RIB 



361 



ROB 



from the five false ribs, which 

 are not so attached ; the last two 

 false ribs are called floating ribs, 

 because they are not attached to 

 anything in front. 



Ribesiacese, n. plu., rib-ez'-i-a'-se'e 

 (ribes, an Arabic name for an 

 acid-leaved species of Rheum), 

 the Gooseberry and Currant 

 family, now more usually called 

 * Grossulariacefle,' which see: Rib- 

 es, n. , rlb'-eZ) a genus of plants : 

 Ribes gross ularia, gr8s f 'Ul'dr f 'i'0, 

 (mid. L. grossula, a gooseberry ; 

 L. grossulus, a small, unripe fig), 

 the various kinds of Gooseberry : 

 R. rubrum, rdb-rum (L. rubrus, 

 red, ruddy) ; and R. nigrum, nig- 

 rum (L. niger, black), the Red 

 and Black Currants, the latter 

 possessing tonic and stimulant 

 properties. 



Ricinus, n., ri^-in-us (L. rlcmus, 

 the tick of the sheep, a plant), a 

 genus of plants, Ord. Euphor- 

 biacese so named from the shape 

 of its seeds : Ricinus communis, 

 kSm-mun'-is (L. communis, com- 

 mon), a species from whose seeds 

 castor oil is expressed, also called 

 ' Palma Christi' see under 'Pal- 

 mes.' 



rickets, n. plu. , rikf-Us (Gr. rhach- 

 Itis, disease of the spine from 

 rhachis,^ the spine), a constitu- 

 tional disease, characterised chiefly 

 by a curvature of the shafts of the 

 long bones of the arms* and legs, 

 and enlargement of their articular 

 extremities the result of defici- 

 ent appropriation of earthy 

 principles by their structures. 



rictus, n., rikt'-us (L. rictus, the 

 mouth wide open), in bot., among 

 labiate or lipped corollas, the 

 condition of the lower lip pressed 

 against the upper, so as to leave 

 only & chink between them, as in 

 Frogsmouth. 



rigescent r a., ri-j$s' stint (L. riges- 

 cens, growing stiff or numb ; gen., 

 rigescentis], in bot., having a 

 rigid or stiff consistence. 



rigor, n., rig'-dr (L. rigor, stiff, 

 ness, rigidity), a sudden cold- 

 ness with involuntary shivering, 

 symptomatic of the beginning 

 of a< disease, especially a fever : 

 rigor mortis, morl'is (L. mors, 

 death, mortis, of death), the 

 stiffening of the body after 

 death. 



rima, n.,.rim'& (L, rima, a cleft, 

 a crack), in anat.,. a cleft; an 

 elliptic interval : rima glottidis, 

 gl6t f -tid-is (Gr. glottis, the open- 

 ing of the windpipe, glottidis, of 

 the opening of the windpipe 

 from glotta, the tongue), the 

 narrow aperture of the glottis. 



rimose, a., rim>oz r (L. rimosus, 

 full of cracks from rima, a 

 cleft, a crack), in bot., marked 

 by chinks or cracks, mostly 

 parallel, as the bark of a tree : 

 rimulose, a., rim'-ul-oz, having 

 small marks or chinks. 



ringent, a., rmf'ent (L. ringem, 

 opening wide the mouth), in 

 bot., applied to a labiate flower 

 in which the upper lip is much 

 arched, and the lips are separated 

 by a distinct gap.. 



ringworm, n., rmg'-werm, a skin 

 eruption, caused by the action of 

 a vegetable parasite, occurring 

 chiefly on the scalp and arms, 

 and upper part of the chest, is 

 very contagious. 



risorius, a., riz-or'l-us- (L, risor, 

 a laugher, risoris, of a laugher ; 

 risus, laughter),, the smiling 

 muscle ; denoting a muscle of 

 the cheek, consisting of a narrow 

 bundle of fibres, which arises in 

 the fascia over the Masseter 

 muscle : risus Sardonicus, sdr* 

 d6n''$lC'US (Sardinia, where first 

 seen, from the effects of eating a 

 species of ranunculus there grow- 

 ing), a singularly convulsive grin 

 or laugh,, observed in cases of 

 'Tetanus.' 



Robinia, n., r^b-in'-i-a, (after 

 Robin, an old botanist of France), 

 a genus of plants remarkably 



