pearl
[perl] 1. a smooth lustrous deposit found in certain mollusks, valued as a gem.
2. something resembling this structure, either because of being round and hard or because of being considered valuable.
3. a small medicated granule, or a glass globule with a single dose of volatile medicine, as amyl nitrite.
4. a rounded mass of tough sputum, as seen in the early stages of an attack of
asthma.
clinical pearl a short, straightforward piece of clinical advice.
epidermic p's (epithelial p's) rounded concentric masses of epithelial cells found in certain papillomas and epitheliomas.
Laënnec's p's soft casts of the smaller bronchial tubes expectorated in bronchial asthma; see also
Curschmann's spirals.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.