Canada balsam

A viscous, yellowish, transparent resin obtained from the balsam fir and used as a cement for glass lenses and for mounting specimens on microscopic slides.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Canada balsam

1. (Botany) a yellow transparent resin obtained from the balsam fir. Because its refractive index is similar to that of glass, it is used as an adhesive in optical devices and as a mounting medium for microscope specimens

2. (Plants) another name for balsam fir

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Can′ada bal′sam

a water-soluble resin obtained from the balsam fir, Abies balsamea, used as a cement for microscope slides and lenses.

[1810–20, Amer.]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	Canada balsam - yellow transparent exudate of the balsam fir; used as a transparent cement in optical devices (especially in microscopy) and as a mounting medium oleoresin - a naturally occurring mixture of a resin and an essential oil; obtained from certain plants
	2.	Canada balsam - medium-sized fir of northeastern North America; leaves smell of balsam when crushed; much used for pulpwood and Christmas trees Abies balsamea, balm of Gilead, balsam fir silver fir - any of various true firs having leaves white or silvery white beneath

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References in periodicals archive

About 41 specimens of genus Brueelia Keler (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) were collected from sixteen birds; mounted permanently in Canada balsam using standard methods.

A NEW HOST RECORD AND NEW SPECIES OF THE GENUS BRUEELIA KELER, 1936 (PHTHIRAPTERA: ISCHNOCERA: PHILOPTERIDAE) FROM ZEBRA FINCH (PASSERIFORMES: ESTRILDIDAE) FROM SINDH, PAKISTAN

Females are preserved in 70% etanol and the male was mounted on a permanent slide with Canada Balsam, following the procedure of Bravo (1996).

DESCRIPCION DEL MACHO DE LA MOSCA COPROFAGA PSYCHODA SERRAOROBONENSIS BRAVO, CORDEIRO & CHAGAS, 2006 (DIPTERA: PSYCHODIDAE)

Adult parasitoids that were considered to be possible new records were slide-mounted in Canada balsam or in Faure liquid, and deposited in the entomological collection of the University of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico (CAJAPE), or the Entomology Research Museum, University of California at Riverside, California, USA (UCRC).

Two new records of egg parasitoids for Dalbulus maidis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae): Ufens niger (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) and Anagrus nigriventris (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae)

Cestodes were stained in Carmine and mounted in Canada balsam for identification.

Distribution records for helminths of the red fox Vulpes vulpes from New Mexico

Something in the air: With notes of patchouli leaves, eucalyptus, Canada balsam and Siberian pine, Diptyque's Limited-Edition Sapin Dore Scented Candle transports you to the heart of a forest of golden spruce trees.

Emerald green, the color of 2013

Canada balsam was the traditional choice from the late 19th century through much of the 20th century.

French brass meets Yankee glass: restoring a historic telescope brings the author many rewards