limulus
Americannoun
plural
limulinoun
Etymology
Origin of limulus
First recorded in 1830–40; from New Latin Limulus, name of the genus, special use of Latin līmulus, from līm(us) “askew, aslant” + -ulus -ule
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.
The horseshoe crabs are valuable because their blood can be manufactured into limulus amebocyte lysate, or LAL, that is used to detect pathogens in indispensable medicines such as injectable antibiotics.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 30, 2023
Called the limulus amoebocyte lysate assay, this "gold standard of testing" relies on exposing the drug under investigation to horseshoe crabs' blood.
From US News • Jun. 30, 2011
However it works, the liquid crystal approach has a specific advantage over limulus amoebocyte lysate and similar tests: It does not require living organisms.
From US News • Jun. 30, 2011
He runs a small company that converts the crabs' blood into the limulus amoebocyte-lysate test used to detect contamination in drugs and other medical products.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is when confronted by the overwhelming signal of free molecules of endotoxin, evoking memories of vibrios in great numbers, that the limulus flies into panic, launches all his defenses at once, and destroys himself.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
