MEL 



257 



MEN 



tuber, a protuberance), a plant 

 much cultivated in the elevated 

 districts of Peru, Bolivia, etc., 

 for its esculent tubers, which 

 have been recommended as a 

 substitute for the potato. 



Melocanna, n., mU'-o-kan^na (Gr. 

 melon, an apple ; kanna, a reed), 

 a genus of plants, Ord. Graminese : 

 Melocanna bambusoides, bcim'- 

 buz-oyd'<tz (Malay bambu, a 

 bamboo ; Gr. eidos, resemblance), 

 one of the bomboo kind in whose 

 joints is a substance called tab- 

 asheer, which is composed of 

 silica. 



membrane, n., m&n'-br&n (L, 

 membrdna, skin, a film or mem- 

 brane), a thin layer or skin, 

 serving to cover some part of an 

 animal, or of a plant : membran- 

 aceous, a., mem'- bran- d'shus } 

 also membranous, a., -bran-us, 

 having the consistence and 

 Structure of a membrane : mem- 

 brana basilaris, m&m'-bran-a bds'- 

 il-dr'is (L. basilaris, of or pert, 

 to the base of a thing, as the 

 skull from basis, the base), a 

 thin membrane which extends 

 over the bony wall of the cochlea, 

 completing the scala tympani : 

 membrana fusca, fusk'-a (L. 

 fuscus, dark, of a greyish-brown 

 colour), a fine cellular web con- 

 nected with the inner surface of 

 the sclerotic: m. germinativa, 

 jer'min-dt-w'd (L. germmo, I 

 sprout, I germinate), the germ- 

 inal membrane, the earliest 

 development of the germ in 

 fishes, and the amphibia : m. 

 limitans, lim'-it-dnz (L. limitans, 

 limiting or bounding), an ex- 

 tremely thin and delicate struct- 

 ureless membrane which lines the 

 inner surface of the retina, and 

 separates it from the vitreous 

 body: m. nictitans, nikt'-it-dnz 

 (L. nictitans, winking often 

 from nicto, I wink), the third 

 eyelid found in all the mammalia 

 except man, the quadrumana, 



and the cetacese, attaining its 

 greatest development in birds; a 

 thin plate of cartilage between 

 the two layers of the ' plica semi- 

 lunaris, ' which is the only trace 

 of the third eyelid found in man: 

 m. pituitaria, pU-u'it-dr'-i-d (L. 

 pituUa, slime, phlegm), the 

 membrane which lines the cavity 

 of the nose : m. sacciformis, 

 sd- si-form'- is (L. saccus, a sack ; 

 forma, shape), the first of the 

 synovial membranes; a membrane 

 which covers the margin of the 

 articular surface of the ulna, so 

 named from its extreme looseness, 

 forming a loose ' cul-de-sac ' : m. 

 tympani, timf-pdn-l (L. tympan- 

 um, a drum), the membrane of 

 the tympanum, separating the 

 cavity of the tympanum from the 

 external meatus. 



ineninges, n. plu., m&**fa'jez (Gr. 

 meningx, a membrane), the mem- 

 branes which envelope the brain 

 called the ' pia-mater ' and 

 * dura-mater ' : meningeal, a. , 

 m$n'm-je'dl, of or pert, to the 

 membranes of the brain : men- 

 ingitis, n., mSn'-fa-jUtti, inflam- 

 mation of the membranes cover- 

 ing the brain : meningo, m^n> 

 ing'- go, denoting relation to, or 

 connection with, membranes of 

 the brain. 



meniscus, n., m&n-isTc'-us, men- 

 isci, n. plu., men-is' si, or men- 

 iscuses, n. plu., -us-ez (Gr. 

 meniskos, a little moon from 

 mene, the moon), a lens, concave 

 on the one side, and convex on 

 the other, having a sharp edge; 

 in anat., an appearance resem- 

 bling the new moon, applied to 

 inter-articular fibrous cartilages, 

 as the 'glenoid': meniscoid, a., 

 m&n-isk'-oyd (Gr. eidos, resem- 

 blance), having the shape of a 

 watch-glass. 



Menispermacese, n. plu., m&n'-i' 

 sperm- d'-s^-e (Gr. meniskos, a 

 little moon ; sperma, seed), the 

 Moon-seed family, an Order of 



