753 



MEDIETAS LINGUAE MEDULLA. 



n science of great interest. See Geographical Noso- 

 logy in (German), Stuttgart, 1823, by Schnurrer. 



Medical Topography is the description of single 

 places or tracts of country as to the circumstances 

 which make them interesting in a medical point of 

 view the winds, rivers, springs, mountains, the sea, 

 woods, plains, structure of the houses, way of living 

 of the people, their amusements and customs ; in 

 short, every thing which affects the health of the in- 

 habitants. Geographical situation, elevation, &c., 

 belong to a complete medical topography. See 

 Mettler's Guide for the drawing up of Medical Topo- 

 graphies, in German. 



MEDIETAS LINGUAE; a jury or inquest, whereof 

 the one half consists of denizens, the other stran- 

 gers, in pleas wherein the one party is a stranger. 



MEDINA, or MEDINA EL NEBI (the city of 

 the prophet) ; before the days of Mohammed, Jathreb, 

 anciently latrippa ; a city of Arabia, in Hedsjas, 70 

 miles E. of Jam bo, its port on the Red sea, 180 N. 

 of Mecca; Ion. 40 10' E. ; lat. 25 13' N.; popu- 

 lation about 8000. It is regarded by Mohammedans 

 as sacred, from its containing the tomb of Moham- 

 med. Most of the .houses are poorly built, and the 

 place is of no importance, except from its containing 

 the sepulchre of Mohammed. This sepulchre is held 

 in high veneration by Mohammedans, yet the visiting 

 it is not considered necessary or highly meritorious, 

 and Medina is much less visited by pilgrims than 

 Mecca. Neither the tomb nor the mosque in which 

 \t is enclosed, is distinguished by any magnificence ; 

 but it was remarkable for an immense treasure of 

 pearls, precious stones, &c., accumulated for ages by 

 the contributions of rich Mohammedans, until it was 

 pillaged by the Wahabees, a few years since. See 

 Mohammed. 



MEDINA SIDONIA, ALFONSO PEREZ GUZMAN, 

 duke of; admiral of the armada, (q. v.) Philip II. 

 received him, after his disaster, with unexpected 

 favour. Medina died in 1615. 



MEDITERRANEAN SEA (Nostrum Mare, Inter- 

 num Mare, with the Romans) ; the large mass ot 

 waters between Europe, Asia, and Africa, which re- 

 ceives its name from its inland position, communicat- 

 ing with the great ocean only by the straits of 

 Gibraltar. Its northern shore is irregular, forming 

 large gulfs which have received separate names ; 

 between the western coast of Italy and the islands of 

 Corsica and Sardinia, it is called the Tuscan, or 

 Tyrrhenian sea (Mare Inferum) ; between Itnly and 

 Illyria and Dahnatia, the Adriatic, or Gulf of Venice ; 

 farther south to the west of Greece, the Ionian sea 

 (the two latter formed the Mare Superum of the 

 Romans) ; to the north-east of Greece, between 

 Turkey in Europe and Natolia (Asia Minor), the 

 Archipelago, or sEgean sea. Its southern shore is 

 less indented. It receives the waters of the Black 

 sea, by a current which sets constantly through the 

 Dardanelles, and thus mingles the waters of the 

 Danube, the Po, and the Nile, with those of the 

 Dnieper and the Ebro. Its length from east to west 

 is about two thousand miles ; its general breadth 

 varies from 7 800 to 4 500 miles ; between Genoa 

 and Biserta it is about 375 miles ; between the 

 southern part of Italy and cape Bon, not quite 200 

 miles. The principal islands of the Mediterranean 

 are the Balearic isles, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Elba, 

 the Lipari islands, Malta, the Ionian isles, Candia 

 (Crete) and Cyprus. (See these articles.) The 

 winds are irregular, the tides variable and slight, 

 rarely exceeding two feet of rise and fall, and the 

 sea is generally short and rough. A strong central 

 current sets into the Atlantic through the straits of 

 Gibraltar ; on each shore are superficial counter 

 currents setting in from the ocean into the sea ; but a 



rapid under current sets out. In a commercial point 

 of view, the Mediterranean is of the greatest interest; 

 its shores contain numerous celebrated ports, and its 

 waters are covered with the ships of all the western 

 nations. The different maritime powers maintain a 

 naval force in the sea, which till lately has been 

 infested with pirates. Its coasts were the seats of 

 some of the earliest civilized nations, the Egyptians, 

 Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks and Romans. See 

 Steel's Chart of the Mediterranean (London, 1823.) 



Mediterranean Pass. In the treaties between 

 Britain and the Barbary states, it used to be agreed, 

 that the subjects of the former should pass the seas 

 unmolested by the cruisers of those states ; and, for 

 better ascertaining what ships and vessels belonged 

 to British subjects, it was provided, that they should 

 produce a pass under the hand and seal of the lord 

 high admiral, or the lords commissioners of the ad- 

 miralty. The passes were made out at the admiralty, 

 containing a very few words, written on parchment, 

 with ornaments at the top. through which a scollop- 

 ed indenture was made; the scolloped tops were 

 sent to Barbary, and being put in possession of their 

 cruisers, the commanders were instructed to suffer 

 all persons to pass who had passes that would fit 

 these scolloped tops. 



MEDIUM (Latin, middle or mean), in science; 

 the space or substance through which a body moves 

 or acts. Thus air is the medium through which 

 sound is transmitted, light passes. &c. A transparent 

 medium is that which allows the free passage of rays 

 of light ; a refracting medium is one which turns 

 them aside in their course. 



Medium, in logic. See Syllogism 



MEDIUM, CIRCULATING. See Circulating Me- 

 dium. 



MEDLAR (mespilus Germanica) ; a small Euro- 

 pean tree, allied to and somewhat resembling the 

 quince, and belonging to the natural family rosacece. 

 The flowers are moderately large, white, and solitary 

 at the extremities of the branches ; the calyx and 

 peduncles are cottony ; the fruit, in the cultivated 

 varieties, is large, and, before it is perfectly ripe, has 

 an excessively austere and astringent taste. The 

 medlars do not ripen naturally on the tree, but are 

 collected in the autumn, and spread upon straw till 

 they become soft, and approach the state of decom- 

 position. They have now a sweet, vinous flavour, 

 which, however, is not to the taste of most people. 



MEDOC ; formerly a country of France, in the 

 western part of Guienne, between the Garonne and 

 the sea, in the present department of the Gironde. 

 A great part of it is covered with woods and marshes, 

 but, along the Garonne, the soil is fertile, and yields 

 excellent wines. See Bordelais Wines. 



MEDULLA, in anatomy ; the fat substance which 

 fills the cavity of a long bone. See Bones, and 

 Marrow. 



Medulla, in vegetable physiology ; the pith of 

 plants, is lodged in the centre or heart of the vege- 

 table body. In the parts most endued with life, like 

 the root, or especially young growing stems or branch- 

 es, the medulla is usually of a pulpy substance, but 

 tolerably firm, though rather brittle. Its colour is 

 pale green, or yellowish, with a watery transparency, 

 the substance being very juicy. Its juices partake 

 but little, or not at all, of the peculiar flavour of the 

 plant, they being more of the nature of sap. In 

 branches or stems more advanced in growth, the 

 medulla is found of a drier, more white, and evidently 

 cellular texture. In this state, it is well known in 

 the full grown branches of elder, the stems of rushes, 

 &c. In these, it is dry, highly cellular, snow white, 

 extremely light and compressible, though but slightly 

 elastic. In the greater number of plants, no vessels 



