Note: Fluid is a generic term, including liquids and gases as
species. Water, air, and steam are fluids. By analogy,
the term is sometimes applied to electricity and
magnetism, as in phrases electric fluid, magnetic
fluid, though not strictly appropriate.
{Fluid dram}, or {Fluid drachm}, a measure of capacity equal
to one eighth of a fluid ounce.
{Fluid ounce}.
(a) In the United States, a measure of capacity, in
apothecaries' or wine measure, equal to one sixteenth of
a pint or 29.57 cubic centimeters. This, for water, is
about 1.04158 ounces avoirdupois, or 455.6 grains.
(b) In England, a measure of capacity equal to the twentieth
part of an imperial pint. For water, this is the weight
of the avoirdupois ounce, or 437.5 grains.
{Fluids of the body}. (Physiol.) The circulating blood and
lymph, the chyle, the gastric, pancreatic, and intestinal
juices, the saliva, bile, urine, aqueous humor, and muscle
serum are the more important fluids of the body. The
tissues themselves contain a large amount of combined
water, so much, that an entire human body dried in vacuo
with a very moderate degree of heat gives about 66 per
cent of water.
{Burning fluid}, {Elastic fluid}, {Electric fluid}, {Magnetic
fluid}, etc. See under {Burning}, {Elastic}, etc.