lunar caustic

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lunar caustic

n.
Silver nitrate in the form of sticks used in cauterization.
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.

lunar caustic

n
(Elements & Compounds) silver nitrate fused into sticks, which were formerly used in cauterizing
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lu′nar caus′tic


n.
silver nitrate formed as a stick, used in medicine for cauterizing tissue.
[1790–1800]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.lunar caustic - silver nitrate fused into sticks and formerly used as a caustic
silver nitrate - a nitrate used in making photographic emulsions; also used in medicine as a cautery and as a topical antibacterial agent
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
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References in periodicals archive
Silver nitrate was historically often referred to as lunar caustic because of its crescent-shaped crystalline structure, and although undoubtedly caustic it has a very shallow action due to its being inactivated by sodium chloride which is present in normal human soft tissue at a concentration of some 0.9%.
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Lunar Caustic was based on his experiences in a New York psychiatric ward, where the writer admitted himself to dry out as well as research his story.
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