different between bleb vs bullae

English

Etymology

Possibly formed through mimesis, similarly to blob and blubber.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bl?b/
• Rhymes: -?b

Noun

bleb (plural blebs)

1. A bubble, such as in paint or glass.
2. (pathology) A large vesicle or bulla, usually containing a serous fluid.
   • 2008, Lin Her-Shyuan Lin, Adam C, Reynolds, 180: Filtering Blebs and Associated Problems, Frederick Hampton Roy, Frederick W. Fraunfelder, Frederick T. Fraunfelder (editors), Roy and Fraunfelder's Current Ocular Therapy, 6th Edition, page 340,

     Inflammation and scarring is a shared mechanism for chemical irritants, cryotherapy, laser thermotherapy, and autologous blood injection in the treatment of bleb dysesthesia, overfiltering blebs, and bleb leaks.

   • 2009, Anthony Wells, Tina Wong, Jonathan G. Crowston, 79: Tenon's Cyst Formation, Wound Healing, and Bleb Evaluation: Part A: Tenon's Cyst Formation and Management, Tarek M. Shaawary, Mark B. Sherwood, Roger A. Hitchings, Jonathan G. Drowston (editors), Glaucoma, Volume 2: Surgical Management, page 236,

     If the leak allows bulk flow of aqueous, the rest of the bleb can collapse, allowing apposition of the inflamed inner bleb walls, which are likely to adhere. If such adherence is over most or all of the bleb area, bleb failure is probably inevitable.

   • 2012, Gabriel Chong, Francisco Fantes, Paul F. Palmberg, 28: Late Complications of Glaucoma Surgery, Douglas J. Rhee (editor), Color Atlas and Synopsis of Clinical Ophthalmology, page 419,

     Use of intraoperative antimetabolites is a risk factor for the development of a bleb leak.

     The mechanism of a bleb leak is thought to be as follows. Ischemic blebs are stretched and surrounded by heavily scarred tissue, which limits the ability of the aqueous to flow beyond the scarred tissue. The bleb expands locally, producing a tractional hole when the tissue overreaches its maximal stretch.

3. (cytology) An irregular bulge in the plasma membrane of a cell undergoing apoptosis.
   • 2013, Louis Foucard, Xavier Espinet, Eduard Benet, Franck J. Vernerey, The Role of the Cortical Membrane in Cell Mechanics: Model and Simulation, Shaofan Li, Dong Qian (editors), Multiscale Simulations and Mechanics of Biological Materials, page 261,

     As the bleb grows (the growth time is on order of a minute), the actin cortex starts reassembling beneath the bleb membrane.
4. (geology) A bubble-like inclusion of one mineral within another.
   • 1974, George E. Stoertz, George E. Ericksen, Geology of Salars in Northern Chile, Geological Survey Professional Paper 811, page 32,

     Figure 23. […] The crust is underlain by silty sand, which is loosely cemented by a meshwork of gypsum crystals and contains blebs and small nodules of white ulexite (U).

Synonyms

• (bubble): blister, bubble
• (large vesicle): blister

Verb

bleb (third-person singular simple present blebs, present participle blebbing, simple past and past participle blebbed)

1. To form, or cause the formation of, blebs.

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.

English

Noun

bullae

1. plural of bulla

Latin

Noun

bullae

1. nominative plural of bulla
2. genitive singular of bulla
3. dative singular of bulla
4. vocative plural of bulla