MOL 



265 



MON 



tendon of the ' flexor longus dig- 

 itorum,' which see. 



mollities ossium, m8l'lfyh'$'9 ds' 

 sl-um (L. mollities, flexibility, 

 softness ; os, a bone, ossium, of 

 bones), a fatty degeneration which 

 takes place in bone, and which 

 renders it more brittle and liable 

 to bend, brought about by an 

 absorption of the earthy matter. 



Mollusca, n. plu,, mdl*lusk'-a, also 

 molluscs, n. plu., mttt'lusks (L. 

 molluscus, soft from mollis, soft; 

 mollusca, a nut with a soft shell), 

 the Sub 'kingdom, forming one of 

 the grand divisions of the animal 

 kingdom, comprising the shell- 

 fish proper, the Polyzoa, the 

 Tunicata, and the Lamp-shells 

 so named from the general soft 

 nature of their bodies, and 

 absence of internal skeleton : 

 Molluscoida, n. plu., mtil'lttsk- 

 oyd'-a (Gr. eidos, resemblance), 

 the lower division of the Mollusca; 

 certain mollusc - like animals, 

 often compound, lower in struc- 

 ture than the true molluscs, and 

 may have shelly or horny cover- 

 ings : molluscum, n., mdl-lusJc'* 

 Urn, in med. , small, soft tumours, 

 produced by distensions of the 

 sebaceous glands by secretions 

 formerly applied to fibroma (L, 

 fibra, a filament), a disease in 

 which tubercles are formed by 

 hypertrophy of the fibrous tissue 

 of the skin. 



Momordica, n., mdm-drd'-ik-a (L. 

 mordeo, I bite, mdmdrdi, I have 

 bitten), a genus of plants, Ord. 

 Cucurbitacese : Momordica elat- 

 erium, gftfreKMim (Gr. elat- 

 erion, that drives out or expels), 

 the wild or squirting cucumber, 

 so named on account of the force 

 with which its seeds are expelled 

 when ripe ; the feculence sub- 

 siding from the juice constitutes 

 the medicinal Elaterium, used in 

 small doses as a violent cathartic 

 in dropsical cases. 

 monadelphous, a., 



(Gr. monos, one, alone ; adelpho?, 

 a brother), in bot., having all the 

 stamens united into one bundle 

 by union of their filaments. 



monads, n. plu., mon'-adz (Gr. 

 mdnas, unity, a monad, monddos, 

 of a monad from monos, alone), 

 microscopic organisms of the 

 simplest structure ; an indivisible 

 thing ; an ultimate particle ; a 

 primary cell. 



monandrous, a., mtin-and'-rus (Gr. 

 monos, one, alone ; aner, a male, 

 andros, of a male), in bot. t having 

 only one stamen. 



monembryony, n., mdn'Vm-bri'' 

 on-l (Gr. monos, one ; embruon, 

 an embryo), in bot,, the production 

 of one embryo only : monembry- 

 onic, a., mon-Zm'-bri-on'-ilc, hav- 

 ing a single embryo. 



moniliform, a., mtin-il'-i-form (L. 

 mdnile, a necklace ; forma, 

 shape), beaded like a necklace ; 

 jointed so as to resemble a string 

 of beads, 



Monimiacess, n. plu,, m$n'int***d 

 s'e-e (Gr, monimos, lasting, endur- 

 ing), an Order of plants of S. 

 America and Australia,' of some 

 the bark and leaves are aromatic 

 and fragrant, and the fruit of 

 others is eaten : Monimia, n., 

 mdn-im'i-a, a genus of plants. 



Monk's -hood, n., a poisonous 

 plant so named from the cowl- 

 like shape of the flowers ; the 

 Aconitum napellus, Ord. Ranun- 

 culacese. 



monobasic, a., mMo-batf-ik (Gr. 

 monos, one ; basis, base), in chem. , 

 containing one equivalent of base 

 to one of acid. 



monocarpic, a., mo'n'o-lccirp'ik, 

 also monocarpous, a., -Icdrp'&s 

 (Gr. monos, one, alone ; Tcarpos, 

 fruit), in bot., producing flowers 

 and fruit once during life, and 

 then dying. 



monochlamydese, n. plu., mftn'-o* 

 klam-id'Z-e (Gr. monos, one, 

 alone ; chlamus, a large cloak, 

 chlamtidos, of a cloak), in bot., a 



