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blood bank

(Encyclopedia)blood bank, site or mobile unit for collecting, processing, typing, and storing whole blood, blood plasma and other blood constituents. Most hospitals maintain their own blood reserves, and the Americ...

blood

(Encyclopedia)blood, fluid pumped by the heart that circulates throughout the body via the arteries, veins, and capillaries (see circulatory system; heart). An adult male of average size normally has about 6 quarts...

blood transfusion

(Encyclopedia)blood transfusion, transfer of blood from one person to another, or from one animal to another of the same species. Transfusions are performed to replace a substantial loss of blood and as supportive ...

dragon's blood

(Encyclopedia)dragon's blood, name for a red resin obtained from a number of different plants. It was held by early Greeks, Romans, and Arabs to have medicinal properties; Dioscorides and other early writers descri...

Blood Blackfoot

(Encyclopedia)Blood Blackfoot: see Blackfoot.

blood clotting

(Encyclopedia)blood clotting, process by which the blood coagulates to form solid masses, or clots. In minor injuries, small oval bodies called platelets, or thrombocytes, tend to collect and form plugs in blood ve...

blood count

(Encyclopedia)blood count, method for determining the number of red (erythrocytes) and white (leukocytes) blood cells in a certain volume of blood. This test can be used as a preliminary step in diagnosing some dis...

blood feud

(Encyclopedia)blood feud: see vendetta.

blood groups

(Encyclopedia)blood groups, differentiation of blood by type, classified according to immunological (antigenic) properties, which are determined by specific substances on the surface of red blood cells. Blood group...

blood poisoning

(Encyclopedia)blood poisoning: see septicemia. ...