Lexicon medicum, or, Medical dictionary : containing an explanation of the terms in anatomy, botany, chemistry, materia medica, midwifery, mineralogy, pharmacy, physiology, practice of physic, surgery, and the various branches of natural philosophy connected with medicine : selected, arranged, and compiled from the best authors / by Robert Hooper.

Robert Hooper

Date:: 1832

Credit: Lexicon medicum, or, Medical dictionary : containing an explanation of the terms in anatomy, botany, chemistry, materia medica, midwifery, mineralogy, pharmacy, physiology, practice of physic, surgery, and the various branches of natural philosophy connected with medicine : selected, arranged, and compiled from the best authors / by Robert Hooper. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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$''The late Dr. Aspinwali, a man of weal sMacifv and uncommonly we II groped,,,- ^profession ofitonthefir eani ofBoston, and tfio vicinity of Cambridge, to sec the iki„ '?, g;ni? !:J,M tnc wdinaiy inspection on he 9km; all but Hr. Aspinwali, whose attention was veiled on the pustule, its areola, and efflorescence. lie came a second time, and viewed the inoculated part in every light, and reviewed it, and seemed loath to leave the sight of it. He seemed wrapped in seri- ous thought, and said repeatedly-' This pustule is so like small-pox, and yet it is not small-pox, that should it, on scabbing, take out a portion of the true skin, so as to leave an indelible mark or pit behind, I shall be ready to conclude that it is a mild species of small- pox, hitherto unknown here.' He had been in the habit ot examining the small-pox pimple and pustule through glasses, to know if it 'had taken;' and he remarked, that they were peculiar, unique,and unlike any other eruption he ever saw; but that this kinc- pock came the nearest to it. Some time after, I gave him a portion of the virus to make his own experi- ments, and observe the progress of its inoculation, and coincidence of l he constitutional symptoms; when rved, that its progress, febrile affection, and mode ol scabbing, were very like smallpox, and so of the indelible mark left on the arm; yet, throughout the whole visible affection, different. To crown the whole of his honourable conduct, he some time after took all those of my family whom I had vaccinated, into bis smallpox hospital, the only licensed one in the state, and there tested them to his satisfaction, and one to the very verge of rigid experiment: and then he said to me and others—' This new inoculation of yours is no sham. A3 a man of humanity, I rejoice in it; although it will take from me a handsome annual income.' His conduct throughout was so strongly marked with superior intelligence, generosity, and honour, as to excite my esteem and respect; and I accordingly dedicate this effusion of gratitude to the memory of the Hon. William Aspinwali, M. D.; a gentleman respectable in public life as a counsellor, and an honour to his profession as a physician.— Tharh. J\Icd. Biog. A.] ASPI.E'NIUM- (Asplcnium, ii. n.; from a, priv. inrAi/i>, the spleen; because it was supposed to remove disorders of the spleen.) The name of a genus of plants in the Linnaan system. Class, Cryptogamia ; Order, Filices. mum cETKRA.cn. The systematic name of the herb spleenwort. Miltwaste. Scolopendriavera ; Dorodilla. This small bushy plant, Asplenium—fron- dibus pinnatiftdis, lobis altemis conflucntibus obtusis of Llnnaus, grows upon old walls and rocks. It has an herbaceous, mucilaginous, roughish taste, and is recommended as a pectoral. In Spain it is given, with great success, in nephritic and calculous diseases Asplbnium buta muraiua. The systematic name for the rata muraria of the pharmacopoeias. It is supposed by some to possess specific virtues in the cure of ulcers of the lungs, and is exhibited in the form of decoction. Asplbnium scolopendrium. The systematic name for the scolopendrium of the pharmacopoeias. I'hilh ingua cervina. Harts-tongue. This indige- nous plant, Aspleninm—frondibus simplicibu$,cordato lingulatis, intcgerrimis; stivitibvs hirsutis of Lin- rows oil most shady banks, walls, &c. It has 8 slightly astringent and mucilaginous sweetish taste. When fresh and nibbed, it imparts a disagreeable Harts-tongue, which is one of the five capillary herbs, was formerly much used to strengthen the yis- estralu hemorrhages and alvine fluxes, and to (me of the liver and spleen, and lor the general purposes of demulcents andpectoi smuM trschohames. The systematic name for the I : ihe pharmacopoeias. Common •wort. Asplenium- i ,., pinnis subroUndis, crenatis of This plant is admitted mtuthe Edinburgh Pharmaco- poeia : the leaves have a nuitUagiuous, sweetish, sub- astringent taste, without any particular flavour: they b eined useful in disorders of the bn supposed to promote the expectoration phlegm, and to open obstructions of the vi 100 AST i nils Assaba. A shrub found on ll leaves oi which are supposed to disperse bul ASSAFOE'TTDA See ferula assafmtida. ASSARABA CI' A See A 8 arum Europeum Assa'rium. A Koman measure of twelve ounces. Assarthuo sis. Articulation. ASSAY. Essay. This operation consists in de- termining the quantity of valuable or precious metal contained in any mineral or metallic mixture, by ana lyzing a small part thereof. The practical difference between the analysis and the assay of nn ore, con- sists in this: The analysis, if properly made, deter- mines the nature and quantities of all the parts of the compound; whereas the object of the assay consists in ascertaining how much of the particular metal in question may be contained in a certain determinate quantity of the material under examination. Thus, in the assay of gold or silver,-the baser metals are eon sidered as of no value or consequence; and the prob- lem to be resolved is simply, how much of each is contained in the ingot or piece of metal intended to be assayed. ASSIMULA'TION. (Assimilatio, from ad, and similis, to make like to.) The conversion of the food into nutriment. Assiste'ntes. (From ad, and sislo, to stand near.) A name of the prostate glands, so called because they lie near the bladder. ARSO'DES. (From aoaopai, to nauseate, or from assarc, to burn.) Asodes. A continual fever, attended with a loathing of food. A'STACUS. (Astacus, i. m.; from a, neg. and Sa$<o, to distil; so called from the hardness and dryness of its shell.) 7'he name of a genus of shell-fish. Astacus fluviatilis- The officinal crevis, or cray-fish. See Cancer astacus. Astacus marinus. The lobster. Sec Cancer gam- marus. A'stapsis. (From j-atfiif, uva passa.) A raisin. Astera'ntium. (From ap]p, a star.) The peti- tory; so called from its star-like form. See Anthem pyrcthrum. Astericitm. (From the star-like appearance of the flowers.) The pellitory. See Anthems pyrcthrum. ASTHE'NIA. (From a, priv. and o-Qevos, strength.) Extreme debility. The asthenic diseases form one great branch of the Brunonian arrangement ASTHENOLOGY. {Asthenologia, m. f.; from a, priv. and oOtvoc, Btrength, and Xoyo;, a treatise.) The doctrine of diseases arising from debility. The disci pies of the Brunonian school, as they denominate themselves, maintain peculiar opinions on this subject. ASTHMA. (Asthma, matis, newt.: from aoO/iagiu, to breathe with difficulty.) Difficult respiration, returning at intervals, with a sense of stricture across the breast, and In the lungs; a wheezing, hard cough, at first, but more free towards the close of each paroxysm, with a discharge of mucus, followed by a remission. It is ranked by Cullen in the class Neurosis, and order Span mi. There are, according to him, three species ot asthma;— 1. Asthma spontancum, when without any manifest cause. 2. Asthma plethoricum,whcii it arises from plethora. 3. Asthma ezanthematiewn, originating from the re- pulsion of some acrid humour. Asthma rarely appears before the age of puberty and seems to attack men more frequently than women' particularly those of a full habit, in whom it never fails, by frequent repetition, to occasion some degree of emaciation. !n some instances, it arises from an hereditary predisposition, and in many others, it to depend upon a particular constitution of the lu revails, and a] prominent feature in the predisposition. Its attacks arc most frequent during the heats of summer, in the dog days, and in general commence about midnight. On thi .01 attack of asthma, the spirits are often much affected, and the person expe- rience . ich, with las silude, drowsiness, and a pain in the head. Oh tin approach of the succeeding evening, lie perceives a i. and ttion. The difficulty of breathing continuing t$

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