Definition of Caries
1. Noun. Soft decayed area in a tooth; progressive decay can lead to the death of a tooth.
Definition of Caries
1. n. Ulceration of bone; a process in which bone disintegrates and is carried away piecemeal, as distinguished from necrosis, in which it dies in masses.
Definition of Caries
1. tooth decay [n CARIES] : CARIED [adj]
Medical Definition of Caries
1.
1. The molecular decay or death of a bone, in which it becomes softened, discoloured and porous.
It produces a chronic inflammation of the periosteum and surrounding tissues and forms a cold abscess filled with a cheesy, fetid, puslike liquid, which generally burrows through the soft parts until it opens externally by a sinus or fistula.
2. Another name for cavities due to tooth decay, dental caries.
This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology
(11 Mar 2008)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Caries
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