Serum
Serum (sē"rum) , noun
[Latin, akin to Greek {not transcribed}, Sanskrit sāra curd.]
(a)
(Physiology) The watery portion of certain animal fluids, as blood, milk, etc.
(b)
(Physiology) A thin watery fluid, containing more or less albumin, secreted by the serous membranes of the body, such as the pericardium and peritoneum.
Collocations (5)
Blood serum , the pale yellowish fluid which exudes from the clot formed in the coagulation of the blood; the liquid portion of the blood, after removal of the blood corpuscles and the fibrin.
Muscle serum , the thin watery fluid which separates from the muscles after coagulation of the muscle plasma; the watery portion of the plasma. See Muscle plasma, under Plasma.
Serum albumin (Physiology Chemistry) , an albuminous body, closely related to egg albumin, present in nearly all serous fluids; esp., the albumin of blood serum.
Serum globulin (Physiology Chemistry) , paraglobulin.
Serum of milk (Physiology Chemistry) , the whey, or fluid portion of milk, remaining after removal of the casein and fat.