different between bleb vs foam

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

Etymology

From Middle English fome, fom, from Old English f?m, from Proto-Germanic *faimaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)poHy-m-os, from *(s)poH(y)- (“foam”). Cognate with German Feim (“foam”), Latin sp?ma (“foam”), Latin p?mex (“pumice”), Sanskrit ??? (phéna, “foam”), possibly Northern Kurdish fê (“epilepsy”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) enPR: f?m, IPA^(key): /fo?m/
• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: f?m, IPA^(key): /f??m/
• Rhymes: -??m

Noun

foam (countable and uncountable, plural foams)

1. A substance composed of a large collection of bubbles or their solidified remains.

2. A substance formed by trapping pockets of gas in a liquid or solid.

3. (by extension) Sea foam; (figuratively, poetic) the sea.

4. Fury.

Derived terms

• foamflower
• foaminess
• foamless
• foam rubber
• foamy
• shaving foam
• spray foam

Translations

Verb

foam (third-person singular simple present foams, present participle foaming, simple past and past participle foamed)

1. (intransitive) To form or emit foam.
   • c. 1606, William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, Act II, Scene 6, [1]

     […] And that is it

     Hath made me rig my navy; at whose burthen

     The anger'd ocean foams; with which I meant

     To scourge the ingratitude that despiteful Rome

     Cast on my noble father.

   • 1706, Isaac Watts, “The Day of Judgement,” lines 1-2, [2]

     When the fierce North-wind with his airy forces

     Rears up the Baltic to a foaming fury;

   • 1908, G. K. Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday, Chapter 8, [3]

     They were both silent for a measure of moments, and then Syme's speech came with a rush, like the sudden foaming of champagne.

2. (intransitive) To spew saliva as foam, to foam at the mouth.
   • c. 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 3, Act II, Scene 1, [4]

     […] to London will we march amain,

     And once again bestride our foaming steeds,

     And once again cry ‘Charge upon our foes!’

     But never once again turn back and fly.

   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Mark 9:17-18, [5]

     Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away.

   • 1748, John Cleland, Fanny Hill, Letter the First, Part 1, [6]

     But I was talking to the wind; for whether my tears, my attitude, or the disorder of my dress prov'd fresh incentives, or whether he was not under the dominion of desires he could not bridle, but snorting and foaming with lust and rage, he renews his attack, seizes me, and again attempts to extend and fix me on the settee […]

Derived terms

• foam at the mouth
• foamer
• foaming
• foam up

Translations