crystalloid

American  

[kris-tl-oid] / ˈkrɪs tlˌɔɪd /

noun

1. a usually crystallizable substance that, when dissolved in a liquid, will diffuse readily through vegetable or animal membranes.

2. Botany. one of certain minute crystallike granules of protein, found in the tissues of various seeds.

---

adjective

1. resembling a crystal.

2. of the nature of a crystalloid.

crystalloid British  

/ ˈkrɪstəˌlɔɪd /

adjective

1. resembling or having the appearance or properties of a crystal or crystalloid

---

noun

1. a substance that in solution can pass through a semipermeable membrane Compare colloid

2. botany any of numerous crystals of protein occurring in certain seeds and other storage organs

Other Word Forms

• crystalloidal adjective

Etymology

Origin of crystalloid

From the Greek word krystalloeidḗs, dating back to 1860–65. See crystall-, -oid

Example Sentences

On the results of his examination of the phenomena of diffusion of liquids and salts across porous membranes or septa, Graham founded a method of separating colloid from crystalloid bodies, which he called dialysis.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 1: Deposition to Eberswalde by Various

Dialysis, the process of separating the crystalloid or poisonous ingredients in a substance from the colloid or harmless ingredients.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin

Osmosis not a Sufficient Cause.—The passage of materials through animal membranes, according to the principle of osmosis, is limited to crystalloid substances.

From Physiology and Hygiene for Secondary Schools by Walters, Francis M.

Crystallization.—When we evaporate a solution of a crystalloid it becomes more concentrated, slow movements of diffusion are set up, and at a given moment agglomeration occurs, the agglomerates taking the form of crystals.

From The Mechanism of Life by Leduc, Stéphane

He proved that a colloidal substance acts towards a crystalloid much as water does; that the crystalloid rapidly diffuses through the colloid, but that colloids are not themselves capable of diffusing through other colloids.

From Heroes of Science Chemists by Muir, M. M. Pattison (Matthew Moncrieff Pattison)