poison: Role of tissue blood flow: The rate at which a chemical accumulates in a particular tissue is influenced by the blood flow to that tissue. The well-perfused organs—i.e., organs that receive a rich blood supply relative to organ weight—include major organs like the liver, brain, and kidney. A…

blood fluke, any of certain parasitic flatworms that live in the veins of the host organism. See

blood group, classification of blood based on inherited differences (polymorphisms) in antigens on the surfaces of the red blood cells (erythrocytes). Inherited differences of white blood cells (leukocytes), platelets (thrombocytes), and plasma proteins also constitute blood groups, but they are

Walter Mosley: … (2014), Charcoal Joe (2016), and Blood Grove (2021).

Athol Fugard: …Plays, 1977), but it was The Blood Knot (1963), produced for stage (1961) and television (1967) in both London and New York City, that established his reputation. The Blood Knot, dealing with brothers who fall on opposite sides of the racial color line, was the first in a sequence Fugard…

blood libel, the antisemitic accusation that Jews ritually sacrifice Christian children at Passover to obtain blood for unleavened bread. The earliest distinct instance of the blood libel emerged in medieval Europe in the 12th century with the case of a murdered English boy, William of Norwich.

Cape tulip, any plant of the genus Haemanthus of the family Amaryllidaceae, consisting of about 50 species of ornamental South African herbs. Most species have dense clusters of red flowers and broad, blunt leaves that are grouped at the base of the plant. A few species have white flowers. Some

Blood Meridian, western novel by Cormac McCarthy, published in 1985. Bleak, violent, and uncompromisingly unsentimental, it is widely considered to be McCarthy’s masterpiece. “See the child,” orders the narrator at the beginning of Blood Meridian. Following this initial focus on a character that is

blood money, compensation paid by an offender (usually a murderer) or his kin group to the kin group of the victim. In many societies blood money functions to prevent the continuation of hostilities in the form of a feud (q.v.). Some customs allow the injured party the choice of punishing the

Jean Cocteau: Influence of Radiguet: …creation of his first film, Le Sang d’un poète, a commentary on his own private mythology; the themes that then seemed obscure or shocking seem today less private and more universal because they have appeared in other works. Also in the early 1930s Cocteau wrote what is usually thought to…

Black horror: History of Black horror: …another early Black horror film, The Blood of Jesus (1941). In this film, a newlywed woman is accidentally shot by her husband; after dying of her injury, she must resist the influence of the devil. In 1991 The Blood of Jesus was inducted into the National Film Registry, a list…

Jo Nesbø: Other works: Blod på snø (2015; Blood on Snow) and Mere blod (2015; Midnight Sun) are linked crime thrillers set in 1970s Norway. Macbeth (2018), a retelling of Shakespeare’s classic play, was written for the Hogarth Shakespeare series. In Natthuset (2023; The Night House) Nesbø adapts classic horror film

Robert Wise: Films of the mid- to late 1940s: … in the moody film-noirish western Blood on the Moon (1948). Mystery in Mexico (1948) was a standard detective tale, but Wise’s follow-up, The Set-Up (1949), is widely considered to be both an essential film noir and one of the greatest boxing films ever made. Robert Ryan’s portrayal of an over-the-hill…

Frank Lloyd: Blood on the Sun (1945) received a more receptive response; it was arguably Lloyd’s best movie in almost a decade. The tale centred on Japan’s plan to control the world, and it starred James Cagney and Sylvia Sidney. Lloyd subsequently retired to his ranch, but…

Bob Dylan: Dylan in the 1970s: …1975, Dylan’s next studio album, Blood on the Tracks, was a return to lyrical form. It topped the Billboard album chart, as did Desire, released one year later. In 1975 and 1976 Dylan barnstormed North America with a gypsylike touring company, announcing shows in radio interviews only hours before appearing.…

orange: …navel, and the Maltese, or blood, orange.

John Hawkes: The Blood Oranges (1971; filmed 1997), Death, Sleep, & the Traveler (1974), and Travesty (1976) explore the concepts of marriage and freedom to unsettling effect. The Passion Artist (1979) and Virginie: Her Two Lives (1982) are tales of sexual obsession. Hawkes’s later works include Adventures…

plasma, the liquid portion of blood. Plasma serves as a transport medium for delivering nutrients to the cells of the various organs of the body and for transporting waste products derived from cellular metabolism to the kidneys, liver, and lungs for excretion. It is also a transport system for

septicemia, infection resulting from the presence of bacteria in the blood (bacteremia). The onset of septicemia is signaled by a high fever, chills, weakness, and excessive sweating, followed by a decrease in blood pressure. The typical microorganisms that produce septicemia, usually gram-negative

blood pressure, force originating in the pumping action of the heart, exerted by the blood against the walls of the blood vessels; the stretching of the vessels in response to this force and their subsequent contraction are important in maintaining blood flow through the vascular system. In humans,

sphygmomanometer, instrument for measuring blood pressure. It consists of an inflatable rubber cuff, which is wrapped around the upper arm and is connected to an apparatus that records pressure, usually in terms of the height of a column of mercury or on a dial (an aneroid manometer). An arterial

sphygmomanometer, instrument for measuring blood pressure. It consists of an inflatable rubber cuff, which is wrapped around the upper arm and is connected to an apparatus that records pressure, usually in terms of the height of a column of mercury or on a dial (an aneroid manometer). An arterial

Nürnberg Laws: ” The other, the Gesetz zum Schutze des Deutschen Blutes und der Deutschen Ehre (“Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour”), usually called simply the Blutschutzgesetz (“Blood Protection Law”), forbade marriage or sexual relations between Jews and “citizens of German or kindred blood.” These measures were…

fascism: Violence: Hitler’s infamous “Blood Purge” of June 1934, in which Röhm and other SA leaders were summarily executed, also claimed the lives of Kurt von Schleicher, the last chancellor of the Weimar Republic, and his wife, who were murdered in their home. To his critics Hitler replied, “People…

Julia Roberts: …as his on-screen sister in Blood Red (1989), a drama set in the late 1800s; although the film was completed in 1986, its release was delayed for several years. She next made several television appearances before securing her first leading part, in Mystic Pizza (1988).

Rod Stewart: Solo career: His 30th studio album, Blood Red Roses (2018), yielded the minor hit song “Didn’t I.” He later released You’re in My Heart: Rod Stewart with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2019). Subsequent albums include The Tears of Hercules (2021) and Swing Fever (2024; with composer Jools Holland).

Blood River, short stream in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa, a tributary of the Buffalo (Mzinyathi) River. The river was the scene of a battle between the Zulu and the Voortrekker Boers on Dec. 16, 1838. The Zulu, under Dingane, were defeated by a Voortrekker commando force led by Andries

Battle of Blood River, (December 16, 1838), battle between the Zulu and the Voortrekker Boers in South Africa. Its proximate cause was a clash over land rights in Natal and the massacre of Voortrekkers by the Zulu king Dingane. In the early 1800s the British colonized the Cape, sending Boer farmers

African religions: Ritual and religious specialists: …prayers, offerings, and sacrifices, especially blood sacrifices. The shedding of blood in ritual sacrifice, which is believed to release the vital force that sustains life, precedes most ceremonies in which blessings are sought from the ancestors or divinities.

black pudding, a sausage incorporating blood, popular in the British Isles and typically eaten as a breakfast food. Black pudding has been a recorded item of British cuisine since at least the 1400s, although it is certainly far older. The Odyssey of Homer mentions a sausage “filled with fat and

Sara Paretsky: …Paretsky’s best novel to be Blood Shot (1988), which follows Warshawski’s search for an old friend’s missing father and her discovery that ruthless chemical company executives are poisoning her childhood neighbourhood for material gain.

Coen brothers: …much attention in 1984 with Blood Simple, a sleek thriller that they cowrote and financed through private investors. The critical success of the film enabled the brothers to make a deal with an independent production company that granted them complete creative control. The films that followed highlighted the Coens’ versatility…

blood transfusion: Blood substitutes: Shortages in blood supplies and concerns about the safety of donated blood have fueled the development of so-called blood substitutes. The two major types of blood substitutes are volume expanders, which include solutions such as saline that are used to replace lost plasma…

Red Hot Chili Peppers: …followed by the more successful Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), which includes the band’s first top 10 single, “Under the Bridge,” as well as the Grammy Award-winning “Give It Away.”

Bulgaria: The Turkish yoke: The “blood tax” took a periodic levy of male children for conversion to Islam and service in the Janissary Corps of the Ottoman army.

blood analysis, laboratory examination of a sample of blood used to obtain information about its physical and chemical properties. Blood analysis is commonly carried out on a sample of blood drawn from the vein of the arm, the finger, or the earlobe; in some cases, the blood cells of the bone

blood transfusion, the transfer of blood into the vein of a human or animal recipient. The blood either is taken directly from a donor or is obtained from a blood bank. Blood transfusions are a therapeutic measure used to restore blood or plasma volume after extensive hemorrhage, burns, or trauma;

transplant: The blood transfusion effect: Following a blood transfusion, some patients become sensitized to the transplantation antigens of the donor, so it was expected that prior blood transfusion could only harm the recipient’s prospects for a successful organ graft. Careful analysis of results, however, showed the contrary.…

blood group, classification of blood based on inherited differences (polymorphisms) in antigens on the surfaces of the red blood cells (erythrocytes). Inherited differences of white blood cells (leukocytes), platelets (thrombocytes), and plasma proteins also constitute blood groups, but they are

blood typing, classification of blood in terms of distinctive inherited characteristics that are associated with the antigens located on the surface of red blood cells (erythrocytes). The ABO and the Rh blood groups are among those most commonly considered. Identification of these determinants has

circulatory system: Fluid compartments: …circulated through vessels of the blood vascular system. Blood is moved through this system by some form of pump. The simplest pump, or heart, may be no more than a vessel along which a wave of contraction passes to propel the blood. This simple, tubular heart is adequate where low…

vein, in human physiology, any of the vessels that, with four exceptions, carry oxygen-depleted blood to the right upper chamber (atrium) of the heart. The four exceptions—the pulmonary veins—transport oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left upper chamber of the heart. The oxygen-depleted blood

blood vessel, a vessel in the human or animal body in which blood circulates. The vessels that carry blood away from the heart are called arteries, and their very small branches are arterioles. Very small branches that collect the blood from the various organs and parts are called venules, and they

transplant: Blood vessels: By far the most satisfactory blood-vessel transplant is an autograft, similar in principle to skin autografts. Blood-vessel grafts are frequently used to bypass arteries that have become blocked or dangerously narrowed by fatty deposits, a condition caused by degenerative atherosclerosis

cardiovascular disease: Shock due to inadequate blood volume: …or about 190 pounds) the blood volume is about 78 ml per kilogram (about 6.7 litres [7 quarts] for a man weighing 86 kg), and the loss of any part of this will initiate certain cardiovascular reflexes. Hemorrhage results in a diminished return of venous blood to the heart, the…

Blood Wedding, folk tragedy in three acts by Federico García Lorca, published and produced in 1933 as Bodas de sangre. Blood Wedding is the first play in Lorca’s dramatic trilogy; the other two plays are Yerma and The House of Bernarda Alba. The protagonists of Blood Wedding are ordinary women

Clint Eastwood: 2000 and beyond: Blood Work (2002) was a serviceable thriller about a retired Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) profiler who is convinced that only he can locate a murderer.

James Ellroy: …final volume of the trilogy, Blood’s a Rover (2009), examines the years 1968–72. The trilogy represents the author’s expressed ambition to “re-create 20th-century American history through fiction.” In 2021 Ellroy published the stand-alone novel Widespread Panic, a fictionalized account of Freddy Otash, a real-life police officer turned private investigator who…

attainder: …attainder was the doctrine of corruption of blood, by which the person attainted was disqualified from inheriting or transmitting property and his descendants were forever barred from any inheritance of his rights to title. All forms of attainder—except the forfeiture that followed indictment for treason—were abolished during the 19th century.

Council of Troubles, (1567–74), special court in the Low Countries organized by the Spanish governor, the Duke of Alba, which initiated a reign of terror against all elements suspected of heresy or rebellion. Alba’s dispatch to the Netherlands at the head of a large army in the summer of 1567 had

therapeutics: Blood and blood cells: Blood transfusions were not clinically useful until about 1900, when the blood types A, B, and O were identified and cross-matching of the donor’s blood against that of the recipient to prove compatibility became

Blood, Sweat & Tears (BS&T), American big-band jazz rock group that topped the charts in the late 1960s with its innovative blend of pop, jazz, and rhythm and blues infused with horns. The band’s original members were Al Kooper (b. February 5, 1944, Brooklyn, New York), Steve Katz (b. May 9, 1945,

William Goldman: …1961 he wrote the play Blood, Sweat, and Stanley Poole and a poorly received musical, A Family Affair (1962), with his older brother, James.

Sharon Olds: Olds’s later collections included Blood, Tin, Straw (1999), The Unswept Room (2002), One Secret Thing (2008), Odes (2016), Arias (2019), and Balladz (2022). For Stag’s Leap (2012), which chronicles the 1997 dissolution of her marriage, she was awarded both the T.S. Eliot Prize and the

metabolic disease: Lysosomal storage disorders: …the presence of the so-called blood-brain barrier. Bone marrow transplantation has been attempted in individuals with lysosomal storage disorders, but overall results have been disappointing. Successful therapy for disorders without central nervous system involvement has been accomplished; Gaucher disease type I, for example, is responsive to enzyme replacement therapy, that…

bleeding and blood clotting: Significance of hemostasis: …cells), and blood proteins (blood-clotting proteins). The blood platelet is a nonnucleated cell that circulates in the blood in an inactive, resting form. Endothelial cells line the wall of the blood vessel and inhibit blood from clotting on the vessel wall under normal conditions. Blood-clotting proteins circulate in the…

Bloodletting is the removal of blood from a person with the intent, by means of that process, to manage diseases and health conditions. Bloodletting was believed to help rid the body of impure fluids, and it was practiced from antiquity until the 19th century, when modern medicine emerged, as a way

drug: Reproductive system drugs: …so-called placental barrier and the blood-testis barrier impede certain chemicals, although both allow most fat-soluble chemicals to cross. Drugs that are more water-soluble and that possess higher molecular weights tend not to cross either the placental or the blood-testis barrier. In addition, if a drug binds to a large molecule…

bloodborne disease, any of a group of diseases caused by pathogens such as viruses or bacteria that are carried in and spread through contact with blood. Common bloodborne diseases include hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Viral hemorrhagic fevers, such as Ebola

Robert Mulligan: Audiences also ignored Bloodbrothers (1978), an adaptation of the Richard Price novel, with Richard Gere, Tony Lo Bianco, and Paul Sorvino. More popular was Same Time, Next Year (1978), which retained the wistful charm of the Bernard Slade play. Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn starred as two lovers…

African American literature: The turn of the 21st century: …for her 1984 short story Bloodchild, she retraced the path opened by Samuel R. Delany, who garnered Nebulas for Babel-17 (1966) and The Einstein Intersection (1967) and a Hugo for the autobiographical The Motion of Light in Water (1988). The voices of novelist John Edgar

bloodfin, freshwater fish, a species of characin

Asclepiadoideae: Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and bloodflower (A. curassavica) often are cultivated as ornamentals. The butterfly weed (A. tuberosa) of North America has bright orange flowers. Hoya carnosa, which is commonly called wax plant because of its waxy white flowers, is often grown indoors as a pot plant. Several succulent plants—such…

Bloodhound, ancient breed of dog and likely the oldest breed of hound that hunts by scent. Its scenting ability is remarkable, and it is likely the breed from which most scent-hunting hounds have derived. It has roughly forty times the number of scent receptors—about 230 million—as the average

Glorious Revolution, in English history, the events of 1688–89 that resulted in the deposition of James II and the accession of his daughter Mary II and her husband, William III, prince of Orange and stadholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. After the accession of James II in 1685, his

Bloodletting is the removal of blood from a person with the intent, by means of that process, to manage diseases and health conditions. Bloodletting was believed to help rid the body of impure fluids, and it was practiced from antiquity until the 19th century, when modern medicine emerged, as a way

Cape tulip, any plant of the genus Haemanthus of the family Amaryllidaceae, consisting of about 50 species of ornamental South African herbs. Most species have dense clusters of red flowers and broad, blunt leaves that are grouped at the base of the plant. A few species have white flowers. Some

Linda Cardellini: Career: …Rayburn in the drama series Bloodline (2015–17).

Janet Campbell Hale: Bloodlines: Odyssey of a Native Daughter (1993) is a collection of autobiographical essays that reflect on her past and her heritage, with accounts of her paternal grandmother, who was a follower of the Nez Percé leader known as Chief Joseph.

bloodroot, (Sanguinaria canadensis), plant of the poppy family (Papaveraceae), native throughout eastern and midwestern North America. It grows in deciduous woodlands, where it blooms in early spring, and is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental. The orange-red sap of the rhizomes was formerly used

penny dreadful, an inexpensive novel of violent adventure or crime that was especially popular in mid-to-late Victorian England. Penny dreadfuls were often issued in eight-page installments. The appellation, like dime novel and shilling shocker, usually connotes rather careless and second-rate

Bloods, street gang based in Los Angeles that is involved in drugs, theft, and murder, among other criminal activities. The predominately African American gang is traditionally associated with the color red. It is nationally known for its rivalry with the Crips. The gang was formed in the early

Cynthia Ozick: In subsequent books, such as Bloodshed and Three Novellas (1976), Ozick struggled with the idea that the creation of art (a pagan activity) is in direct opposition to principles of Judaism, which forbids the creation of idols. The psychological aftermath of the Holocaust is another theme of her work, especially…

Vin Diesel: …movies with the sci-fi feature Bloodshot (2020).

bloodstone, dark-green variety of the silica mineral chalcedony that has nodules of bright-red jasper distributed throughout its mass. Polished sections therefore show red spots on a dark-green background, and from the resemblance of these to drops of blood it derives its name. Bloodstone was

Myrtales: Economic and ecological importance: …bark; boxes, with rough bark; bloodwoods, with rough scaly bark; gums, with smooth bark; and ironbarks, with hard bark.

midge: …bloodred, are commonly known as bloodworms. They are important food for aquatic animals, especially trout and young salmon. The nonbiting midge is related to the biting midge, which is in the family Cecidomyiidae (Itonididae); see gall midge.

bloodworm, any of certain bright red, segmented, aquatic worms of the phylum Annelida. Included are worms of the freshwater genus Tubifex, also known as sludge worms (class Oligochaeta, family Tubificidae), which are used as a tropical-fish food. The marine proboscis worm Glycera (class Polychaeta,

Bloody Assizes, (1685), in English history, the trials conducted in the west of England by the chief justice, George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wem, and four other judges after the abortive rebellion (June 1685) of the Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of King Charles II, against his Roman

Arthur James Balfour, 1st earl of Balfour was a British statesman who maintained a position of power in the British Conservative Party for 50 years. He was prime minister from 1902 to 1905, and, as foreign secretary from 1916 to 1919, he is perhaps best remembered for his World War I statement (the

Ma Barker: …included her sons the “Bloody Barkers”—Herman (1894–1927), Arthur, known as “Doc” (1899–1939), and Fred (1902–35)—ranged throughout the Midwestern United States from Minnesota to Texas. All met violent deaths. Ma Barker and Fred were killed at a Florida resort in a gun battle with the FBI, Arthur was killed in…

English literature: Fiction: …resplendently in her short-story collection The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (1979). Jeanette Winterson also wrote in this vein. Having distinguished herself earlier in a realistic mode, as did authors such as Drabble and Pat Barker, Doris Lessing published a sequence of science fiction novels about issues of gender and…

José María Arguedas: Literary and anthropological career: …novels, including Yawar fiesta (1941; Bloody Feast) and Los ríos profundos (1958; Deep Rivers), expanded on these concerns through detailed portrayals of Indigenous life and the social divisions that structure Peruvian society.

Deep in the hills of eastern Kentucky, several thousand men worked in the coal mines, breathing in humid air dense with coal dust day in and day out throughout the 1930s. In Harlan, coal mining had been the backbone of the town’s economy for years. But when the companies that operated these mines

Harlan, city, seat of Harlan county, southeastern Kentucky, U.S., in the Cumberland Mountains, on the Clover Fork Cumberland River. Harlan was settled in 1819 by Virginians led by Samuel Howard and was known as Mount Pleasant until renamed in 1912 for Major Silas Harlan, who was killed during the

Roger Corman: Other cult classic films: …first experience with LSD, while Bloody Mama (1970) was a violent portrayal of the Ma Barker story, starring Shelley Winters, with Robert De Niro as one of her twisted sons.

Fort Frederica National Monument: …defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Bloody Marsh (1742), ending the Spanish threat to Georgia. Troops were withdrawn in 1748, and the town declined and was completely abandoned by 1758. The monument preserves colonial artifacts in addition to the battle site, the house foundations, and the ruins of the…

Mary I was the first queen to rule England (1553–58) in her own right. She was known as Bloody Mary for her persecution of Protestants in a vain attempt to restore Roman Catholicism in England. The daughter of King Henry VIII and the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon, Mary as a child was a pawn

vodka: …made with orange juice; the Bloody Mary, with tomato juice; vodka and tonic, a tall drink; and the vodka martini, with vodka substituted for gin.

Rosa Luxemburg was a Polish-born German revolutionary and agitator who played a key role in the founding of the Polish Social Democratic Party and the Spartacus League, which grew into the Communist Party of Germany. As a political theoretician, Luxemburg developed a humanitarian theory of Marxism,

bloody shirt, in U.S. history, the post-Civil War political strategy of appealing to voters by recalling the passions and hardships of the recent war. This technique of “waving the bloody shirt” was most often employed by Radical Republicans in their efforts to focus public attention on

Bloody Sunday, demonstration in Londonderry (Derry), Northern Ireland, on Sunday, January 30, 1972, by Roman Catholic civil rights supporters that turned violent when British paratroopers opened fire, killing 13 and wounding 14 others (one of the injured later died). Bloody Sunday precipitated an

Bloody Sunday, (January 9 [January 22, New Style], 1905), massacre in St. Petersburg, Russia, of peaceful demonstrators marking the beginning of the violent phase of the Russian Revolution of 1905. At the end of the 19th century, industrial workers in Russia had begun to organize; police agents,

Black and Tan: Notably, on “Bloody Sunday,” November 21, 1920, the IRA killed at least 14 individuals (most of whom were English and were suspected of being intelligence agents). The Black and Tans took revenge the same afternoon, attacking spectators at a Gaelic football match in Croke Park, Dublin, killing…

Edmund Pettus Bridge: Bloody Sunday: On March 7, as the march began, King’s lieutenant Hosea Williams and John Lewis, the chairman of SNCC, led some 600 peaceful demonstrators onto the Edmund Pettus Bridge. At the east end of the bridge, the marchers encountered sheriff’s deputies, deputized civilian “possemen”…

France: The Commune of Paris: In the course of “Bloody Week” (May 21–28), the Communards resisted, street by street, but were pushed back steadily to the heart of Paris. In their desperation, they executed a number of hostages (including the archbishop of Paris) and in the last days set fire to many public buildings,…

Illinois: Progress and politics since 1900: “Bloody Williamson” county was the site of a feud, beginning in 1868, among five families of Tennessee and Kentucky origin. A dispute over a card game in a tavern near Carbondale grew into an eight-year vendetta fought by ambush or nighttime murder in barnyards, bars, and…

Chicago Heights, city, Cook county, northeastern Illinois, U.S. It is a suburb of Chicago, about 30 miles (50 km) south of downtown. The city’s name derives from its proximity to Chicago and its elevation, which averages 95 feet (29 metres) above the surrounding area. The site was the intersection

bloomery process: …usable product, known as a bloom, may have weighed up to 10 lbs (5 kg). Repeated reheating and hot hammering eliminated much of the slag, creating wrought iron, a much better product. By the 15th century, many bloomeries used low shaft furnaces with waterpower to drive the bellows, and the…

steel: Billet, bloom, beam, and slab: …to 175-millimetre squares or rounds, bloom casters solidify sections of 300 by 400 millimetres, and beam blank casters produce large, dog-bone-like sections that are directly fed into an I-beam or H-beam rolling mill. Huge slab casters solidify sections up to 250 millimetres thick and 2,600 millimetres wide at production rates…