Elliptical Health Dictionary

Cinchona spp.

Rubiaceae

San: Cinchona, Kunayanah

Hin: Kunain Mal: Cinchona, Quoina

Tam: Cinchona

Importance: Cinchona, known as Quinine, Peruvian or Crown bark tree is famous for the antimalarial drug ‘quinine’ obtained from the bark of the plant. The term cinchona is believed to be derived from the countess of cinchon who was cured of malaria by treating with the bark of the plant in 1638. Cinchona bark has been valued as a febrifuge by the Indians of south and central America for a long time. Over 35 alkaloids have been isolated from the plant; the most important among them being quinine, quinidine, cinchonine and cinchonidine. These alkaloids exist mainly as salts of quinic, quinovic and cinchotannic acids. The cultivated bark contains 7-10% total alkaloids of which about 70% is quinine. Similarly 60% of the total alkaloids of root bark is quinine. Quinine is isolated from the total alkaloids of the bark as quinine sulphate. Commercial preparations contain cinchonidine and dihydroquinine. They are useful for the treatment of malarial fever, pneumonia, influenza, cold, whooping couphs, septicaemia, typhoid, amoebic dysentery, pin worms, lumbago, sciatica, intercostal neuralgia, bronchial neuritis and internal hemorrhoids. They are also used as anesthetic and contraceptive. Besides, they are used in insecticide compositions for the preservation of fur, feathers, wool, felts and textiles. Over doses of these alkaloids may lead to deafness, blindness, weakness, paralysis and finally collapse, either comatose or deleterious. Quinidine sulphate is cardiac depressant and is used for curing arterial fibrillation.

Distribution: Cinchona is native to tropical South America. It is grown in Bolivia, Peru, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Columbia, Indonesia, Tanzania, Kenya, Zaire and Sri Lanka. It was introduced in 1808 in Guatemala,1860 in India, 1918 in Uganda, 1927 in Philippines and in 1942 in Costa Rica. Roy Markham introduced the plant to India. The first plantation was raised in Nilgiris and later on in Darjeeling of West Bengal. The value of the tree was learnt by Jessuit priests who introduced the bark to Europe. It first appeared in London pharmacopoeia in 1677 (Husain, 1993).

Botany: The quinine plant belongs to the family Rubiaceae and genus Cinchona which comprises over 40 species. Among these a dozen are medicinally important. The commonly cultivated species are C. calisaya Wedd., C. ledgeriana Moens, C. officinalis Linn., C. succirubra Pav. ex Kl., C. lancifolia and C. pubescens. Cinchona species have the chromosome number 2n=68. C. officinalis Linn. is most common in India. It is an evergreen tree reaching a height of 10-15m. Leaves are opposite, elliptical, ovate- lanceolate, entire and glabrous. Flowers are reddish-brown in short cymbiform, compound cymes, terminal and axillary; calyx tubular, 5-toothed, obconical, subtomentose, sub-campanulate, acute, triangular, dentate, hairy; corolla tube 5 lobed, densely silky with white depressed hairs, slightly pentagonal; stamens 5; style round, stigma submersed. Fruit is capsule ovoid-oblong; seeds elliptic, winged margin octraceous, crinulate-dentate (Biswas and Chopra, 1982).

Agrotechnology: The plant widely grows in tropical regions having an average minimum temperature of 14 C. Mountain slopes in the humid tropical areas with well distributed annual rainfall of 1500-1950mm are ideal for its cultivation. Well drained virgin and fertile forest soils with pH 4.5-6.5 are best suited for its growth. It does not tolerate waterlogging. Cinchona is propagated through seeds and vegetative means. Most of the commercial plantations are raised by seeds. Vegetative techniques such as grafting, budding and softwood cuttings are employed in countries like India, Sri Lanka, Java and Guatemala. Cinchona succirubra is commonly used as root stock in the case of grafting and budding. Hormonal treatment induces better rooting. Seedlings are first raised in nursery under shade. Raised seedbeds of convenient size are prepared, well decomposed compost or manure is applied , seeds are broadcasted uniformly at 2g/m2, covered with a thin layer of sand and irrigated. Seeds germinate in 10-20 days. Seedlings are transplanted into polythene bags after 3 months. These can be transplanted into the field after 1 year at 1-2m spacing. Trees are thinned after third year for extracting bark , leaving 50% of the trees at the end of the fifth year. The crop is damaged by a number of fungal diseases like damping of caused by Rhizoctoria solani, tip blight by Phytophthora parasatica, collar rot by Sclerotiun rolfsii, root rot by Phytophthora cinnamomi, Armillaria mellea and Pythium vexans. Field sanitation, seed treatment with organo mercurial fungicide, burning of infected plant parts and spraying 1% Bordeaux mixture are recommended for the control of the diseases (Crandall, 1954). Harvesting can be done in one or two phases. In one case, the complete tree is uprooted, after 8-10 years when the alkaloid yield is maximum. In another case, the tree is cut about 30cm from the ground for bark after 6-7 years so that fresh sprouts come up from the stem to yield a second crop which is harvested with the under ground roots after 6-7 years. Both the stem and root are cut into convenient pieces, bark is separated, dried in shade, graded, packed and traded. Bark yield is 9000-16000kg/ha (Husain, 1993).

Properties and activity: Over 35 alkaloids have been isolated from Cinchona bark, the most important among them are quinine, quinidine, cinchonine, cinchonidine, cinchophyllamine and idocinchophyllamine. There is considerable variation in alkaloid content ranging from 4% to 20%. However, 6-8% yield is obtained from commercial plantations. The non alkaloidal constituents present in the bark are bitter glycosides, -quinovin, cinchofulvic, cinchotannic and quinic acids, a bitter essential oil possessing the odour of the bark and a red coloring matter. The seed contains 6.13% fixed oil. Quinine and its derivatives are bitter, astringent, acrid, thermogenic, febrifuge, oxytocic, anodyne, anti-bacterial, anthelmintic, digestive, depurative, constipating, anti pyretic, cardiotonic, antiinflammatory, expectorant and calcifacient (Warrier et al, 1994; Bhakuni and Jain, 1995).... cinchona

An elliptical ring of steel to which is attached a dial and moving index. It is used to test the strength of the muscles of the forearm, being squeezed in the hand, and registering the pressure in pounds or kilograms.... dynamometer

The eye is the sensory organ of sight. It is an elaborate photoreceptor detecting information, in the form of light, from the environment and transmitting this information by a series of electrochemical changes to the BRAIN. The visual cortex is the part of the brain that processes this information (i.e. the visual cortex is what ‘sees’ the environment). There are two eyes, each a roughly spherical hollow organ held within a bony cavity (the orbit). Each orbit is situated on the front of the skull, one on each side of the nose. The eye consists of an outer wall of three main layers and a central cavity divided into three.

The outer coat consists of the sclera and the cornea; their junction is called the limbus. SCLERA This is white, opaque, and constitutes the posterior ?ve-sixths of the outer coat. It is made of dense ?brous tissue. The sclera is visible anteriorly, between the eyelids, as the ‘white of the eye’. Posteriorly and anteriorly it is covered by Tenons capsule, which in turn is covered by transparent conjunctiva. There is a hole in the sclera through which nerve ?bres from the retina leave the eye in the optic nerve. Other smaller nerve ?bres and blood vessels also pass through the sclera at di?erent points. CORNEA This constitutes the transparent, colourless anterior one-sixth of the eye. It is transparent in order to allow light into the eye and is more steeply curved than the sclera. Viewed from in front, the cornea is roughly circular. Most of the focusing power of the eye is provided by the cornea (the lens acts as the ‘?ne adjustment’). It has an outer epithelium, a central stroma and an inner endothelium. The cornea is supplied with very ?ne nerve ?bres which make it exquisitely sensitive to pain. The central cornea has no blood supply – it relies mainly on aqueous humour for nutrition. Blood vessels and large nerve ?bres in the cornea would prevent light from entering the eye. LIMBUS is the junction between cornea and sclera. It contains the trabecular meshwork, a sieve-like structure through which aqueous humour leaves the eye.

The middle coat (uveal tract) consists of the choroid, ciliary body and iris. CHOROID A highly vascular sheet of tissue lining the posterior two-thirds of the sclera. The network of vessels provides the blood supply for the outer half of the retina. The blood supply of the choroid is derived from numerous ciliary vessels which pierce the sclera in front and behind. CILIARY BODY A ring of tissue extending 6 mm back from the anterior limitation of the sclera. The various muscles of the ciliary body by their contractions and relaxations are responsible for changing the shape of the lens during ACCOMMODATION. The ciliary body is lined by cells that secrete aqueous humour. Posteriorly, the ciliary body is continuous with the choroid; anteriorly it is continuous with the iris. IRIS A ?attened muscular diaphragm that is attached at its periphery to the ciliary body, and has a round central opening – the pupil. By contraction and relaxation of the muscles of the iris, the pupil can be dilated or constricted (dilated in the dark or when aroused; constricted in bright light and for close work). The iris forms a partial division between the anterior chamber and the posterior chamber of the eye. It lies in front of the lens and forms the back wall of the anterior chamber. The iris is visible from in front, through the transparent cornea, as the ‘coloured part of the eye’. The amount and distribution of iris pigment determine the colour of the iris. The pupil is merely a hole in the centre of the iris and appears black.

The inner layer The retina is a multilayered tissue (ten layers in all) which extends from the edges of the optic nerve to line the inner surface of the choroid up to the junction of ciliary body and choroid. Here the true retina ends at the ora serrata. The retina contains light-sensitive cells of two types: (i) cones – cells that operate at high and medium levels of illumination; they subserve ?ne discrimination of vision and colour vision; (ii) rods – cells that function best at low light intensity and subserve black-and-white vision.

The retina contains about 6 million cones and about 100 million rods. Information from them is conveyed by the nerve ?bres which are in the inner part of the retina, and leave the eye in the optic nerve. There are no photoreceptors at the optic disc (the point where the optic nerve leaves the eye) and therefore there is no light perception from this small area. The optic disc thus produces a physiological blind spot in the visual ?eld.

The retina can be subdivided into several areas: PERIPHERAL RETINA contains mainly rods and a few scattered cones. Visual acuity from this area is fairly coarse. MACULA LUTEA So-called because histologically it looks like a yellow spot. It occupies an area 4·5 mm in diameter lateral to the optic disc. This area of specialised retina can produce a high level of visual acuity. Cones are abundant here but there are few rods. FOVEA CENTRALIS A small central depression at the centre of the macula. Here the cones are tightly packed; rods are absent. It is responsible for the highest levels of visual acuity.

The chambers of the eye There are three: the anterior and posterior chambers, and the vitreous cavity. ANTERIOR CHAMBER Limited in front by the inner surface of the cornea, behind by the iris and pupil. It contains a transparent clear watery ?uid, the aqueous humour. This is constantly being produced by cells of the ciliary body and constantly drained away through the trabecular meshwork. The trabecular meshwork lies in the angle between the iris and inner surface of the cornea. POSTERIOR CHAMBER A narrow space between the iris and pupil in front and the lens behind. It too contains aqueous humour in transit from the ciliary epithelium to the anterior chamber, via the pupil. VITREOUS CAVITY The largest cavity of the eye. In front it is bounded by the lens and behind by the retina. It contains vitreous humour.

Lens Transparent, elastic and biconvex in cross-section, it lies behind the iris and in front of the vitreous cavity. Viewed from the front it is roughly circular and about 10 mm in diameter. The diameter and thickness of the lens vary with its accommodative state. The lens consists of: CAPSULE A thin transparent membrane surrounding the cortex and nucleus. CORTEX This comprises newly made lens ?bres that are relatively soft. It separates the capsule on the outside from the nucleus at the centre of the lens. NUCLEUS The dense central area of old lens ?bres that have become compacted by new lens ?bres laid down over them. ZONULE Numerous radially arranged ?bres attached between the ciliary body and the lens around its circumference. Tension in these zonular ?bres can be adjusted by the muscles of the ciliary body, thus changing the shape of the lens and altering its power of accommodation. VITREOUS HUMOUR A transparent jelly-like structure made up of a network of collagen ?bres suspended in a viscid ?uid. Its shape conforms to that of the vitreous cavity within which it is contained: that is, it is spherical except for a shallow concave depression on its anterior surface. The lens lies in this depression.

Eyelids These are multilayered curtains of tissue whose functions include spreading of the tear ?lm over the front of the eye to prevent desiccation; protection from injury or external irritation; and to some extent the control of light entering the eye. Each eye has an upper and lower lid which form an elliptical opening (the palpebral ?ssure) when the eyes are open. The lids meet at the medial canthus and lateral canthus respectively. The inner medial canthus is ?xed; the lateral canthus more mobile. An epicanthus is a fold of skin which covers the medial canthus in oriental races.

Each lid consists of several layers. From front to back they are: very thin skin; a sheet of muscle (orbicularis oculi, whose ?bres are concentric around the palpebral ?ssure and which produce closure of the eyelids); the orbital septum (modi?ed near the lid margin to form the tarsal plates); and ?nally, lining the back surface of the lid, the conjunctiva (known here as tarsal conjunctiva). At the free margin of each lid are the eyelashes, the openings of tear glands which lie within the lid, and the lacrimal punctum. Toward the medial edge of each lid is an elevation known as the papilla: the lacrimal punctum opens into this papilla. The punctum forms the open end of the cannaliculus, part of the tear-drainage mechanism.

Orbit The bony cavity within which the eye is held. The orbits lie one on either side of the nose, on the front of the skull. They a?ord considerable protection for the eye. Each is roughly pyramidal in shape, with the apex pointing backwards and the base forming the open anterior part of the orbit. The bone of the anterior orbital margin is thickened to protect the eye from injury. There are various openings into the posterior part of the orbit – namely the optic canal, which allows the optic nerve to leave the orbit en route for the brain, and the superior orbital and inferior orbital ?ssures, which allow passage of nerves and blood vessels to and from the orbit. The most important structures holding the eye within the orbit are the extra-ocular muscles, a suspensory ligament of connective tissue that forms a hammock on which the eye rests and which is slung between the medial and lateral walls of the orbit. Finally, the orbital septum, a sheet of connective tissue extending from the anterior margin of the orbit into the lids, helps keep the eye in place. A pad of fat ?lls in the orbit behind the eye and acts as a cushion for the eye.

Conjunctiva A transparent mucous membrane that extends from the limbus over the anterior sclera or ‘white of the eye’. This is the bulbar conjunctiva. The conjunctiva does not cover the cornea. Conjunctiva passes from the eye on to the inner surface of the eyelid at the fornices and is continuous with the tarsal conjunctiva. The semilunar fold is the vertical crescent of conjunctiva at the medial aspect of the palpebral ?ssure. The caruncle is a piece of modi?ed skin just within the inner canthus.

Eye muscles The extra-ocular muscles. There are six in all, the four rectus muscles (superior, inferior, medial and lateral rectus muscles) and two oblique muscles (superior and inferior oblique muscles). The muscles are attached at various points between the bony orbit and the eyeball. By their combined action they move the eye in horizontal and vertical gaze. They also produce torsional movement of the eye (i.e. clockwise or anticlockwise movements when viewed from the front).

Lacrimal apparatus There are two components: a tear-production system, namely the lacrimal gland and accessory lacrimal glands; and a drainage system.

Tears keep the front of the eye moist; they also contain nutrients and various components to protect the eye from infection. Crying results from excess tear production. The drainage system cannot cope with the excess and therefore tears over?ow on to the face. Newborn babies do not produce tears for the ?rst three months of life. LACRIMAL GLAND Located below a small depression in the bony roof of the orbit. Numerous tear ducts open from it into predominantly the upper lid. Accessory lacrimal glands are found in the conjunctiva and within the eyelids: the former open directly on to the surface of the conjunctiva; the latter on to the eyelid margin. LACRIMAL DRAINAGE SYSTEM This consists of: PUNCTUM An elevated opening toward the medial aspect of each lid. Each punctum opens into a canaliculus. CANALICULUS A ?ne tube-like structure run-ning within the lid, parallel to the lid margin. The canaliculi from upper and lower lid join to form a common canaliculus which opens into the lacrimal sac. LACRIMAL SAC A small sac on the side of the nose which opens into the nasolacrimal duct. During blinking, the sac sucks tears into itself from the canaliculus. Tears then drain by gravity down the nasolacrimal duct. NASOLACRIMAL DUCT A tubular structure which runs down through the wall of the nose and opens into the nasal cavity.

Visual pathway Light stimulates the rods and cones of the retina. Electrochemical messages are then passed to nerve ?bres in the retina and then via the optic nerve to the optic chiasm. Here information from the temporal (outer) half of each retina continues to the same side of the brain. Information from the nasal (inner) half of each retina crosses to the other side within the optic chiasm. The rearranged nerve ?bres then pass through the optic tract to the lateral geniculate body, then the optic radiation to reach the visual cortex in the occipital lobe of the brain.... eye

(condyloid joint) n. a form of *diarthrosis (freely movable joint) in which an ovoid head fits into an elliptical cavity. Examples are the knee joint and the joint between the mandible (lower jaw) and the temporal bone of the skull.... condylarthrosis

n. the presence of significant numbers of abnormal elliptical red cells (elliptocytes) in the blood. Elliptocytosis may occur as a hereditary disorder or be a feature of certain blood diseases, such as *myelofibrosis or iron-deficiency *anaemia.... elliptocytosis

Gymnema tea is known for its sugar killing properties. Gymnema (gymnema sylvestre) is a woody plant that grows mainly in the forests of central and southern India. The plant climbs on bushes and trees, has elliptical leaves and small flowers with a yellow corolla. Gymnema is also known as the “destroyer of sugar”. In ancient times, some physicians noticed that chewing gymnema leaves can suppress the taste of sugar. Currently, gymnena is being administrated in India to those who suffer from diabetes, for increasing insulin levels and controlling the blood sugar levels. The constituents of gymnema tea are gymnemic acid, parabin, glucose and carbohydrates. How To Make Gymnema Tea Brewing gymnema tea is a very simple process. You can make it by combining dried gymnema leaves with green tea loose leaf and placing them into boiled water. Let the mix steep for about 5-7 minutes. The more you let it steep, the more intensified the flavor will be. Gymnema Tea Benefits

• Helps reducing blood sugar levels.
• Is a strong allied in the process of weight loss.
• May help treat swollen glands.
• Has anti-inflammatory properties.
• Helps treating snakebites.
• Reduces the craving for sugar.

Gymnema Tea Side Effects

• Pregnant and breastfeeding women should not drink gymnema tea. Not enough is known about consuming gymnema tea during pregnancy so, it is better to avoid it.
• Gymnema tea may interfere with blood sugar control during and after surgical procedures.

Ass you can see, gymnema tea has a lot of health benefits. Just make sure you stay away from its side effects and, also, avoid over-consumption! No more than 1-2 cups of gymnema tea per day!... gymnema tea - the destroyer of sugar

Hypericum perforatum. N.O. Hypericaceae.

Some thirteen different varieties of St. John's Wort flourish in England, but Hypericum perforatum is the only one included in the herbal materia medica, and may be distinguished from the others by the small hole-like dots on the leaf.

Habitat: Hedges and woods.

Features ? The upright, woody but slender stem, branching from the upper part only, attains a height of between one and two feet. The leaves are stalkless and elliptical in shape, about half an inch long, grow in pairs on opposite sides of the stem and branches and, in addition to the transparent dots noticed above, are sometimes marked with black spots on the under side. Numerous bright yellow flowers, dotted and streaked with dark purple, cluster, in June and July, at the ends of side branches and stem. A bitter, astringent taste is remarked.

Action: Expectorant, diuretic and astringent.

Indicated in coughs, colds, and disorders of the urinary system. It was prescribed more often by the English herbal school of a hundred years ago than it is to-day, and was noticed as far back as Culpeper for "wounds, hurts and bruises." Indeed, an infusion of the fresh flowers in Olive oil, to make the "Oil of St. John's Wort," is still used as an application to wounds, swellings, and ulcers. Internally, the infusion of 1 ounce of the herb to 1 pint of boiling water is taken in wineglass doses.

In America St. John's Wort grows freely in the cornfields, which proximity was held by Tilke to operate beneficially upon both herb and grain. Discussing American wheat which has grown among quantities of St. John's Wort he tells us ? "It is well known, by almost every baker who works in his business, that this flour improves the quality of the bread, by

having a small quantity of it in every batch, particularly in seasons when the English flour is of inferior quality. A clever author informs us that it contains one-fourth more gluten than our famous wheats grown in Gloucestershire, known by the name of 'rivets.' " Tilke was himself a baker in his early days.... st. john's wort

an airway tube with an elliptical inflatable cuff at one end for insertion into the mouth of a patient requiring artificial ventilation. It is designed to fit snugly in the patient’s throat over the top of the laryngeal opening. While it is relatively easy to insert and allows delivery of effective artificial ventilation, it does not provide the absolute protection of the airway from vomitus afforded by an endotracheal tube (see intubation).... laryngeal mask

Dipteryx odorata

FAMILY: Leguminosae

SYNONYMS: Coumarouna odorata, tonquin bean, Dutch tonka bean.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A very large tropical tree with big elliptical leaves and violet flowers, bearing fruit which contain a single black seed or ‘tonka bean’, about the size of a butter bean. The beans, known as ‘rumara’ by the natives, are collected and dried, then soaked in alcohol or rum for twelve to fifteen hours to make them swell. When they are removed from the bath they become dried and shrunken, covered in a whitish powder of crystallized coumann.

The ‘curing’ of the beans is partly a conventional ‘sales promotion’ technique rather than an indication of quality, since the frosted appearance has come to be expected of the product.

DISTRIBUTION: Native to South America, especially Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil; cultivated in Nigeria and elsewhere in West Africa. Most beans come from South America after ‘curing’, to be processed in Europe and the USA.

OTHER SPECIES: There are many species of Dipteryx which produce beans suitable for extraction.

HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: In Holland the fatty substance from the beans is sold as ‘tarquin butter’, which used to be used as an insecticide against moth in linen cupboards. ‘The fluid extract has been used with advantage in whooping cough, but it paralyses the heart if used in large doses.’.

ACTIONS: Insecticidal, narcotic, tonic (cardiac).

EXTRACTION: A concrete and absolute by solvent extraction from the ‘cured’ beans.

CHARACTERISTICS: The absolute is a semi-solid yellow or amber mass with a very rich, warm and sweet herbaceous-nutty odour. It blends well with lavender, lavandin, clary sage, styrax, bergamot, oakmoss, immortelle and citronella.

PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Mainly coumarin (20–40 per cent) in the absolute.

SAFETY DATA: Oral and dermal toxin, due to high coumarin content.

AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE None.

OTHER USES: Used to a limited extent as a pharmaceutical masking agent. The absolute is employed as a fixative and fragrance component in oriental, new-mown hay and chypres-type perfumes. It is no longer used as a flavouring (due to the coumarin ban in many countries), though it is still used to flavour tobacco.... tonka