Taber's Medical Dictionary
wax
[AS. weax ]
1. A substance obtained from bees (beeswax), plants, or petroleum (paraffin). It is solid at room temperature. In medicine, a purified form, white wax, is used in making ointments and to stop bleeding from bones during surgery. In dentistry, it is used, e.g., to create fixed appliances or dentures.
2. Any substance with the consistency of beeswax.
3. Earwax.
SYN: SEE: cerumen
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Citation
Venes, Donald, editor. "Wax." Taber's Medical Dictionary, 25th ed., F.A. Davis Company, 2025. Taber's Online, www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/767262/all/wax.
Wax. In: Venes DD, ed. Taber's Medical Dictionary. F.A. Davis Company; 2025. https://www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/767262/all/wax. Accessed April 22, 2026.
Wax. (2025). In Venes, D. (Ed.), Taber's Medical Dictionary (25th ed.). F.A. Davis Company. https://www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/767262/all/wax
Wax [Internet]. In: Venes DD, editors. Taber's Medical Dictionary. F.A. Davis Company; 2025. [cited 2026 April 22]. Available from: https://www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/767262/all/wax.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
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PB - F.A. Davis Company
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DB - Taber's Online
DP - Unbound Medicine
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