symptoms in yellow fever. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| black widow spider | A venomous new world spider with an hourglass-shaped red mark on the abdomen. (12 Dec 1998) |
| black widow spider venom | Potent neurotoxin that induces catastrophic release of acetylcholine from presynaptic terminals of cholinergic chemical synapses. (18 Nov 1997) |