plasm
/'plæzm/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- The colorless liquid part of blood or lymph: This is the fluid component of blood or lymph that carries cells and other substances throughout the body. It is cell-free but contains proteins, nutrients, and waste products.
- The living material of a cell: This refers to the protoplasm, especially of germ cells (like eggs and sperm), which contains the genetic material (chromosomes and genes).
Usage Examples
- Noun (Biological Fluid):
- Blood plasma, a type of plasm, is essential for transporting hormones and nutrients.
- The doctor analyzed the plasm to check for antibodies.
- Noun (Cellular Material):
- The study focused on the plasm of reproductive cells.
- Genetic information is contained within the germ plasm.
Advanced Usage
- "Germ plasm": A specialized term referring specifically to the protoplasm of germ cells, which carries hereditary material.
- The theory of germ plasm continuity was important in early genetics.
- In a broader, sometimes poetic or archaic sense, "plasm" can be used to refer to a moldable or formative substance, drawing from its Greek root meaning "something molded."
Variants and Related Words
- Plasma (n): The more common modern spelling for the fluid part of blood (blood plasma) or the ionized state of matter. "Plasm" and "plasma" are often used interchangeably for the biological fluid, but "plasma" is standard in medical contexts.
- She donated plasma at the blood bank.
- Protoplasm (n): The living content of a cell, often used synonymously with the second meaning of "plasm."
- The protoplasm of the amoeba flowed into a new shape.
- Cytoplasm (n): The material within a living cell, excluding the nucleus.
- Organelles are suspended in the cytoplasm.
Synonyms
- Serum: The fluid part of blood after coagulation, similar to plasma but without clotting factors.
- Lymph: A clear fluid similar to plasma that circulates in the lymphatic system.
- Protoplasm: The living substance within a cell.
Related Phrases
- Blood plasm: The specific plasm found in blood.
- A centrifuge separates blood cells from the blood plasm.
- Germ plasm theory: A biological concept about the continuity of hereditary material.
- Weismann's germ plasm theory distinguished between somatic and germ cells.
Related Idioms
Noun
- the colorless watery fluid of the blood and lymph that contains no cells, but in which the blood cells (erythrocytes, leukocytes, and thrombocytes) are suspended
- the protoplasm of the germ cells that contains chromosomes and genes