B
- beta cell
- A type of cell in the endocrine pancreas that secretes the hormone insulin.
- bile
- A complex fluid secreted from the liver and its system of bile ducts into the small intestine.
- bile acids and bile salts
- Molecules derived from cholesterol and secreted into bile by liver cells.
- biliary
- Pertaining to bile, bile ducts and the gall bladder.
- bilirubin
- A metabollic waste product derived from the breakdown of heme (as from hemoglobin). Excreted from the body in bile.
- blastocyst
- A stage during early embryogenesis in mammals in which the embryo develops a fluid-filled interior and segregates into trophoblast and inner cell mass.
- bolus
- A mass of food ready to be swallowed or passing along the intestines. Used also by pharmacists to refer to large pills.
- borborygmus
- The "growling" sounds produced by propulsion of gas through the intestinal tract. Due to a pattern of motility called the migrating motor complex.
- bovine
- Pertaining to cattle.
- brown fat
- A type of adipose tissue involved in generating heat, especially in hybernating animals.
- brush border
- A term describing the microvillus-covered surface of small intestinal epithelial cells.
Last updated on 10/2/2004