Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Trigone
This is the triangular basement muscle of the urinary bladder. It differs in structure and nerves form the top of the bladder, the detrusor muscle, which expands as the bladder fills, and contracts during urination under para-sympathetic nerve stimulus. The trigone dose not expand, is under sympathetic nerve stimulus, and supplies the rigidity and sphincter…
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Thomsonian
That school of medical philosophy and therapy founded by the American messianic nature therapist Samuel Thomson (b. 1769). Thomson’s great axiom was, “Heat is life, and cold is death.” He lived in New England, which explains some of this. He and the later Thomsonians made great use of vomiting, sweating, and purging to achieve these…
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Sympathetic
A division of the autonomic or involuntary nervous system that works in general opposition to the parasympathetic division. Many of the sympathetic functions are local, specific, and involve secretion of acetylcholine, like any other of your normal nerves-stimulating or suppressing a specific muscle, gland, or whatever. A certain number of these nerves, however, unlike any…
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Steroid plant
The previous subject is obviously an endless one, but as this is the glossary of an herb book, let me assure you, virtually no plants have a direct steroid hormone-mimicking effect. There are a few notable exceptions with limited application, like Black Cohosh and Licorice. Plant steroids are usually called phytosterols, and, when they have…
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Staph
This is short for Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis, the two types that are likely to cause disease. They are gram-positive, nonmotile bacteria that are aerobic-unless they need to be anaerobic. Staph of various types are responsible for boils and carbuncles; they may be involved in impetigo, toxic shock syndrome, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and urinary tract…
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Shigellosis
An acute, self-limiting intestinal infection, with diarrhea, fever, and abdominal pain, caused by one of the Shigella genus of gram-negative bacteria. The infection is contracted through food prepared by infected individuals or by direct contact with them. Raw sewage contamination can also be a source. Infestation of the digestive tract with Shigella, causing bacillary dysentery.…
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Seminal vesicles
These are a couple of spongy glands, 1 V2 to 2 inches long, that secrete high-sugar, acidic, and thick, ropy colloid into the ductus deferens (containing sperm from the testes) during ejaculation. The two fluids empty into the prostate, where they are mixed with alkaline prostatic fluids to form semen. A male gland located at…
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Seborrhea
A disorder of the sebaceous glands, with changes in the amount and quality of the oils secreted. Although it can occur in any part of the body, seborrhea of the scalp (dandruff) is most common. Functional disease of the sebaceous glands marked by an increase in the amount, and often an alteration of the quality,…
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Salpingitis
Inflammation or infection of a Fallopian tube, usually the result of infection spreading from the vagina or uterus; if scar tissue forms, the tube may become blocked and disable fertilization in that tube. Treatment is by antibiotics or surgical removal of the tube. Inflammation of a fallopian tube, which carries eggs from the ovary to…
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Sacral nerves
These are five pairs of CNS nerves that exit through the sacral foramen and sacral hiatus, and bring information in and out of the spinal cord. Much of their function relates to the sciatic nerve, and they bring information in from the skin dermatomes of the heel, back of the legs, buttocks, and the pelvic…
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