sero-, ser-, seri-

Consisting of serum and blood.

Inflammation of the serous tissues of the body. The serous tissues line the lungs (pleura), heart (pericardium), and the inner lining of the abdomen (peritoneum) and organs within.

1. The quality or state of being serous.
2. A thin watery animal fluid, as synovial fluid and pericardial fluid.

Treatment of a disease or infection with an injection of an antitoxin or serum that contains specific antibodies; serum-therapy.

A hormone, also called 5-hydroxytryptamine, in the pineal gland, blood platelets, the digestive tract, and the brain.

Serotonin acts both as a chemical messenger that transmits nerve signals between nerve cells and that causes blood vessels to narrow. Changes in the serotonin levels in the brain can alter the mood. For example, medications that affect the action of serotonin are used to treat depression.

Serotonin is also defined as a vasoconstrictor, liberated by blood platelets, that inhibits gastric secretion and stimulates smooth muscle; present in relatively high concentrations in some areas of the central nervous system (hypothalamus, basal ganglia), and occurring in many peripheral tissues and cells and in carcinoid tumors.

1. A group of organisms, microorganisms, or cells distinguished by their shared specific antigens as determined by serologic testing.
2. The set of antigens that characterizes the group.

1. Thin; watery; like serum; such as, the serous fluids.
2. Of or pertaining to serum; such as, the serous glands, membranes, layers.
3. Resembling serum; of a watery nature.
4. Containing, characterized by, or secreting serum.

One of the delicate membranes of connective tissue that line the internal cavities of the body.

A type of serous cell resembling a pancreatic acinous cell and a gastric chief cell: Serozymogenic cells are found in the parotid gland of most mammals and the submandibular and sublingual glands of humans.

Situated under a serous membrane.