A new medical dictionary; or, general repository of physic. Containing an explanation of the terms, and a description of the various particulars relating to anatomy, physiology, physic, surgery, materia medica, chemistry, &c. &c. &c. ... / by G. Motherby.

  • Motherby, G. (George), 1732-1793.
Date:
1791
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A new medical dictionary; or, general repository of physic. Containing an explanation of the terms, and a description of the various particulars relating to anatomy, physiology, physic, surgery, materia medica, chemistry, &c. &c. &c. ... / by G. Motherby. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    31/826 (page 17)
    ACC - [17] ACE ACCLIVTS, vide Obliquus afcendens abdominis. I ACCRETIO, from ad, and crefco, to grow to; ACCRE¬ TION, GROWTH, and nutrition: alio agrowing toge¬ ther, as the fingers to one another. SeeNuTRicATio. ACCUMULATIO, an accumulation, or heaping TOGETHER. ACCTJSATIO, vide Indicatin'. ACEPHALOS, from * negative, Arid xipd.\n, a head. This word is applied to monfters born without heads. , ACER, from acris, becaufe of the hardnefs of its wood. The MAPLE TREE. The great maple tree, falfly called sycamore, is the acer pfeudo plat anus, or acer folii quinquelobis in tequa- liter ferratis, floribus racemofis of Linnaeus. It is alfo called plat anus tragi, the great maple tree. Nine fpecies of acer, are enumerated by botanifts. It is of the clafs of the polygamia monoecia. The maple is a large tree, common enough in England, but a native of Auftria and Switzerland. It is not much in ufe as a medicine, though its juice, if drank whilll frefh, is faid to be a good antifcorbutic. All its parts contain a faccharine fluid; and if the root, trunk, or branches are wounded in the fpring, a large quantity of liquor is difeharged, which, when infpiffated, yields a brown fort of l'ugar, and a fyrup like the melaffes. Large quantities of this fugar is obtained from the trees in New England and Canada, and is much ufed in France, where it is commonly known by the names of faccharum Canadenfe, and faccharumacernum, maple fugar. ACER VlRGINIANUM, odorat. Liquid amber. ACERBITAS, Acerbity, sourness. ACERBUS, Acerb, four, harlh; or a foumefs with aftringency •, alfo bitter. ACERIDES, Axnp/Asft from a, negative, and nrpo;, •wax. Gallen calls plafters fo, that are made without wax. ACERNUM SACCHARUM. Sugar of the maple tree. ACEROSUS, of acus, from a%ufOv, chdff. It is ufed to fignify that brown fort of bread which is made without firft feparating the bran. ACESTA. Diltempers which are curable. ACESTIDES. The names of the chimnies of the furnaces where brafs was made. They were narrow at the top to receive the fumes of the melting metal, and to colleft them, that the cadmia might be produced more abundantly. Alfo the roof of the furnaces in which cop¬ per is fufed, they are clofed fo as to detain the corpufcles which fly off. ACESTIS, a fa&itious fort of chryfocolla. ACESTORIS, axeropi;, from a cure. It ftri£tly fignifies a female physician, andisufedforaMiDWiFE. ACESTRIDES. Midwives. ACETABULUM. K«tvAh, xoTv\nJ'av, o^Aapog, is a large cavity in a bone, to receive the convex head of an¬ other, for the advantage of a circular motion. The large cavity in the os coxendix is thus named, which re¬ ceives the head of the os femoris. This cavity is called the cup, from its likenefs to an ancient faucer in which vinegar was brought to the table, and thence named ace- tabula, from ace turn, vinegar, and tabula, a table. This derivation feems very probable, as oZvCapov, which is the fame meafure as the ancients called acetabulum, feems to be derived from o£o;, vinegar. The acetabulum, which receives the head of the thigh-bone, is formed by the juncture of the os ilium, ifehium, and os pubis ; the edge of this cavity is called fupercilium, and is very pro¬ minent on the upper part; the cavity is deeper on the upper and back part than on the lower and fore part. In the natural ftate this cavity is increafed by an addi¬ tional elaftic circle, which is united to its edge'; it yields eafily both ways to any preffure, but recovers itfelf when the force is removed. Acetabulum alfo fignifies a fort of glandular fubftance found in the placenta of fome animals. See Cotyle- dones. The ancient meafure thus named was about the one- eighth of a pint. Acetabulum is alfo a fort of craffula, and a name for the androface and the herb umbilicus Veneris, which fee, and crajjula likewife. Acetabulum mar. min. See Androsace, ACETAR, a fallad of raw herbs, to be eaten with vinegar. ACETARIUM SCORBUTICUM. A kind of pickle in which Dr. Bates advifes fcorbutic patients to dip their victuals before they eat it. It is thus made : R Fol. coch¬ lear. marin. | iij. facchar alb. 3 vj; fal cochlear. 3 i. bene contund. fimul. & adde fucc. aurant: 3 vj. ACETOSA, or aceTosus, eager or four; in Eng- lifh it is called sorrel, from the Saxon word, which fignifies four. Miller hath reckoned up about eighteen different fpe¬ cies, of which the following are fometimes ufed in medi¬ cine. 1. Acetofa vulgaris, called alfo acetofa pratenfis, acetofa arvenfis. It is the rumex acetofa of Linnaeus, i. e. rumex pratenfis, foliis oblongis fagittatis, floribus dioicis of Lin¬ naeus. Common sorrel. It is a fpecies of lapathum, called sour dock, whofe leaves are four, but not the root, which is bitter. It grows in the meadows and common fields. 2. Acetofa Romana, called alfo acetofa rotundi folia hortenfis. It is the rumex feutatus, or rumex Hclveticus> foliis cordato hallatis, rarnis divergentibus, floribus her- maphroditis of Linnaeus. The Roman, French, round-leaved, or garden sorrel. It is common in our gardens, and in many places it is known by the name of green sauce. 3. Acetofella, called alfo tr folium acetofum vulgar & oxytriphyllum, panis cuculi. It is the oxalis acetofella; or oxalis foliis ternatis, lcapo unifloro, flore albo, capfulis pentagoniselafticis,radicefquamofo articulata of Linnaeus. Wood sorrel. It grows wild in the woods, and flowers in April. The leaves are fhaped like a heart, Handing three together on one {talk. All the forrels lofe much by drying. They are all mildly acid, without any particular fmell or flavour; the common is the leaft, the wood the moft agreeable; they cool, quench thirft, are antiputrefeent, antifcorbutic, and diuretic. The feeds are flightly aftringent, but neither four nor bitter. If the leaves are bruifed, they afford a large portion of a green juice with very little preffure. If this juice is permitted to fubfide, a clear reddilh fluid foon appears, which if poured from the feces, is one of the moft agree¬ able preparations from thefe herbs. It may be mixed with whey, and is then a moft acceptable and ufeful drink in fevers of all kinds. A deco&ion of the whole plant is a very agreeable fubftitute for wine, when wine is coveted by a patient to whom we cannot prudently allow it. The leaves are as powerful fuppurants as the roots of white lilies. If the leaves of any of the forrels are boiled in milk, an agreeable whey is foon feparated, which is inferior to none for its palatablenefs. A great part of the acid of forrel may be obtained in the form of a concrete fait, which is more acid than that of tartar, more eafily foluble in water, and lefs, if at all, purgative : the wood forrel yields near one-hundredth part of the weight of the frefh leaves. As the ufual me- thod of obtaining effential falts from vegetables by depu¬ ration and evaporating their juices, then fetting them to cryftallize, is extremely tedious, the following proceffes are given as being more expeditious. Spieflius orders the refpe£tive plant to be taken atld gently dried in the fhade, then, being cut fmall, to pour on it a proper quantity of the fp. vini R. to digeft them in a gentle heat till there is a tincture of a deepilh green colour ; then pouring this tin&ure into a glafs cucurbit, diftil with the heat of a water-bath, until fo much fpirit is raifed, as to leave the remainder as thick as honey; then fuffering it to reft until it is perfectly cold, cryftals of a pyramidal fhape will be found on the fides of the veffel. See Mifcel. Berol. continuat. ii. p. 91,92. Stahl advifes us to cut the herb fmall, after gently dry¬ ing it, and make a ftrong tin&ure with fp. vini R. then pouring off this tin&ure, add to the refiduum a frefii por¬ tion of the fp. vini R. and digeft as before ; continue to add more fpirit until the herb ceafes to tin£lure it; then gently dry the refiduum, and boil it in water to extract E all