M E I) 4J 



juice of the poppy, [*?,*?. 2. The 



faeces of an infant. 



MED'AL, Fr. mfdaHle. \ piece of metal 

 usually in the form of a coin, and impressed 

 with some particular stamp, intended to 

 commemorate some particular person, 

 action, or event. 



MEDAL'LION, Fr. from medal. 1. In ?w- 

 rtiismatics, a large antique stamp or medal. 



2. In architecture, any circular tablet 



on which are embossed figures or busts. 



ME'DIJEVAL. Relating to the middle 

 ages. 



ME'DIAL, fM$jtt, middle. The three 

 letters b, g, and d, in the Greek alphabet 

 are so called, as being between their 

 tenues p, c, t, and aspirates ph, ch, th. 



ME'DIA.V, Lat. medianus. An epithet 

 applied by anatomists to parts, from their 

 situation between other parts. 



ME'DIANT, from medius. A name in 

 music for the third above the key-note, 

 because it divides the interval between 

 the tonic and dominant into two-thirds. 



MEDIAS'TISCM. In anatomy, the mem- 

 braneous septum formed by the duplica- 

 ture of the pleura, that divides the cavity 

 of the chest into two parts: quasi in 

 media stans as being in the middle. 



MEDIATISA'TION. The annexation of the 

 smaller German sovereignties to larger 

 states, which took place in 1806. 



MED'ICINE, Lat. medicina, from medico, 

 to heal. The science and art which re- 

 late to the preservation of health, and 

 the alleviation or cure of disease. Medi- 

 cine admits of numerous divisions, of 

 which the most general are Physi- 

 ology, which teaches the healthy func- 

 tions of the body ; Pathology, which 

 teaches its morbid conditions ; Semiotics, 

 which teaches the symptoms of disease ; 

 Hygiene, which teaches how to preserve 

 health ; Therapeutics, which teaches how 

 to treat diseases, and includes physic, sur- 

 jery, and obstetrics ; and Pharmacy, which 

 teaches the nature and virtues of drugs, 

 and the mode of preparing and adminis- 

 tering them. 



MEDI'ETAS LIX'OUJE. In law, a jury, 

 one half of which are natives, and the 

 other half foreigners, impanelled in cases 

 where the party to be tried is a foreigner. 



ME'DICM. The Latin word for middle. 

 Anything intervening. In physic, that 

 space or region through which a body in 

 motion passes to any point ; thus, air is 

 the medium through which bodies move 

 near the surface of the earth ; water is 

 the medium through which fishes move ; 

 glass is a medium through which light 

 passes , and we speak of resisting media, 

 refracting media, &c. In logic, the mid- 

 dle term of a syllogism is called the medta, 

 being the argument or reason why the 

 greater extreme is affirmed or denied of 

 he l<*s. Medium also denotes the means 



M E (i 



or instrument by which anything is ac- 

 complished. Thus, money is our medium 

 of commerce ; and news are communi- 

 cated through the medium of the press. 



ME.DUI/LA. 1. The marrow; quati in 



media ossis. 2. The pith or pulp of 



vegetables. 3. The white substance of 



the brain, of which the medulla spinaJis 

 or spinal marrow is a continuation. 



MEDUL'LARY SHEATH. In botany, a 

 thin layer of vessels, surrounding the 

 pulp of exogenous plants. 



MEDVL'LIX. The pith of the sun-flower 

 (Helianthus anmtus] which, on distilla- 

 tion, affords ammonia, leaving a char- 

 coal of a metallic appearance, and a 

 colour similar to that of bronze. Medul- 

 lin is found in a few other vegetables. 



MZDC'S.*, from fju&vjffa,. 1. A genus of 

 Zoophytes, furnished superiorly with a 

 disk more or less convex, resembling the 

 head of a mushroom, called the umbella, 

 the alternate contractions and dilatations 

 of which assist the locomotion of the 

 animal : order Simplicia, Cuv. The Me- 

 dusae approach nearly to the fluid state, 

 appearing like a soft and transparent 

 jelly, which, by spontaneous decompo- 

 sition after death, or by the application 

 of heat, is resolved into an almost limpid 



watery fluid. 2. In mythology, the 



chief of the Gorgons. 



MEE'RSCHAUM, Germ, for Sea-froth. A 

 white mineral, of an earthy appearance, 

 always soft, but dry to the touch. It 

 consists, according to Klaproth,of silica 

 4T5; magnesia 18'25 ; water and carbo- 

 nic acid 39. "When first dug it is soft and 

 greasy, and lather* like soap, on which 

 account the Tartars use it for washing 

 linen. The Turkey tobacco-pipes are 

 made of it. 



MEGALE'SIAN GAMES, from (tiymttgt**, 

 A magnificent Roman exhibition of the 

 circus, in honour of Cybele. 



MEGALO'XTX, from ftiy-u.;, great, and 

 owl;, a claw. A huge fossil mammiferous 

 animal , so named from the great size of 

 its claw bones : order Edentata, Cuv. 

 It has been found in the flour of a cavern 

 in the limestone of Virginia, in America. 



MEOALosAr'Rrs, from ftiytts, great, and 

 ffaugos, a lizard. A genus of fossil am- 

 phibious animals, of great size, belong- 

 ing to the Saurian tribe. According to 

 Cu'vier the Megalosaurusmust have mea- 

 sured from 50 to 70 feet in length ; and 

 its structure partook of the crocodile and 

 monitor. Its remains have been found 

 in the oolite and the wealden. 



MEGAXTC'TERANS, from ^s'j/a;, and 

 wzrtet';, great bats. The first division 

 of the order Cheiroptera. They inhabit 

 the tropical parts of Asia, Africa, and 

 Polynesia ; but are not found in America 



