GLOSSARY 445 



Je-ju'num (Lat. jejunus, empty), the middle portion of the small 



intestine. 

 Joint (Lat. jungere, to join), the union of two bones. 



Kid'ney, the organ which excretes urea. 



Lab'y-rinth (Gr. laburinthos}, an intricate arrangement of passages. 



The inner ear. 

 Lach'ry-mal glands (Lat. lacrima, a tear), the glands which produce 



the tears. They are situated in the orbit just above the eyeball, upon 



its outer side. 

 Lac'te-al tubes (Lat. lac, milk), the fine lymphatic tubes which take 



up fat from the intestine. During digestion they can be seen as 



milky lines across the mesentery. 

 Lac-tom'e-ter (Lat. lac, milk, and metrum, measure), an instrument for 



testing the purity of milk. 

 Larynx (lah' rinks) (Gr. larugx), the box in the upper part of the neck 



in which the windpipe begins. It contains the vocal cords. 

 Lau'da-num, opium dissolved in nine times its weight of alcohol. 

 Lens (Lat. lens, lentil), a transparent substance having curved surfaces. 



It has the power of changing the directions of rays of light. 

 Leu-co-ma-ine (lew-kef mah-in) (Gr. leukoma, white), a class of sub- 

 stances resembling alkaloids which are found in the body during 



life. They are very poisonous, and much sickness is due to their 



presence. 

 Lev'er (Fr. lever, to raise), a pry ; a rigid bar, one part of which is made 



to turn about a fixed point called a fulcrum, while an opposite part 



presses against a resisting object which it moves. 

 Lig'a-ment (Lat. ligare, to bind), the fibrous bands of connective 



tissue which bind bones together to form joints. 

 Liv'er, the large red gland in the upper right side of the abdomen. It 



forms bile and changes digested food to blood. 



Lymph (Lat. lympha, a spring of water), the plasma and white cor- 

 puscles which have left the capillaries to nourish the cells of the 



body. 

 Lym-phat'ics, the tubes which convey lymph back to the veins. Lymph 



nodes are spongy bodies like grains of wheat which strain out waste 



or poisonous substances from the lymph. In the neck and groin 



they can be felt, and are usually called kernels. 



