bolus
/'bouləs/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A large pill, especially used in veterinary medicine: A single, solid dose of medication, typically spherical or oval, often given to animals.
- A small, round, soft mass, especially of chewed food: A rounded lump of a substance, particularly food that has been chewed and is ready to be swallowed.
Usage Examples
- Noun (Large Pill):
- The veterinarian administered a bolus to the horse.
- The antibiotic is available as a bolus for cattle.
- Noun (Soft Mass):
- He formed the chewed bread into a bolus before swallowing.
- The process of digestion begins when a bolus of food enters the stomach.
Advanced Usage
- Medical/Veterinary Context: In medicine, "bolus" can also refer to a single, relatively large volume of a substance (like a drug or contrast agent) given intravenously over a short period.
- The patient received an intravenous bolus of the pain medication.
- Technical/Scientific Context: Used in fields like radiology or pharmacology to describe a concentrated dose or a compact mass.
- A bolus of contrast material was injected for the CT scan.
Variants and Related Words
- Boli (n): Plural form of bolus (less common; "boluses" is more frequent).
- The vet prepared several boluses for the herd.
- Bolus Dose (n): A specific term in pharmacology for a single, large dose.
- The treatment started with a bolus dose.
Synonyms
- Pill: A small round mass of solid medicine.
- Tablet: A compressed solid dose of medicine.
- Wad: A small, soft mass of material (informal, for the "soft mass" sense).
- Lump: A compact mass of a substance.
Related Phrases/Idioms
(This word is highly technical/specific and does not commonly appear in idiomatic expressions or phrasal verbs.)
Noun
- a large pill; used especially in veterinary medicine
- a small round soft mass (as of chewed food)