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saline

saline

137 3.3
A mix of salt and water used in medicine to match the salt in body fluids
  • noun
  • /ˈseɪlaɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : suero fisiológico
  • The wound is irrigated 12 hours later and covered with a damp saline gauze dressing.
  • normal saline
  • 0.9% saline
  • physiological saline

Like how how a saline drip can mask performance enhancing drug.

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Examples

  • Let's give him another liter of normal saline and recheck hematocrit.

  • The saline is great for overall comfort.

  • Would you give saline or would you give blood saline?

  • Yeah, just give me like some saline or anything.

  • You need saline solution, not water.

  • And so my parents every day were giving him saline shots to make sure he was hydrated.

  • Specimens were kept moist with normal saline throughout preparation and testing.

    Academic text (1991)
  • I need more saline.

  • I need some saline.

  • The doctor prepared a saline solution to help rehydrate the patient after surgery.

Synonyms

saline solution
vssaline
  • Specialized
5 3.3

Salt water that doctors use to clean wounds or put into a vein to give fluid

is specifically made to match body fluid salt concentration
isotonic solution
vssaline
  • Specialized
4.9

A liquid with the same salt level as body fluids like blood so cells keep their normal shape

is a salt solution made to match body fluid concentration rather than describe pressure

Compounds

saline solution
  • Specialized
5 3.3

Salt water that doctors use to clean wounds or put into a vein to give fluid

How Salty

brine
17 3.6
saline
  • Specialized
137 3.3

Surface Forms

saline singular
salines plural

Morphology

saline = salt (semi-transparent) = sal + ine

The meaning 'salty' is clear, but the root appears as 'sal-' (a Latin combining form) rather than the modern English word 'salt', and the suffix '-ine' is a less familiar adjectival/chemical ending.

Etymology

Saline comes from an old Latin root sal that means 'salt'. So, as a noun, saline is literally 'salt water' used in medicine to clean wounds or give fluids into the body.