A state of matter similar to a suspension (insoluble particles of a substance suspended in a liquid). Particles in a suspension are large and heavy enough to be separated from the liquid in a centrifuge. A colloid has smaller, lighter particles that can only be separated out of a liquid by spinning at a very high speed. In medicine, plasma proteins are separated from blood and used in colloid preparations to treat shock.
Colloid also refers to the proteincontaining material in the thyroid gland.
A type of suspension, for instance milk, in which insoluble particles are suspended in a ?uid. In medical parlance a colloid preparation is one containing PLASMA proteins and is used to treat patients in SHOCK. The follicles of the thyroid gland also contain a colloid substance.
Gooey substances, usually proteins and starches, whose molecules can hold large amounts of a solvent (usually water) without dissolving. In lifeforms, virtually all fluids are held suspended in protein or starch colloids (hydrogels). (Examples: cell protoplasm, lime Jell-O.)
the distinctive appearance of a newborn baby that is covered in a shiny membrane, resembling plastic wrap. This is usually the presentation of an underlying chronic skin disorders such as *ichthyosis, although about 10% of colloidian babies have normal underlying skin.... colloidian baby
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