Friday, March 25, 2016

Word of the day: collodion

The word of the day is collodion:
  1. a yellowish, viscous, highly flammable solution of pyroxylin in ether and alcohol: used in the manufacture of photographic film, in engraving and lithography, and in medicine chiefly for cementing dressings and sealing wounds.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/collodion)

Pyroxylin is another name for nitrocellulose: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/image/imagefly.cgi?cid=44263835&width=100&height=100


"The suppurating sore on Alexey's leg would not heal, even though Ambler diligently kept it dressed in collodion solution and clean bandages."

 - Hampton Sides, In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette

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