SPF 



389 



SPI 



at all seasons, and have nerveless 

 leaves of a singularly whitish 

 colour: sphagnous, a., sfag'-ntis, 

 pert, to bog moss. 



sphalerocarpum, n., sfdl'-Zr-o- 

 kdrp'-um (Gr. spJiattros, unsteady, 

 faithless ; karpos, fruit), in bot., 

 a small indehiscent, one-seeded 

 fruit, enclosed within a fleshy 

 complex pericarp. 



sphenoid, a. , sfen'oyd, also sphen- 

 oidal, a., sfen-oyd'-al (Gr. sphen, 

 a wedge, sphenos, of a wedge ; 

 eidos, resemblance), wedge-like, 

 as applied to a bone of the skull, 

 which wedges in and locks 

 together most of the other bones : 

 spheno, sfen'-o, indicating con- 

 nection with the sphenoid bone : 

 spheno-maxillary, maks'-il-lar-i, 

 in anat., applied to a fissure and 

 also to a fossa. 



spheroid, n., sfer'-oyd (Gr.sphaira, 

 a globe ; eidos, resemblance), a 

 round body or solid figure not 

 perfectly spherical : spheroidal, 

 a., sfer'dyd'-al, having the form 

 of a spheroid. 



sphincter, n., sfmgtf-ter (Gr. 

 sphingkter, that binds tightly or 

 contracts from sphinggo, I bind 

 tight), in anat., a muscle which 

 contracts or shuts an orifice or 

 opening which it surrounds : 

 sphincter ani, an'-i (L. anus, the 

 anus, dm, of the anus), the 

 sphincter at the distal end of 

 the rectum : s. vesicse, v%s>is f -e 

 (L. vesica, the bladder, veslcce, 

 of the bladder), the sphincter 

 muscle at the mouth of the 

 bladder : s. oris, or'-is (L. os, 

 the mouth, oris, of the mouth), 

 the sphincter muscle of the 

 mouth, etc. 



sphygmograph, n., sfig'-mo>graj 

 (Gr. sphugmos, the pulse ; grapho, 

 I write), an instrument, consisting 

 of a combination of a delicate 

 spring and lever, which, when 

 applied over an artery, traces the 

 form of the pulsations on a slip 

 of paper or a bit of smoked glass. 



spicate, a., splWat (L. spka, an 

 ear of corn), in bot., having a 

 spike or ear, as of corn : spicula, 

 n. plu., spik'ul-a (L. splculum, a 

 little sharp point), in bot. , little 

 spikes ; pointed, needle - shaped 

 bodies : spicular, a., spik'ul>ar, 

 having sharp points : spiculum, 

 n., splk'ul'Um, in anat., a small 

 pointed piece of bone, or other 

 hard matter: spicule, n., spik'ul, 

 a minute, slender granule or point; 

 a spikelet. 



Spigelia, n., spi-jel'i-a (after 

 SpigeliuSy a botanical writer, 

 1625), a genus of plants, Ord. 

 Loganiacese, having showy flowers 

 when in blossom: Spigelia Mari- 

 landica, mdr'-i-ldnd'-ik-a (pro- 

 bably from Maryland), a species 

 whose root, the Carolina Pink -root, 

 is used as an anthelmintic in the 

 United States: S. anthelmia,a^A,' 

 Zl'-mi'ti (Gr. anti, against; elmins, 

 a tapeworm), the Guiana Pink- 

 root, used in Demerara as an 

 anthelmintic, and which possesses 

 narcotic qualities. 



spike, n. , spik (L. spica, an ear of 

 corn ; Swed. spik, a nail), in bot., 

 an inflorescence consisting of 

 numerous flowers, sessile on an 

 axis or single stem, as in the 

 wheat and lavender : spikelets, 

 n. plu., spikf>l$ts, in bot., small 

 clusters of flowers, forming second- 

 ary spikes or locustse of grasses. 



spina bifida, spin'-a bif'id-a (L. 

 splna, the spine ; bifidus, cleft 

 into two parts from bis, twice ; 

 findo, I cleave or split), a con- 



. genital swelling situated over 

 some part of the spine, generally 

 in the region of the loins, due to 

 the deficient or arrested growth 

 of the posterior arches of one or 

 more vertebral bones : spina 

 ventosa, vent -fa' a (L. ventosns, 

 full of wind from ventus, the 

 wind), a morbid condition of 

 bone in which the cellular struct- 

 ure between the external and 

 internal walls of a bone are ab- 



