GLOSSARY 441 



Ep'i-der'mis (Gr. epi, upon, and derma, skin), the thin insensitive 

 layer of cells upon the outside of the skin. It is sometimes called 

 the cuticle. 



Ep-i-glot'tis (Gr. ept, upon, and^&taz, the tongue), the leaf-like lid upon 

 the back of the tongue which closes the larynx when swallowing. 



Ep'i-lep-sy (Gr. epilepsis, a seizure), a disease in which, at intervals 

 a person suddenly falls to the ground unconscious, while all the 

 muscles of the body contract strongly. 



Ep-i-the'lium (Gr. epi, upon, and thele, nipple), the cells which cover 

 the skin and mucous membrane and line the tubes of glands. Epi- 

 thelium is a protection for the body, and does all the work of secre- 

 tion and absorption. 



Er-y-sip'e-las (Gr. erutkros, red, and pella, skin), a disease of the 

 skin in which there is pain, redness, and swelling. It is caused by 

 the growth of bacteria of disease in a wound. It varies in severity 

 from a simple maturated scratch to a severe blood poison. 



E-soph'a-gus or ce-soph'a-gus (Gr. otso, I shall carry, and phagein, to 

 eat), the tube connecting the mouth with the stomach. 



E'ther (Gr. aithein, to burn), a colorless liquid which evaporates with 

 such great rapidity that its vapor may catch fire if near a lamp. It 

 is used to dissolve gums, and also, like chloroform, to produce in- 

 sensibility during surgical operations. 



E'ther (Lat. aether, the upper pure air where the gods abode, in dis- 

 tinction from the lower or true air in which man lived), the sub- 

 stance which is supposed to pervade all space, and whose vibrations 

 are supposed to form light, heat, and electricity. 



Eustachian tube (yu-sta'ki-ari), the tube leading from the middle ear 

 to the pharynx. It is named after its discoverer, Eustachi, an 

 Italian physician, who died in 1574. 



Ex-cre'tion (Lat. ex, out, and cretus, sifted), a waste substance extracted 

 from the blood by the epithelium of a gland. 



Ex-pi-ra'tion (Lat. ex, out, and spirare, to breathe), breathing out air 

 from the lungs. 



Ex-ten'sor muscles (Lat. ex, out, and tender e, to stretch), the muscles 

 which straighten limbs. 



Fat, a white greasy substance composed of carbon, hydrogen, and 



oxygen, but with much less oxygen than is in starch. 

 Fe'mur (La&. femur), the thigh bone. 



