Thomas Kinsella: Blood & Family (1988) combines four short collections of prose and verse originally published individually through Peppercanister, and Godhead (1999) explores the Trinity in the light of contemporary society. Later works published through Peppercanister included Marginal Economy (2006), Man of War (2007), and Belief and

blood libel, the superstitious accusation that Jews ritually sacrifice Christian children at Passover to obtain blood for unleavened bread. It first emerged in medieval Europe in the 12th century and was revived sporadically in eastern and central Europe throughout the medieval and modern periods,

chemical weapon: Blood agents: Blood agents, such as hydrogen cyanide or cyanogen chloride, are designed to be delivered to the targeted area in the form of a vapour. When inhaled, these agents prevent the transfer of oxygen to the cells, causing the body to asphyxiate. Such chemicals block…

adhesive: Blood albumen glue: Glue of this type is made from serum albumen, a blood component obtainable from either fresh animal blood or dried soluble blood powder to which water has been added. Addition of alkali to albumen-water mixtures improves adhesive properties. A considerable quantity of…

alcohol consumption: Blood alcohol concentration: Because brain alcohol concentrations are difficult to measure directly, the effects of alcohol on the brain are calculated indirectly by noting the physical and mental impairments that typically arise at various levels of blood alcohol concentration, or BAC.

alcohol consumption: Blood alcohol concentration: Because brain alcohol concentrations are difficult to measure directly, the effects of alcohol on the brain are calculated indirectly by noting the physical and mental impairments that typically arise at various levels of blood alcohol concentration, or BAC.

William Wellman: Films of the 1950s: Blood Alley (1955) pitted Wayne and Lauren Bacall against Chinese communists, and Good-bye, My Lady (1956) was a sentimental film about a young boy and his dog set in the American South.

blood analysis, laboratory examination of a sample of blood used to obtain information about its physical and chemical properties. Blood analysis is commonly carried out on a sample of blood drawn from the vein of the arm, the finger, or the earlobe; in some cases, the blood cells of the bone

Anne Rice: The Vampire Chronicles: Vampire Armand (1998), Merrick (2000), Blood and Gold (2001), Blackwood Farm (2002), Blood Canticle (2003), Prince Lestat (2014), Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis (2016), and Blood Communion (2018). The novels focus largely on the ageless vampire Lestat and a fictitious history of vampires that begins in

Kathy Acker: Literary works and other projects: Blood and Guts in High School (1984) centers on a 10-year-old girl named Janey who lives a radically dangerous and peripatetic life involving gangs and sex work. Considered her best-known work, it was banned in West Germany and South Africa. In Don Quixote: Which Was…

Budd Boetticher: Early life and work: …consultant on Rouben Mamoulian’s epic Blood and Sand (1941).

Dorothy Arzner: Early life and work: …bullfight scenes—of the studio’s epic Blood and Sand, starring Rudolph Valentino. In the mid-1920s she worked as an editor and a screenwriter for director James Cruze, serving in both roles (uncredited) on his 1926 opus about the merchant marine, Old Ironsides. Arzner subsequently bargained with Paramount for a chance to…

bullfighting: Bullfighting and the arts: …is Sangre y arena (1909; Blood and Sand, 1922), by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, which was adapted for film many times, arguably the most famous version starring Rita Hayworth and Tyrone Power (1941). The best-known poem of Federico García Lorca is Llanto por Ignacio Sánchez Mejías (1935; Eng. trans. Lament for…

Cornelia Otis Skinner: …the tragedian Otis Skinner, in Blood and Sand (1921) and collaborated with him in writing her first play, Captain Fury (1925). During the 1930s she wrote and staged her own monodramas, including The Loves of Charles II, The Empress Eugénie, The Mansions on the Hudson, and The Wives of Henry…

Bob Rafelson: Films of the late 1980s and beyond: The complex, tightly woven Blood and Wine (1996), the noirish story of a jewel robbery, which starred Nicholson, Michael Caine, Judy Davis, and Jennifer Lopez, was much better received. The undistinguished made-for-television Poodle Springs (1998) followed. Yet another film noir, No Good Deed (2002)—starring Samuel L. Jackson as a…

blood bank, organization that collects, stores, processes, and transfuses blood. During World War I it was demonstrated that stored blood could safely be used, allowing for the development of the first blood bank in 1932. Before the first blood banks came into operation, a physician determined the

blood brotherhood, one of several kinds of alliances or ties that bind persons together in a fashion analogous to, but distinct from, kinship ties. Other forms of fictive kinship include adoption and godparenthood. Blood brotherhood derives its name from the ritual commingling of the blood of the

Anne Rice: The Vampire Chronicles: …Gold (2001), Blackwood Farm (2002), Blood Canticle (2003), Prince Lestat (2014), Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis (2016), and Blood Communion (2018). The novels focus largely on the ageless vampire Lestat and a fictitious history of vampires that begins in ancient Egypt.

blood: Blood cells: There are four major types of blood cells: red blood cells (erythrocytes), platelets (thrombocytes), lymphocytes, and phagocytic cells. Collectively, the lymphocytes and phagocytic cells constitute the white blood

blood cell formation, continuous process by which the cellular constituents of blood are replenished as needed. Blood cells are divided into three groups: the red blood cells (erythrocytes), the white blood cells (leukocytes), and the blood platelets (thrombocytes). The white blood cells are

chimera: …examples of twin chimerism are blood chimeras. These individuals are produced when blood anastomoses (connections) form between the placentas of dizygotic twins, thereby enabling the transfer of stem cells between the developing embryos. When blood chimerism involves male and female twins, female exposure to male hormones results in

coagulation, in physiology, the process by which a blood clot is formed. The formation of a clot is often referred to as secondary hemostasis, because it forms the second stage in the process of arresting the loss of blood from a ruptured vessel. The first stage, primary hemostasis, is

thrombosis, formation of a blood clot in the heart or in a blood vessel. Factors that play a role in the formation of clots (thrombi) include injury to a blood vessel and alterations from normal blood flow; changes in the coagulability of the blood may also cause clot formation. Injury to the

coagulation, in physiology, the process by which a blood clot is formed. The formation of a clot is often referred to as secondary hemostasis, because it forms the second stage in the process of arresting the loss of blood from a ruptured vessel. The first stage, primary hemostasis, is

therapeutics: Plasma: …of whole blood including the coagulation factors, immunoglobulins and other proteins, and electrolytes. When frozen, the coagulation factors remain stable for up to one year but are usually transfused within 24 hours after thawing. However, some of the clotting factors, such as factor VIII (or antihemophilic factor, AHF) and factor…

Anne Rice: The Vampire Chronicles: …Realms of Atlantis (2016), and Blood Communion (2018). The novels focus largely on the ageless vampire Lestat and a fictitious history of vampires that begins in ancient Egypt.

blood count, laboratory test that determines the number of red blood cells (erythrocytes) and white blood cells (leukocytes) in a given volume of blood. The readings vary with sex, age, physiological state, and general health, but the blood of a normal individual contains on average 5,000,000 red

Jennifer Connelly: …and with Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond (2006). Her other films included Reservation Road (2007) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008). Connelly portrayed the wife of Charles Darwin (played by her real-life husband, Paul Bettany) in Creation (2009) and the wife of the biblical figure

blood diamond, as defined by the United Nations (UN), any diamond that is mined in areas controlled by forces opposed to the legitimate, internationally recognized government of a country and that is sold to fund military action against that government. The very specific UN definition of blood

blood disease, any disease of the blood, involving the red blood cells (erythrocytes), white blood cells (leukocytes), or platelets (thrombocytes) or the tissues in which these elements are formed—the bone marrow, lymph nodes, and spleen—or of bleeding and blood clotting. Long before the nature and

blood doping, use of substances or techniques that increase the number of circulating red blood cells (erythrocytes) or the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood to improve human performance. Although therapies such as blood transfusion and the administration of drugs to increase red cell production

blood eagle, method of ritual execution employed by Viking cultures described in Norse literature. The ritual’s place in Viking lore is probably overemphasized in modern literature and history because of its incredible level of brutality. When performing the blood eagle, executioners separate the

Mel Gibson: … (2013), The Expendables 3 (2014), Blood Father (2016), and Dragged Across Concrete (2018). He also played against type, as a grandfather—albeit a macho one—in the family comedy Daddy’s Home 2 (2017) and costarred with Sean Penn in The Professor and the Madman (2019), about the creation of The Oxford English…

feud, a continuing state of conflict between two groups within a society (typically kinship groups) characterized by violence, usually killings and counterkillings. It exists in many nonliterate communities in which there is an absence of law or a breakdown of legal procedures and in which attempts

poison: Role of tissue blood flow: The rate at which a chemical accumulates in a particular tissue is influenced by the blood flow to that tissue. The well-perfused organs—i.e., organs that receive a rich blood supply relative to organ weight—include major organs like the liver, brain, and kidney. A…

blood fluke, any of certain parasitic flatworms that live in the veins of the host organism. See

blood group, classification of blood based on inherited differences (polymorphisms) in antigens on the surfaces of the red blood cells (erythrocytes). Inherited differences of white blood cells (leukocytes), platelets (thrombocytes), and plasma proteins also constitute blood groups, but they are

Walter Mosley: … (2014), Charcoal Joe (2016), and Blood Grove (2021).

Athol Fugard: …Plays, 1977), but it was The Blood Knot (1963), produced for stage (1961) and television (1967) in both London and New York City, that established his reputation. The Blood Knot, dealing with brothers who fall on opposite sides of the racial color line, was the first in a sequence Fugard…

blood libel, the superstitious accusation that Jews ritually sacrifice Christian children at Passover to obtain blood for unleavened bread. It first emerged in medieval Europe in the 12th century and was revived sporadically in eastern and central Europe throughout the medieval and modern periods,

Cape tulip, any plant of the genus Haemanthus of the family Amaryllidaceae, consisting of about 50 species of ornamental South African herbs. Most species have dense clusters of red flowers and broad, blunt leaves that are grouped at the base of the plant. A few species have white flowers. Some

Blood Meridian, western novel by Cormac McCarthy, published in 1985. Bleak, violent, and uncompromisingly unsentimental, it is widely considered to be McCarthy’s masterpiece. “See the child,” orders the narrator at the beginning of Blood Meridian. Following this initial focus on a character that is

blood money, compensation paid by an offender (usually a murderer) or his kin group to the kin group of the victim. In many societies blood money functions to prevent the continuation of hostilities in the form of a feud (q.v.). Some customs allow the injured party the choice of punishing the

Jean Cocteau: Influence of Radiguet: …creation of his first film, Le Sang d’un poète, a commentary on his own private mythology; the themes that then seemed obscure or shocking seem today less private and more universal because they have appeared in other works. Also in the early 1930s Cocteau wrote what is usually thought to…

Black horror: History of Black horror: …another early Black horror film, The Blood of Jesus (1941). In this film, a newlywed woman is accidentally shot by her husband; after dying of her injury, she must resist the influence of the devil. In 1991 The Blood of Jesus was inducted into the National Film Registry, a list…

Robert Wise: Films of the mid- to late 1940s: … in the moody film-noirish western Blood on the Moon (1948). Mystery in Mexico (1948) was a standard detective tale, but Wise’s follow-up, The Set-Up (1949), is widely considered to be both an essential film noir and one of the greatest boxing films ever made. Robert Ryan’s portrayal of an over-the-hill…

Frank Lloyd: Blood on the Sun (1945) received a more receptive response; it was arguably Lloyd’s best movie in almost a decade. The tale centred on Japan’s plan to control the world, and it starred James Cagney and Sylvia Sidney. Lloyd subsequently retired to his ranch, but…

Bob Dylan: Dylan in the 1970s: …1975, Dylan’s next studio album, Blood on the Tracks, was a return to lyrical form. It topped the Billboard album chart, as did Desire, released one year later. In 1975 and 1976 Dylan barnstormed North America with a gypsylike touring company, announcing shows in radio interviews only hours before appearing.…

orange: …navel, and the Maltese, or blood, orange.

John Hawkes: The Blood Oranges (1971; filmed 1997), Death, Sleep, & the Traveler (1974), and Travesty (1976) explore the concepts of marriage and freedom to unsettling effect. The Passion Artist (1979) and Virginie: Her Two Lives (1982) are tales of sexual obsession. Hawkes’s later works include Adventures…

plasma, the liquid portion of blood. Plasma serves as a transport medium for delivering nutrients to the cells of the various organs of the body and for transporting waste products derived from cellular metabolism to the kidneys, liver, and lungs for excretion. It is also a transport system for

septicemia, infection resulting from the presence of bacteria in the blood (bacteremia). The onset of septicemia is signaled by a high fever, chills, weakness, and excessive sweating, followed by a decrease in blood pressure. The typical microorganisms that produce septicemia, usually gram-negative

blood pressure, force originating in the pumping action of the heart, exerted by the blood against the walls of the blood vessels; the stretching of the vessels in response to this force and their subsequent contraction are important in maintaining blood flow through the vascular system. In humans,

sphygmomanometer, instrument for measuring blood pressure. It consists of an inflatable rubber cuff, which is wrapped around the upper arm and is connected to an apparatus that records pressure, usually in terms of the height of a column of mercury or on a dial (an aneroid manometer). An arterial

sphygmomanometer, instrument for measuring blood pressure. It consists of an inflatable rubber cuff, which is wrapped around the upper arm and is connected to an apparatus that records pressure, usually in terms of the height of a column of mercury or on a dial (an aneroid manometer). An arterial

Nürnberg Laws: ” The other, the Gesetz zum Schutze des Deutschen Blutes und der Deutschen Ehre (“Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour”), usually called simply the Blutschutzgesetz (“Blood Protection Law”), forbade marriage or sexual relations between Jews and “citizens of German or kindred blood.” These measures were…

fascism: Violence: Hitler’s infamous “Blood Purge” of June 1934, in which Röhm and other SA leaders were summarily executed, also claimed the lives of Kurt von Schleicher, the last chancellor of the Weimar Republic, and his wife, who were murdered in their home. To his critics Hitler replied, “People…

Julia Roberts: …as his on-screen sister in Blood Red (1989), a drama set in the late 1800s; although the film was completed in 1986, its release was delayed for several years. She next made several television appearances before securing her first leading part, in Mystic Pizza (1988).

Rod Stewart: Solo career: His 30th studio album, Blood Red Roses (2018), yielded the minor hit song “Didn’t I.” He later released You’re in My Heart: Rod Stewart with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2019). Subsequent albums include The Tears of Hercules (2021) and Swing Fever (2024; with composer Jools Holland).

Blood River, short stream in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa, a tributary of the Buffalo (Mzinyathi) River. The river was the scene of a battle between the Zulu and the Voortrekker Boers on Dec. 16, 1838. The Zulu, under Dingane, were defeated by a Voortrekker commando force led by Andries

Battle of Blood River, (December 16, 1838), battle between the Zulu and the Voortrekker Boers in South Africa. Its proximate cause was a clash over land rights in Natal and the massacre of Voortrekkers by the Zulu king Dingane. In the early 1800s the British colonized the Cape, sending Boer farmers

African religions: Ritual and religious specialists: …prayers, offerings, and sacrifices, especially blood sacrifices. The shedding of blood in ritual sacrifice, which is believed to release the vital force that sustains life, precedes most ceremonies in which blessings are sought from the ancestors or divinities.

black pudding, a sausage incorporating blood, popular in the British Isles and typically eaten as a breakfast food. Black pudding has been a recorded item of British cuisine since at least the 1400s, although it is certainly far older. The Odyssey of Homer mentions a sausage “filled with fat and

Sara Paretsky: …Paretsky’s best novel to be Blood Shot (1988), which follows Warshawski’s search for an old friend’s missing father and her discovery that ruthless chemical company executives are poisoning her childhood neighbourhood for material gain.

Coen brothers: …much attention in 1984 with Blood Simple, a sleek thriller that they cowrote and financed through private investors. The critical success of the film enabled the brothers to make a deal with an independent production company that granted them complete creative control. The films that followed highlighted the Coens’ versatility…

blood transfusion: Blood substitutes: Shortages in blood supplies and concerns about the safety of donated blood have fueled the development of so-called blood substitutes. The two major types of blood substitutes are volume expanders, which include solutions such as saline that are used to replace lost plasma…

Red Hot Chili Peppers: …followed by the more successful Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), which includes the band’s first top 10 single, “Under the Bridge,” as well as the Grammy Award-winning “Give It Away.”

Bulgaria: The Turkish yoke: The “blood tax” took a periodic levy of male children for conversion to Islam and service in the Janissary Corps of the Ottoman army.

blood analysis, laboratory examination of a sample of blood used to obtain information about its physical and chemical properties. Blood analysis is commonly carried out on a sample of blood drawn from the vein of the arm, the finger, or the earlobe; in some cases, the blood cells of the bone

blood transfusion, the transfer of blood into the vein of a human or animal recipient. The blood either is taken directly from a donor or is obtained from a blood bank. Blood transfusions are a therapeutic measure used to restore blood or plasma volume after extensive hemorrhage, burns, or trauma;

transplant: The blood transfusion effect: Following a blood transfusion, some patients become sensitized to the transplantation antigens of the donor, so it was expected that prior blood transfusion could only harm the recipient’s prospects for a successful organ graft. Careful analysis of results, however, showed the contrary.…

blood group, classification of blood based on inherited differences (polymorphisms) in antigens on the surfaces of the red blood cells (erythrocytes). Inherited differences of white blood cells (leukocytes), platelets (thrombocytes), and plasma proteins also constitute blood groups, but they are

blood typing, classification of blood in terms of distinctive inherited characteristics that are associated with the antigens located on the surface of red blood cells (erythrocytes). The ABO and the Rh blood groups are among those most commonly considered. Identification of these determinants has

circulatory system: Fluid compartments: …circulated through vessels of the blood vascular system. Blood is moved through this system by some form of pump. The simplest pump, or heart, may be no more than a vessel along which a wave of contraction passes to propel the blood. This simple, tubular heart is adequate where low…

vein, in human physiology, any of the vessels that, with four exceptions, carry oxygen-depleted blood to the right upper chamber (atrium) of the heart. The four exceptions—the pulmonary veins—transport oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left upper chamber of the heart. The oxygen-depleted blood

blood vessel, a vessel in the human or animal body in which blood circulates. The vessels that carry blood away from the heart are called arteries, and their very small branches are arterioles. Very small branches that collect the blood from the various organs and parts are called venules, and they

transplant: Blood vessels: By far the most satisfactory blood-vessel transplant is an autograft, similar in principle to skin autografts. Blood-vessel grafts are frequently used to bypass arteries that have become blocked or dangerously narrowed by fatty deposits, a condition caused by degenerative atherosclerosis

cardiovascular disease: Shock due to inadequate blood volume: …or about 190 pounds) the blood volume is about 78 ml per kilogram (about 6.7 litres [7 quarts] for a man weighing 86 kg), and the loss of any part of this will initiate certain cardiovascular reflexes. Hemorrhage results in a diminished return of venous blood to the heart, the…

Blood Wedding, folk tragedy in three acts by Federico García Lorca, published and produced in 1933 as Bodas de sangre. Blood Wedding is the first play in Lorca’s dramatic trilogy; the other two plays are Yerma and The House of Bernarda Alba. The protagonists of Blood Wedding are ordinary women

Clint Eastwood: 2000 and beyond: Blood Work (2002) was a serviceable thriller about a retired Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) profiler who is convinced that only he can locate a murderer.

James Ellroy: …final volume of the trilogy, Blood’s a Rover (2009), examines the years 1968–72. The trilogy represents the author’s expressed ambition to “re-create 20th-century American history through fiction.” In 2021 Ellroy published the stand-alone novel Widespread Panic, a fictionalized account of Freddy Otash, a real-life police officer turned private investigator who…

attainder: …attainder was the doctrine of corruption of blood, by which the person attainted was disqualified from inheriting or transmitting property and his descendants were forever barred from any inheritance of his rights to title. All forms of attainder—except the forfeiture that followed indictment for treason—were abolished during the 19th century.

Council of Troubles, (1567–74), special court in the Low Countries organized by the Spanish governor, the Duke of Alba, which initiated a reign of terror against all elements suspected of heresy or rebellion. Alba’s dispatch to the Netherlands at the head of a large army in the summer of 1567 had

Blood, Sweat & Tears (BS&T), American big-band jazz rock group that topped the charts in the late 1960s with its innovative blend of pop, jazz, and rhythm and blues infused with horns. The band’s original members were Al Kooper (b. February 5, 1944, Brooklyn, New York), Steve Katz (b. May 9, 1945,

William Goldman: …1961 he wrote the play Blood, Sweat, and Stanley Poole and a poorly received musical, A Family Affair (1962), with his older brother, James.

Sharon Olds: Olds’s later collections included Blood, Tin, Straw (1999), The Unswept Room (2002), One Secret Thing (2008), Odes (2016), Arias (2019), and Balladz (2022). For Stag’s Leap (2012), which chronicles the 1997 dissolution of her marriage, she was awarded both the T.S. Eliot Prize and the

metabolic disease: Lysosomal storage disorders: …the presence of the so-called blood-brain barrier. Bone marrow transplantation has been attempted in individuals with lysosomal storage disorders, but overall results have been disappointing. Successful therapy for disorders without central nervous system involvement has been accomplished; Gaucher disease type I, for example, is responsive to enzyme replacement therapy, that…

bleeding and blood clotting: Significance of hemostasis: …cells), and blood proteins (blood-clotting proteins). The blood platelet is a nonnucleated cell that circulates in the blood in an inactive, resting form. Endothelial cells line the wall of the blood vessel and inhibit blood from clotting on the vessel wall under normal conditions. Blood-clotting proteins circulate in the…

Bloodletting is the removal of blood from a person with the intent, by means of that process, to manage diseases and health conditions. Bloodletting was believed to help rid the body of impure fluids, and it was practiced from antiquity until the 19th century, when modern medicine emerged, as a way

drug: Reproductive system drugs: …so-called placental barrier and the blood-testis barrier impede certain chemicals, although both allow most fat-soluble chemicals to cross. Drugs that are more water-soluble and that possess higher molecular weights tend not to cross either the placental or the blood-testis barrier. In addition, if a drug binds to a large molecule…

bloodborne disease, any of a group of diseases caused by pathogens such as viruses or bacteria that are carried in and spread through contact with blood. Common bloodborne diseases include hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Viral hemorrhagic fevers, such as Ebola

Robert Mulligan: Audiences also ignored Bloodbrothers (1978), an adaptation of the Richard Price novel, with Richard Gere, Tony Lo Bianco, and Paul Sorvino. More popular was Same Time, Next Year (1978), which retained the wistful charm of the Bernard Slade play. Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn starred as two lovers…

African American literature: The turn of the 21st century: …for her 1984 short story Bloodchild, she retraced the path opened by Samuel R. Delany, who garnered Nebulas for Babel-17 (1966) and The Einstein Intersection (1967) and a Hugo for the autobiographical The Motion of Light in Water (1988). The voices of novelist John Edgar

bloodfin, freshwater fish, a species of characin

Asclepiadoideae: Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and bloodflower (A. curassavica) often are cultivated as ornamentals. The butterfly weed (A. tuberosa) of North America has bright orange flowers. Hoya carnosa, which is commonly called wax plant because of its waxy white flowers, is often grown indoors as a pot plant. Several succulent plants—such…

Bloodhound, ancient breed of dog and likely the oldest breed of hound that hunts by scent. Its scenting ability is remarkable, and it is likely the breed from which most scent-hunting hounds have derived. It has roughly forty times the number of scent receptors—about 230 million—as the average

Glorious Revolution, in English history, the events of 1688–89 that resulted in the deposition of James II and the accession of his daughter Mary II and her husband, William III, prince of Orange and stadholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. After the accession of James II in 1685, his

Bloodletting is the removal of blood from a person with the intent, by means of that process, to manage diseases and health conditions. Bloodletting was believed to help rid the body of impure fluids, and it was practiced from antiquity until the 19th century, when modern medicine emerged, as a way

Cape tulip, any plant of the genus Haemanthus of the family Amaryllidaceae, consisting of about 50 species of ornamental South African herbs. Most species have dense clusters of red flowers and broad, blunt leaves that are grouped at the base of the plant. A few species have white flowers. Some

Linda Cardellini: Career: …Rayburn in the drama series Bloodline (2015–17).