Glossary of Terms

The following terms are found throughout this issue of COLUMNS - Mold. The definitions are from the 1995 edition of Mirriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary unless otherwise stated.

agar: 1. a gelatinous colloidal extractive of a red alga (as of the genera Gelidium, Gracilaria, and Eucheuma) used esp. in culture media or as a gelling and stabilizing agent in foods. 2. a culture medium containing agar

alveolar Type II cells: specialized epithelial cells in the air sacs of the lungs (alveoli) that synthesize pulmonary surfactant, pump water and solutes out of the airspaces, metabolize foreign compounds and exert control over …