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calcification

American  
[kal-suh-fi-key-shuhn] / ˌkæl sə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

  1. a changing into lime.

  2. Physiology. the deposition of lime or insoluble salts of calcium and magnesium, as in a tissue.

  3. Anatomy, Geology. a calcified formation.

  4. a soil process in which the surface soil is supplied with calcium in such a way that the soil colloids are always close to saturation.

  5. a hardening or solidifying; rigidity.

    As the conflict developed, there was an increasing calcification of attitudes on both sides.


calcification British  
/ ˌkælsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

  1. the process of calcifying or becoming calcified

  2. pathol a tissue hardened by deposition of lime salts

  3. any calcified object or formation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

calcification Scientific  
/ kăl′sə-fĭ-kāshən /
  1. Medicine

    1. The accumulation of calcium or calcium salts in a body tissue. Calcification normally occurs in the formation of bone, but can be deposited abnormally, as in the lungs.

    2. A structure that has undergone calcification.

  2. Geology

    1. The replacement of organic material, especially original hard material such as bone, with calcium carbonate during the process of fossilization.

    2. The accumulation of calcium in certain soils, especially soils of cool temperate regions where leaching takes place very slowly.


Etymology

Origin of calcification

First recorded in 1840–50; calcific + -ation

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Calcification is the process of deposition of mineral salts on the collagen fiber matrix that crystallizes and hardens the tissue.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Calcification and ossification of blood-vessels are frequent when the latter become dilated, as in aneurisms, whether these occur as circumscribed tumors or as a serpentine elongation and widening of the affected vessel.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

Calcification of the teeth begins at the seventeenth week of fœtal life.

From Degeneracy Its Causes, Signs and Results by Talbot, Eugene S.

Radiogram of Calcification and Ossification in Biceps and Triceps 418 112.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Thomson, Alexis

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