Category: B

  • Bleeding point

    A place in the body where bleeding is taking place.  

  • Bleeder

    A blood vessel which bleeds during surgery. A person who has haemophilia (informal). A colloquial term for one whose ability to coagulate blood is either deficient or absent, so that small cuts and injuries lead to prolonged bleeding. A person with hemophilia experiences a condition where their blood is unable to clot properly.  

  • Blastomyces

    A type of parasitic fungus which affects the skin. A genus of yeast like budding fungi pathogenic to humans. At room temperature these fungi grow in a moldlike mycelial form, and at body temperature in a yeast like form.  

  • Blast injury

    A severe injury to the chest following a blast. An injury sustained as a result of an explosion. A blast injury primarily results from internal organ damage caused by a pressure wave in the atmosphere extending outward from the explosion. It can also produce secondary shrapnel injuries and burns. Tissue harm occurs as a consequence…

  • Bland

    Referring to food which is not spicy, irritating or acid.  

  • Blalock’s operation

    A surgical operation to connect the pulmonary artery to the subclavian artery, in order to increase blood flow to the lungs of someone who has tetralogy of Fallot.  

  • Black heel

    A haemorrhage inside the heel, characterized by black spots. Subcutaneous bleeding into the skin behind the calcaneus typically caused by repetitive trauma, for example, in runners or other athletes.  

  • Black eye

    Bruising and swelling of the tissues round an eye, usually caused by a blow. Bluish discoloration around the eye resulting from damage to the tissues and clotting of blood under the skin; a bruise about the eye socket. Bruising, discoloration, and swelling of the eyelid and tissue around the eye due to trauma. Periorbital ecchymosis,…

  • Bivalve

    An organ which has two valves.  

  • Bite wing

    A holder for dental X-ray film, which a person clenches between the teeth, so allowing an X-ray of both upper and lower teeth to be taken. A dental X-ray film that is held between the clenched teeth and provides a close-up view of the surface of the teeth to show minute carious cavities.