ointment base

base (bās)

1. the lowest part or foundation of anything; see also basis.

2. the main ingredient of a compound.

3. in chemistry, a substance that combines with acids to form salts; a substance that dissociates to give hydroxide ions in aqueous solutions; a substance whose molecule or ion can combine with a proton (hydrogen ion); a substance capable of donating a pair of electrons (to an acid) for the formation of a coordinate covalent bond.

4. a unit of a removable dental prosthesis.

5. in genetics, a nucleotide, particularly one in a nucleic acid sequence.

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buffer base  the sum of all the buffer anions in the blood, used as an index of the degree of metabolic disturbance in the acid-base balance.

denture base  the material in which the teeth of a denture are set and which rests on the supporting tissues when the denture is in place in the mouth.

nitrogenous base  an aromatic, nitrogen-containing molecule that serves as a proton acceptor, e.g., purine or pyrimidine.

ointment base  a vehicle for the medicinal substances carried in an ointment.

purine bases  a group of chemical compounds of which purine is the base, including adenine, guanine, hypoxanthine, theobromine, uric acid, and xanthine.

pyrimidine bases  a group of chemical compounds of which pyrimidine is the base, including uracil, thymine, and cytosine.

record base  baseplate.

base of stapes  footplate.

temporary base , trial base baseplate.

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ointment base,

a vehicle for the medicinal substances carried in an ointment.