uric acid

2 definitions found

uric acid - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Uric \U"ric\, a. [Gr. ? urine: cf. F. urique. See Urine.]
     (Physiol. Chem.)
     Of or pertaining to urine; obtained from urine; as, uric
     acid.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Uric acid, a crystalline body, present in small quantity in
        the urine of man and most mammals. Combined in the form of
        urate of ammonia, it is the chief constituent of the urine
        of birds and reptiles, forming the white part. Traces of
        it are also found in the various organs of the body. It is
        likewise a common constituent, either as the free acid or
        as a urate, of urinary or renal calculi and of the
        so-called gouty concretions. From acid urines, uric acid
        is frequently deposited, on standing in a cool place, in
        the form of a reddish yellow sediment, nearly always
        crystalline. Chemically, it is composed of carbon,
        hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, C5H4N4O3, and by
        decomposition yields urea, among other products. It can be
        made synthetically by heating together urea and glycocoll.
        It was formerly called also lithic acid, in allusion to
        its occurrence in stone, or calculus.
        [1913 Webster]

uric acid - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  uric acid
      n 1: a white tasteless odorless crystalline product of protein
           metabolism; found in the blood and urine