Aqueous humor

Aqueous humor
In medicine, humor refers to a fluid (or semifluid) substance. Thus, the aqueous humor is the fluid normally present in the front and rear chambers of the eye. It is a clear, watery fluid that flows between and nourishes the lens and the cornea; it is secreted by the ciliary processes. The humors were part of an ancient theory that health came from balance between the bodily liquids. These liquids were termed humors. Disease arose when imbalance occurred between the humors. The humors were: {{}}Phlegm (water) Blood Gall (black bile thought to be secreted by the kidneys and spleen) Choler (yellow bile secreted by the liver) This theory (which was variously called the humoral theory, humoralism, and humorism) was devised well before Hippocrates (c.460-c.375 BC). It was not definitively demolished until Rudolf Virchow published his formative book, Cellularpathologie, in 1858 that laid out the cellular basis of pathology. Present day pathology rests on a cellular and molecular foundation. The humors have been dispelled, except for the aqueous humor.

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aqueous humor n a transparent fluid occupying the space between the crystalline lens and the cornea of the eye

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humor aquosus [TA] the fluid produced in the eye, occupying the anterior and posterior chambers, and diffusing out of the eye into the blood via the canal of Schlemm. It supplies nutrients to the cornea and lens and maintains the intraocular pressure. Called also aqueous.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • Aqueous humor — Humor Hu mor, n. [OE. humour, OF. humor, umor, F. humeur, L. humor, umor, moisture, fluid, fr. humere, umere, to be moist. See {Humid}.] [Written also {humour}.] 1. Moisture, especially, the moisture or fluid of animal bodies, as the chyle, lymph …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Aqueous humor — Aqueous A que*ous, a. [Cf. F. aqueux, L. aquosus, fr. aqua. See {Aqua}, {Aquose}.] 1. Partaking of the nature of water, or abounding with it; watery. [1913 Webster] The aqueous vapor of the air. Tyndall. [1913 Webster] 2. Made from, or by means… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • aqueous humor — n. a watery fluid in the space between the cornea and the lens of the eye: see EYE …   English World dictionary

  • aqueous humor — noun the limpid fluid within the eyeball between the cornea and the lens • Syn: ↑aqueous humour • Hypernyms: ↑liquid body substance, ↑bodily fluid, ↑body fluid, ↑humor, ↑humour * * * ˌaqueous ˈhumour 7 …   Useful english dictionary

  • aqueous humor — The fluid in the anterior chamber of the eye; see vitreous humor …   Dictionary of invertebrate zoology

  • aqueous humor — noun Date: 1643 a transparent fluid occupying the space between the crystalline lens and the cornea of the eye …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • aqueous humor — Anat. the limpid watery fluid that fills the space between the cornea and the crystalline lens in the eye. [1635 45] * * * …   Universalium

  • aqueous humor —    Physically essential to sight, a clear, watery fluid found in the anterior chamber of the eye …   Glossary of Art Terms

  • aqueous humor — a′queous hu′mor n. oph the watery fluid between the cornea and the lens of the eye • Etymology: 1635–45 …   From formal English to slang

  • Aqueous — A que*ous, a. [Cf. F. aqueux, L. aquosus, fr. aqua. See {Aqua}, {Aquose}.] 1. Partaking of the nature of water, or abounding with it; watery. [1913 Webster] The aqueous vapor of the air. Tyndall. [1913 Webster] 2. Made from, or by means of, water …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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