ASC 



37 



ASP 



paps, found in the sea on 

 rocks, old shells, etc., as a 

 pap-like, gelatinous substance : 

 Ascidioida, n. plu., ds-sid'-i-oyd'-d 

 (Gr. eidos, resemblance), a class 

 of molluscous animals which have 

 often the shape of a two-necked 

 bottle ; synonym of * Tunicata : ' 

 ascigerous, a., as-idj'-er-us (L. 

 gero, I bear), producing asci. 



ascites, n. plu., as-slt'-ez (Gr. 

 askos, a bag, a leathern bottle), 

 dropsy of the abdomen ; a morbid 

 accumulation of serous fluid in 

 the cavity of the peritoneum. 



Asclepiadace89, n. plu., ds-klep'-i' 

 dd-d'-se-e (Gr. Asklepios, L. 

 jEscidapius, a celebrated anc. 

 physician), the Asclepias family, 

 an Order of plants : Asclepias, n., 

 dS'klep f 'i-ds, a genus of plants : 

 Asclepias tuberosa, lub'er-oz'a (L. 

 tuberosus, having fleshy knobs), 

 the butterfly weed or pleurisy root, 

 a cathartic and diaphoretic : A. 

 curassavica, kur'ds-sdv'ik-d (pro- 

 bably L. cura, healing, cure 

 from euro, I care for ; sudvium 

 or sdvium, a mouth), wild ipecac- 

 uanha : A. Syriaca, sir-l'-ak-a 

 (of or belonging to Syria, or con- 

 nected with it), found in Canada, 

 a very odoriferous plant when in 

 flower sugar is made from the 

 flowers, and the cotton from its 

 pods is very soft and silky. 



ascospore, n., dsk'd-spor (Gr. 

 askos, a bag ; spora, a seed), 

 spores borne within asci. 



asexual, a., a-sZks'-u-al (Gr. a, 

 without ; and sexual), applied to 

 modes of reproduction in which 

 the sexes are not concerned ; 

 having no apparent sexual organs. 



asiphonate, a., d-slf^n-at (Gr. a, 

 without ; siphon, a siphon), not 

 possessing a respiration tube or 

 siphon ; applied to a division of 

 the lamellibranchiate molluscs. 



asparagus, n., ds-pdr'-dg-us (L. 

 asparagus, Gr. asparagos, the 

 plant asparagus), a well-known 

 plant, whose turios or young 



shoots, sent up from the under- 

 ground stem, are cooked and eaten : 

 asparagine, n., tis-pdr'-a-jm, the 

 active principle of asparagus : 

 Asparagese, n. plu., ds'-pdr- 

 ddf-e-e, the Asparagus tribe of 

 plants, Ord. Liliacese. 



aspect, n., dsf-pekt (L. ad. to, at ; 

 specto, I look), in anat., look ; 

 appearance. 



asperity, n., ds-p^it-i (L. asper, 

 rough), in boL, roughness, as on 

 the leaves of the Ord. Boragina- 

 cese. 



Asperula, n., ds-per'til-d (a dimin- 

 utive of L. asper, rough), a 

 genus of plants, Ord. Rubiacese : 

 Asperula odorata, da'-tir-atf-d (L. 

 odoratus, that has a smell from 

 odor, smell), woodruff, a plant 

 which gives out a pleasant frag- 

 rance when dry. 



Asphodeleae, n. plu., as'fd-del'-e-e 

 (Gr. asphodelos, asphodel, a plant 

 sacred to Proserpine), a genus of 

 plants, Ord. Liliacese, the flowers 

 of which cannot be surpassed : as- 

 phodel, n., as '/6-del, the day-lily, 

 called also king's-spear. 



asphyxia, n., ds-fiks'-t-d (Gr. a, 

 without ; sphuxis, the pulse), 

 the temporary or permanent cessa- 

 tion of the motions of the heart 

 and respiration, as in drowning 

 and suffocation ; a curious mis- 

 nomer for 'suffocation,' in which 

 the pulse never ceases while life 

 lasts : asphyxiated, a., ds-fiks'- 

 i- at -3d, suffocated as by hanging 

 or drowning. 



Aspidium, n., ds-pid't-um (a dim- 

 inutive from Gr. aspis, a shield, 

 aspidos, of a shield), a genus of 

 ferns, Ord. Filices : Aspidium 

 filix mas, fil'-iks mas (L. filix, a 

 fern ; mds, a male), the male 

 shield-fern, used for tape-worm. 



Aspidosperma excelsum, as'pid-0' 

 sperm'a ek-sels'um (Gr. aspis, a 

 serpent, aspidos, of a serpent; 

 sperma, seed), a Guiana tree, re- 

 markable for the sinuous arrange- 

 ment of its wood, which gives the 



