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Meaning of UREA

Pronunciation:  yû'reeu

WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: [n]  the chief solid component of mammalian urine; synthesized from ammonia and carbon dioxide and used as fertilizer and in animal feed and in plastics
 
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 Synonyms: carbamide
 
 See Also: organic compound

 

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
\U"re*a\, a. [NL. See {Urine}.] (Physiol. Chem.)
A very soluble crystalline body which is the chief
constituent of the urine in mammals and some other animals.
It is also present in small quantity in blood, serous fluids,
lymph, the liver, etc.
Note: It is the main product of the regressive metamorphosis
      (katabolism) of proteid matter in the body, and is
      excreted daily to the amount of about 500 grains by a
      man of average weight. Chemically it is carbamide,
      {CO(NH2)2}, and when heated with strong acids or
      alkalies is decomposed into carbonic acid and ammonia.
      It unites with acids to form salts, as nitrate of urea,
      and it can be made synthetically from ammonium cyanate,
      with which it is isomeric.
{Urea ferment}, a soluble ferment formed by certain bacteria,
   which, however, yield the ferment from the body of their
   cells only after they have been killed by alcohol. It
   causes urea to take up water and decompose into carbonic
   acid and ammonia. Many different bacteria possess this
   property, especially {Bacterium ure[ae]} and {Micrococcus
   ure[ae]}, which are found abundantly in urines undergoing
   alkaline fermentation.
 
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Medical Dictionary
 
 Definition: Principal waste product in urine; a nitrogen-containing by-product of protein metabolism.
 
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Biology Dictionary
 
 Definition: This water-soluble by-product of protein metabolism was the first organic compound to be synthesized in the lab (in 1824). Commercially, it is used in adhesives, animal feed, cosmetics, fertilizer, plastics, and is used as a stabilizer in explosives and as a diuretic.
 
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