plasma

[ plaz-muh ]

noun

1. Anatomy, Physiology. the liquid part of blood or lymph, as distinguished from the suspended elements.
2. Cell Biology. cytoplasm.
3. whey.
4. a green, faintly translucent chalcedony.
5. Physics. a highly ionized gas containing an approximately equal number of positive ions and electrons.

plasma

/ ˈplæzmə; plæzˈmætɪk /

noun

1. the clear yellowish fluid portion of blood or lymph in which the red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are suspended
2. short for blood plasma
3. a former name for protoplasm cytoplasm
4. physics
   1. a hot ionized material consisting of nuclei and electrons. It is sometimes regarded as a fourth state of matter and is the material present in the sun, most stars, and fusion reactors
   2. the ionized gas in an electric discharge or spark, containing positive ions and electrons and a small number of negative ions together with un-ionized material
5. a green slightly translucent variety of chalcedony, used as a gemstone
6. a less common term for whey

plasma

/ plăz′mə /

1. See blood plasma
2. Protoplasm or cytoplasm.
3. One of four main states of matter , similar to a gas, but consisting of positively charged ions with most or all of their detached electrons moving freely about. Plasmas are produced by very high temperatures, as in the Sun and other stars, and also by the ionization resulting from exposure to an electric current, as in a fluorescent light bulb or a neon sign.
4. See more at state of matter

plasma

¹

1. A state of matter in which some or all of the electrons have been torn from their parent atoms . The negatively charged electrons and positively charged ions move independently.

plasma

²

1. The liquid part of blood or lymph . Blood plasma is mainly water; it also contains gas es, nutrients, and hormones . The red blood cells , white blood cells , and platelets are all suspended in the plasma of the blood.

Notes

Plasmas are usually associated with very high temperatures — most of the sun is a plasma, for example.

Derived Forms

• plasmatic, adjective

Other Words From

• plas·mat·ic [plaz-, mat, -ik], plasmic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of plasma¹

First recorded in 1705–15; from Late Latin, from Greek plásma “formed, molded (thing),” akin to plássein “to form, mold”; plastic

Word History and Origins

Origin of plasma¹

C18: from Late Latin: something moulded, from Greek, from plassein to mould

Example Sentences

In the 1970s, a new treatment using donated human blood plasma was developed to replace these clotting agents.

From BBC

This was much harder to administer, but was made from the blood plasma of a single donor, lowering the infection risk.

From BBC

Sam's father Gary was one of more than 1,200 people infected with HIV as part of the infected blood scandal, most after being given a drug made from US blood plasma in the late 1970s and 1980s.

From BBC

In the early 1980s, the UK could not keep up with demand for Factor VIII, which was made by pooling - or mixing - the blood plasma of thousands of individual donors.

From BBC

In the UK, blood donations have always been voluntary, but in the US, drug companies were allowed to pay cash for plasma.

From BBC

Related Words

• beef
• fat
• meat
• muscle