| / English Dictionary |
BULB
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A rounded part of a cylindrical instrument (usually at one end)
Example:
the bulb of a syringe
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("bulb" is a kind of...):
part; portion (something less than the whole of a human artifact)
Holonyms ("bulb" is a part of...):
mercury-in-glass thermometer; mercury thermometer (thermometer consisting of mercury contained in a bulb at the bottom of a graduated sealed glass capillary tube marked in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit; mercury expands with a rise in temperature causing a thin thread of mercury to rise in the tube)
syringe (a medical instrument used to inject or withdraw fluids)
Derivation:
bulbous (shaped like a bulb)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Electric lamp consisting of a transparent or translucent glass housing containing a wire filament (usually tungsten) that emits light when heated by electricity
Synonyms:
bulb; electric-light bulb; electric light; incandescent lamp; light bulb; lightbulb
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("bulb" is a kind of...):
electric lamp (a lamp powered by electricity)
Meronyms (parts of "bulb"):
filament (a thin wire (usually tungsten) that is heated white hot by the passage of an electric current)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A rounded dilation or expansion in a canal or vessel or organ
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("bulb" is a kind of...):
anatomical structure; bodily structure; body structure; complex body part; structure (a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing and its construction and arrangement)
Derivation:
bulbous (curving outward)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Lower or hindmost part of the brain; continuous with spinal cord; ('bulb' is an old term for medulla oblongata)
Example:
the medulla oblongata is the most vital part of the brain because it contains centers controlling breathing and heart functioning
Synonyms:
bulb; medulla; medulla oblongata
Classified under:
Nouns denoting body parts
Hypernyms ("bulb" is a kind of...):
neural structure (a structure that is part of the nervous system)
Meronyms (parts of "bulb"):
respiratory center (the center in the medulla oblongata and pons that integrates sensory information about the level of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood and determines the signals to be sent to the respiratory muscles)
Holonyms ("bulb" is a part of...):
brain-stem; brain stem; brainstem (the part of the brain continuous with the spinal cord and comprising the medulla oblongata and pons and midbrain and parts of the hypothalamus)
Derivation:
bulbar (involving the medulla oblongata)
Sense 5
Meaning:
A modified bud consisting of a thickened globular underground stem serving as a reproductive structure
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("bulb" is a kind of...):
stalk; stem (a slender or elongated structure that supports a plant or fungus or a plant part or plant organ)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bulb"):
onion (the bulb of an onion plant)
shallot (aggregate bulb of the multiplier onion)
squill (bulb of the sea squill, which is sliced, dried, and used as an expectorant)
bulbil; bulblet (small bulb or bulb-shaped growth arising from the leaf axil or in the place of flowers)
Derivation:
bulbaceous (producing or growing from bulbs)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Anything with a round shape resembling a teardrop
Classified under:
Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes
Hypernyms ("bulb" is a kind of...):
round shape (a shape that is curved and without sharp angles)
Derivation:
bulblike (shaped like a bulb)
Context examples:
An experimental concept that relates to the anterior region of the olfactory bulb.
(Anterior Olfactory Lobule, NCI Thesaurus)
A pipet consisting of a small tube with a vacuum bulb at one end for drawing liquid in and releasing it a drop at a time.
(Dropper, NCI Thesaurus)
Merkel cells are closely associated with an expanded terminal bulb of an afferent myelinated nerve fiber.
(Merkel cell, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
Their unmyelinated axons synapse in the olfactory bulb of the brain.
(Murine Olfactory Receptor Neurons, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
A portion of the urethra that extends between the apex of the prostate and the bulb of the corpus spongiosum and lies between the superior layers of the triangular ligament.
(Bulbomembranous Urethra, NCI Thesaurus)
A genus of gram-negative helical, curved, or straight microaerophilic bacteria with rounded ends and multiple sheathed flagella (unipolar or bipolar and lateral) with terminal bulbs.
(Helicobacter, NCI Thesaurus)
The hydrobromide salt form of galantamine, a tertiary alkaloid obtained synthetically or naturally from the bulbs and flowers of Narcissus and several other genera of the Amaryllidaceae family with anticholinesterase and neurocognitive-enhancing activities.
(Galantamine Hydrobromide, NCI Thesaurus)
The alcoholic extract of the bulb or whole garlic plant Allium sativum (Liliaceae) with potential antineoplastic activity.
(Garlic Extract, NCI Thesaurus)
A specialized, fusiform nerve cell with a large nucleus, embedded among the epithelial cells in the mucous membrane of the nose; it carries impulses from the olfactory receptors to the glomeruli in the olfactory bulb.
(Olfactory Receptor Cell, NCI Thesaurus)
Metoclopramide binds to dopamine 2 (D2) receptors in the peripheral nervous system (PNS), antagonizing dopamine-mediated relaxation of gastrointestinal smooth muscle and promoting gastroprokinesis; the pyloric sphincter and the duodenal bulb are relaxed, peristalsis of the duodenum and jejunum increase, and gastric emptying and intestinal transit accelerate.
(Metoclopramide Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)
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