RAN 



out the upper portion of the fwcUing, fituatcd in front of 

 the fnnum of the tongue, to which it is alfo adherent, and 

 next the inferior portion, whicli fomctimcs extends into the 

 intcrfpace betwixt the genio-hyoidei and genio-gloffi mufcles, 

 with which it becomes confounded. A pair of forceps, a 

 hook, fciffors, and a ih-aight biftoury, are the inRruments 

 neceflary for this operation. A degree of hemorrliage al- 

 ways enfues. The ufe of a detergent gargle, made of 

 barley-water and honey ofrofes, will ferve to nni(h the cure 

 in a very moderate fpace of time. 



In confirmation of the latter obfervation, Laflus adduces 

 the following cafe. A young man, aged 22, had a ranula, 

 which had continued ever fince he was born, and was equal 

 in fize to a turkey's egg. Tiie incifor teeth of the lower 

 jaw were loofened, and forced forward by the fuccefllve in- 

 creafe of the fwelling. A feton had been pafled quite 

 through it, without any ufeful efFeft. The breath of the 

 patient and his -faliva were intolerably fetid. The tumour 

 was clofely adherent to the lower and anterior part of the 

 tongue ; and extending laterally, confounded itfelf with this 

 organ, of which it impeded the motion. A ftraight, nar- 

 row biftoury was introduced into one of the openings at the 

 fide of the tumour, and carried completely acrofs to tlie op- 

 pofite aperture. Thus a tranfverfe incifion was made into 

 the cavity of the difeafe. By means of the fame inihument 

 and a hook, the lateral portions of the fweUing were re- 

 moved. A profufe hemorrhage enfued, caufed by the total 

 divifion of the frsnum, the raninal veins, and one of the 

 raninal arteries. It was flopped by putting under the 

 tongue a large quantity of dry lint, and by comprelling the 

 dorfum of the tongue feveral hours with the fingers, while 

 , the thumb was employed in compreffing the parts behind the 

 chin from below upwards. This double fort of preffure 

 anfwered the purpofe. No cautery was found neceflary, 

 and, by the ufe of detergent gargles, the patient was cured 

 in about a fortnight. 



When a ranula of long duration, fituated at the fide of 

 the tongue, and of confiderable fize, forms a tumour, that 

 makes its appearance outwardly towards the bafe of the 

 jaw, Laflus feems to difapprove of making a free incifion 

 through the Ikin, for the purpofe of extirpating that part 

 of the fwelling which cannot be removed through the 

 mouth ; a plan which was, in one inllance, praftifed by 

 Marchettis. Obf. Med. Chirurg. obf. 31. p. 48. See 

 Laflus' Pathologie Chirurgicale, torn. i. chap. 61. 



RANULARES, in Anatomy. See Ranina. 



RANUNCULACEtE, in Botany, the 6ift natural 

 order in Juflieu's fyftem, or the firft of his 13th clafs, for 

 whofe charafter fee Gerania. The Ranuncuiacein are de- 

 fined as follows. 



Calyx of many leaves, fometimes wanting. Petals definite, 

 moftly five. Stamens indefinite, except in Myofurus j their 

 anthers incorporated with the filaments. Germens feveral, 

 indefinite or definite, rarely folitary, placed on a common 

 receptacle ; each of them furnifhed with a ftyle, which is 

 rarely wanting, and a fimple lligma. Capfuks, or rarely 

 berries, as many as the germens ; in fome infl:ances fingle- 

 feeded, and not burlling ; in others many-feeded, fplitting 

 half vvay down, at their inner margin, into two valves, bear- 

 ing the feeds at the edges. Corculum minute, lodged in a 

 cavity at the upper part of the large horny albumen. Stem 

 generally herbaceaus. heaves alternate ; rarely (in Cle- 

 matis and Atragene) oppofite ; fome of them lialf ftieathing 

 tfic ftem ; fome compound, pinnate or fingered ; fome, as 

 IS more frequently the cafe, fimple, and thefe are moftly 

 palmate or lobed, their finufes often pale at the bafe. See 

 Ranunculus. 



Vol.. XXIX 



RAN 



Juffieu divides the order in queftion into four leAions. 



Seft. I. Capfules fmgle-feeded, not burjling ; berries in 

 Hyilrajlis. 



This feftion confiils of Clematis, Atragenr, Thaliflrum,' 

 Hydrajlis, Anemone, Hamadryas of Commerfon, Adonii, 

 Ranunculus, Ficaria, and Myofurus. 



Seft. 2. Capfuks many-fceded, f/dilling at the inner edge. 

 Petals irregular. 



The calyx in this feftion is often coloured, being what 

 Linnxus terms corolla ; that author confidcring the petall 

 of Juflieu as neftaries. The genera are Trollius, Helleborus, 

 Ifopyrum, Nigella, Garidella, Aquilegia, Delphinium, and 

 Aconitum. Some fpecies of Delphinium have but a fingle 

 capfule. 



Seft. 3. Capfules many-feeded, fplitting at the inner edge. 

 Petals regular. 



Caltha, Pceonia, Zanthorrhixa, Cimicifuga. 



Sect. 4. Germen folitary. Berry of one cell, luith many 

 feeds, affixed to a Jingle lateral receptacle. 



The only genera are ABica and Podophyllum, and thefe 

 we feel difpofed to remove to Juflieu's next order, Papa- 

 VERACE^. See that article. 



We cannot but remark that the petals, as Juflieu termg 

 them, in Trollius and Helleborus are by no means definite, 

 and that they greatly exceed the number five. Neither 

 are they irregular in Trollius. As to the other genera of 

 his 2d feftion, the parts in queftion are fuch obvious nec- 

 taries, that they can have no other funftion to perform, 

 except pofTibly in Aquilegia, where their limb partakes of 

 the nature of petals. 



RANUNCULOIDES, a genus of Vaillant's, founded 

 on the Ranunculus hederaceus and aquatilis of Linnaeus, and 

 named from its refemblance or affinity to RanuN'CULUS ; 

 fee that article. No one has followed Vaillant in this 

 inftance, nor is there any real mark of diftinftion for his 

 fuppofed genus. Ranunculoides is, befides, the fpecific name 

 of a rare Britifti Anemone, but ranunculina would have been 

 better Latin ; as in Helleborus ranuncuUnus , Sm. PI. Ic. 

 fafc. 2. t. 37. Willd. Sp. PI. v. 2. 1336. See Hel- 

 leborus. 



RANUNCULUS, an ancient name, whofe origin is as 

 obvious as its fenfe is obfcure. The word is, no doubt, 

 derived from /-ana, and means a little frog. The Greeks 

 call the fame plant /3a1fa;^ior, which is nearly fynoniraous. 

 Moft etymologifts fuppofe this name to allude to the native 

 ftation of the plant, in bogs and watery places, fuch 38 

 frogs frequent. But the original ;3al;a;:^io» of Diofcorides 

 is the beautiful Ranunculus afiaticus of Linnaeus, or Garden 

 Ranunculus, which inhabits corn-fields, and does not grovr 

 in wet places ; though indeed the other three fpecies, de- 

 fcribed by that ancient writer, do ; thefe are our lanuginofust 

 muricntus, and aquatilis. It feems poffible that the divifions 

 of tiie leaves in all thefe plants may have fuggefted the idea 

 of a frog's foot, which fuppofition is confirmed by the 

 Englifli name. Crowfoot. Ambrofinus hints at a refem- 

 blance between the root and the foot of a frog, which is 

 not, to us, by any means apparent. — Linn. Gen. 281. 

 Schreb. 377. Willd. Sp. PI. v. 2. M07. Mart. Mill. Did. 

 v. 4. Sm. Fl. Brit. 5S7. Prodr. Fl. Grxc. Sibth. v. 1. 

 380. Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 3. 351. Purfti v. 2. 39I. 

 Jufl". 233. Poirct in Lamarck Di6t. v. 6. 97. Lamarck 

 lUuftr. t. 498. Gaertn. t. 74. (Ficaria; Dill. Gen. 108. 

 t. 5. Hudf. Angl. 244. Jufl. 233. Ranunculoides ; VaiB. 

 Mem. de 1' Acad, des Sciences for 17 19, German edition, 

 321.) — Clafs and order, Polyandria Polygynia. Nat. Ord. 

 Multifliquf, Linn. Ramtnculaeea, JufT. 



Gen. Ch. Cat. Perianth of five ovate, concave, fome- 

 3 G -what 



