Ophiorhiza 
dcat, characlen/.eil by Ilic live stamens. ! wo- 
cleft st> lc, ami eompTMMd obcordate or initri- 
tonnoaptuletwo-vatved at tbemnmit. There are 
about .Ml s|M-.-i,>s, natives of tropical Asia, the FIJI Islands, 
am! Austnilia. They arc erect or prostrate herbs, with 
slender round branchlets, opposite leaves, ami one sided 
cynics "f white, red, or Kreenish Mowers. See mtnvjo'*, 
ami Indian makerovt (under Biotenot} 
4125 
Ophlosaur (of i-o-sar), n. (<NL. 
A limbless Heard of tin- family Ophimtaitridtr; 
a gluss-simke. 
Ophiosauria (ofi-o-sa'ri-ii), n. /</. |NL. : see 
OphioxiiiiriiH.'] A group of lizards or suborder of 
l,(H't'l'til:<l. They have the prootic bone produced, only 
one suspensoriuni, the pelvic arch rudimentary or want inn, 
an external supraoccipital gomphosis, and an orUtofpbe- 
noid. It includes ;; families of snake-like or worm-like 
lizards, inhabiting warm regions, the principal of which Is 
the Amphixbtrnidce. Also Ophinmun, Ophimuria. 
Ophiosauridse (of 'i-u-sil'ri-de), n. i>/. [NL., 
also O/ilii.-iiiiriiln-; < OpMoWHMtlf + -iilu:} A 
family of serpentiform or ophiomorphic lacer- 
tilian's. re|>revenlcd liy the genus Opliionaiiriia. 
They are generally called glass-snakes, from their fragility 
and their reseinblani -c to snakes, there being no sign of 
limbs externally. See cut under ijlass-make. 
Ophiosaurus(of"i-o-sa'rus), n. [NL., < Gr. 60(f, 
a serpent, + aaiipof, a lizard.] A genus of 
lizards, representing the family Opliiomiuridte ; 
the glass-snakes. There is but one species, O.ventralis. 
common along the Atlantic coastol the United States from 
Virginia southward. It attains a length of from 1 to 8 
feet, and is perfectly harmless and Inoffensive. Also 
Ophisaurus. See cut under ylaxs-siMke. 
ophite 1 (of 'it), a. [< Gr. tyirTK, of or like a ser- 
pent, < 6fif, a serpent.] Pertaining to a ser- 
pent. 
ophite 1 (of 'it), it. [< L. ophites, also ophitis, ser- 
pentine stone (see ophites), < Gr. o^irtif, fern. 
o0jr<r, of or like a serpent: see ophite 1 , a.] 
A name originally applied to certain eruptive 
(diabasic or doleritic) rocks occurring in the 
Pyrenees, and later used with similar mean- 
ing for rocks found in Spain, Portugal, and 
northern Africa. In many of these the auglte ha be- 
come converted into urallte, hence they had previously 
been often classed with the diorites. Michel l*vy divides 
the French ophites into two types, the first distinguished 
by the presence of large proportions of the augitic orura- 
lltic coustituentjthc second by a large predominance of 
Elagioclase. The composition of the rocks which hare 
eeu designated by different lithologisU as ophites is 
variable, and their relations have not yet been fully 
workeil out. 
Ophite'- 2 (of'it), n. [< LL. OjMtce, < LGr. "O^lrai 
(also '(tyomof), pi., < Gr. fy/rw, of or pertaining 
to a serpent: see ophite 1 , n.] A member of a 
Gnostic body, of very early origin, especially 
prominent in the second century, and existing 
as late as the sixth century. Its members were so 
called because they held that the serpent by which Eve 
was tempted was the impersonation of divine wisdom, the 
great teacher and civilizer of the human race. They were 
also called Saassenct (from Hebrew nuchnsh, a serpent). 
See Sethian. 
ophites (o-fi'tez), H. [L., < Gr. fyiiyf (sc. A/flof ), 
serpentine stone, so called, according to Pliny, 
because it is spotted like a snake, or, as was 
fancifully thought, because a person carrying it 
might walk among serpents with impunity: see 
upliite 1 .} A stone mentioned by various Greek 
and Latin authors, the word designating sev- 
eral quite different things. It la impossible to Iden- 
tify with certainty any one of the various substances, some 
of which were unquestionably fabulous, to which the 
name ophites was given by Orpheus, Dioscorides, Pliny, 
and other classic writers. I'liny distinguishes two kinds 
of ophite, the hard and the soft. The former may have 
been some variety of granite ; the latter, a variety of ser- 
pentine, perhaps the Tuscan gabbro or ophiolite. From 
a very early time, various rounded stones or petrifactions, 
more or less egg-shaped in form, and called by various 
names, ovum angitinuin, ophites, serpent-stone, adderhead, 
Dntulicnl fcarf, etc., have been held in high veneration, and 
endowed with extraordinary virtues. The ovum angninnm 
described by I'liny would appear from his description to 
have been a fossil echinoderm. Glass spindle-whorls, 
which are known to have been in use within the past four 
hundred years, have been sold at a recent day as the 
true ovum anguinum ; and fossil echinoderuis have also 
been within a few years treasured as Druidical relics and 
regarded us possibly possessing a portion, at least, of the 
virtues attributed by the ancients to the ophites. 
ophitic (o-fit'ik), n. [< ophite 1 + -if.] An epi- 
thet applied by various lithologists to a struc- 
ture. especially characteristic of certain dia- 
bases ami dolt-rites, in which the augitic con- 
stituent is separated into thin plates by inter- 
posed lath-shaped crystals of plagioclase, al- 
though the identity of the augite crystal is not 
lost, as is shown by the similar optic orienta- 
tion of the separated portions. 
Ophiuchus (of-i-ii'kus), . [L., < Gr. ixpioi'xof 
(tr. by 1,. . I iii/iiiirni a" as well as Surftmtafiva). 
a const dial ion so railed, lit. holding a serpent,' 
< o^/r, a serpent. + r vrir. hold: see In iV/r.] An 
ancient northern constellation, representing a 
Ophiuchus and Serpent. 
man holding a serpent; the Serpent-bearer. 
Also called Serpentariux. The Serpent is now 
treated as a separate constellation. 
Incensed with indignation, Satan stood 
Unterrifled, and like a comet bnrn'.l, 
That fires the length of Ophiuchus huge 
In the arctic sky. Milton, P. L., II. 709. 
Ophiura (of-i-u'rft), n. [NL., < Gr. oQim-pos, 
serpent-tailed, < itytf;, a serpent, + oi'pa, a tail.] 
A genus of sand-stars or brittle-stars, variously 
restricted by different authors. The term is used 
with great latitude of definition, and gives name to a fam- 
ily and to the whole order to which It belongs. In the late 
most restricted sense It Is discarded, and Ophivderma is 
substituted, giving name to a family Ophiodennatidat. 
ophiuran (of-i-u'ran), a. and . I. a. Of or 
pertaining to the genus Ophiura in any sense, 
or to the order Ophiuroidea. 
II. n. A. member of the Ophiuroidea. 
ophiure (of 'i-ur), n. [< NL. Ophiura.'] An ophi- 
uran. 
Ophiureae (of-i-u're-e), n. pi. [NL., < Ophiura + 
-.] The simple-armed ophiurans, a division 
of ophiuroids contrasted with Euryatea: or those 
with branched arms. 
Ophiuridae (of-i-u'ri-de), n. pi. [NL., < Ophiura 
+ -irffl'.] A group of ophiurans. (a) In the wid- 
est sense, the whole order Ophiuroidea. (b) In a middle 
sense, the ordinary ophiurans with simple arms, (c) In 
the narrowest sense, the family represented by Ophiura 
or Ophioderma, and now called OphiodermatidtK. * J "" ""* 
under Astrophyton. 
ophiuroid (pf-i-u'roid ), a. and n. [< NL. O]>hiura 
+ -oid.] 
of or pertaining to 
ophthalmite 
attached animalcules excreting anil inhabiting a soft mu- 
cil.iginoui solitary she:ith m- n>ni|K>und zoocytlum. Then- 
are -J ^eni-ia, Opli/iidiinn itixl Ojiliionflla. 
Ophrydium (pf-rid'i-um), . [NL., < (ir. ujpi- 
htii', dim. ol ,',,,, ,,r, ..yelirow.) The typical ge- 
nus of ll/ilti-i/iluim. founded by Khi-enli.-i-i; in 
1830, containing the social vorticellids. Tln-i-" 
are 3 species, It. n r^nlili-. II.KCtmile, ami ". m-li- 
hunii. 
ophryon (of'ri-on), .; pi. ophrya (-ft). [NL.. 
< < ir. luppi-f, brow, eyebrow : see broic.] In cru- 
iiinl., the middle of a line drawn across the for. - 
head at the level of the upper margin of the 
orbits of the eyes. See cruniiiim inj. 
Ophryoscolecidae Cof'ri-o-sko-lcs'i-de), n. pi. 
[NL., < OpIii-ijiiKfoli-j- (-./((-) + -iiln:} A fam- 
ily of free-swimming animalcules. They are ovate 
or elongate, soft or encnirasaed, and possess a peristome 
and protrusile ciliary disk as in the Vorticellida. 
Ophryoscolex (of'ri-o-sko'leks), . [NL., < Gr. 
o+fiif, eyebrow, + o*ua&. a worm.] The typical 
genus "of OjihryoKcolecida:, containing en.-ui- 
russed animalcules with a supplementary equa- 
torial ciliary gir- 
dle. They are endo- 
parasites of the 
stomachs of sheep 
and cattle. 
Ophrys (of'ris), n. 
[NL. ( l.innirll-. 
1737), BO called 
with ref. to the 
fringe of the inner 
sepals; < L. ophrys, 
a plant with two 
leaves, bifoil, < Gr. 
typi'f, eyebrow, = 
E. brow, q. v.] A 
genus of terrestrial 
orchids, type of the 
tribe Ophrydca; be- 
longing to the sub- 
tribe Serapidea, 
and known by the 
two pollen-glands 
inclosed in sepa- 
rate sacs. There are 
about SO species, with 
roots thickened Into tubers, and the flowers usually few 
or scattered, found In Europe and Mediterranean Asia 
and Africa. Many species mimic insects. .See bee-orchis, 
fly-orchis, and spider-orchis. 
Bee-orchis (OJhrys afiffra\ 
I, the inflorescence ; 2, the lower part 
of the plant, with the bulbs. ; a. A flower. 
Jt oplthalmalgia (of-thal-mal'ji-a), n. [NL., < 
Gr. u$da'/.u6(;, eye, + a/yof, pain.] In patltol., 
phy of the eyeball. 
mia = It. oftalmia ; < LL. ophthalmia, < Gr. c 
6aZuia, a disease of the eyes, < ixpHaiuof, the eye, 
an eye, < -^ cm, see ; akin to L. oculus, eye : 
see optic, oculus, ocular.'] Ophthalmitis; espe- 
cially, conjunctivitis Ophthalmia neonatorum, 
purulent conjunctivitis of the new-born. Ophthalmia 
neuroparalytica, ophthalmitis resulting from paralysis 
of sensation of the conjunctiva. Ophthalmia sympa- 
thetica, inflammation of one eye consequent on disease 
if the other. 
Oph 
Ophiuroidea (of'i-u-roi' . 
Ojiliiura + -oidea.~] An order of echinoderms of 
the class Stellerida or starfishes, containing the 
brittle-stare, sand-stare, or ophiurans. They are 
starfishes with a more or less well-defined central disk 
distinct from and not passing into the arms or rays, and no 
anal orifice. The axis of the arms Is composed of a series 
of calcareousossicles called vertebra, each of which is com- 
posed of two parts representing the ambulacra! plates of 
ordinary starfishes, and the axis Is covered with plates or 
with continuous integument, usually bearing spines. The 
anibnlacr.il nerve, water-vessels, an. 1 neural canal are with- 
in the hollow of the arm. The water-feet or pedicles are Qr | n i ury o( tlle o ti, er . 
without suckers or ampulla;, and protrude between the __v*i,i! / ,f i^<,i' m ;i,\ , r T? , 
lateral plates of the amis. The mouth is pentagonal, and Ophthalmic (of-thal mik), a. [== t.^oph thiil- 
mique = Sp. oftalmtco = Pg. ophtalmieo = It. 
oftalmico, < Gr. IxjtdcAuiKof, of or for the eyes, < 
!>ij>t)al./j6f, eye: see 071)1 thalmia.~\ 1. Of or per- 
taining to the eye, eveball, or visual apparatus ; 
optic; ocular. 2. Pertaining to, of the nature 
of, or afflicted with ophthalmia Ophthalmic 
artery, a branch from the cavernous part of the internal 
carotid, which accompanies the optic nerve through the 
optic foramen into the orbit of the eye, and gives ott nu- 
merous branches to the eye and associate structures, end- 
Ing In the frontal and nasal arteries. Ophthalmic gan- 
glion. See ganglion. Ophthalmic nerve, the first divi- 
sion of the trigemiii us, or fifth cranial nerve.arisingfroni the 
Casserian ganglion and dividing into three branches, the 
lacrymal, nasal, and frontal. Also called orbital nerve. 
Ophthalmic segment "r ring, a supposed primal limb- 
bearing ring of the arthropodal body, in which the usual 
each angle is composed of five pieces. The order falls nat- 
urally into two leading divisions, according as the arms are 
simple or branched. These are sometimes called families, 
Ophiuridce and Astrophytidce ; sometimes they are con- 
sidered as suborders, when the former group is known 
as Ophiurida or Ophiurea, and further subdivided into 
several families, of which the Ophiuridte proper consti- 
tute one. = Syn. The uses of Ophiura and 1U derivatives 
are almost inextricably blended : but In general (at Ophi- 
uroida or Ophiuroidtv or Ophiuroidea or Ophiuroideaf are 
the major terms of the series, naming the whole group of 
ophiurans : (b) Ophiurida, Ophiuridce, Ophiuridea, Ophi- 
urea, Ophiurea are middle terms designating the simple 
ophiurans as distinguished from the euryaleans or Astro- 
phytidcf ; and (c) Ophiurida is the minor term, designat- 
ing a restricted family. 
Ophrydeae (of-rid'e-e), . pi. [NL. (Lindley, 
18L'6), < Ophrys (stem taken to be Oi>liri/<i-) + 
-.] A tribe of orchids, distinguished by the 
anther-cells being adnate to the top of the 
column and often continuous with the beak of 
the stigma. It includes 3:i genera, especially of south- 
ern Africa, of which Ophrys is the type, and Orchis, Uabe- 
naria, and Visa are the best-known, all terrestrial, with 
the roots a cluster of thickened fibers, producing an an- ... , 
nual unbranched leafy stem, with a terminal spike or ra- Ophthalmist (of-thal mist), II. [< Gr. oc/i 
ciine .if bracted flowers. See cut under Habenaria. eye. + -int.'} Same as ophthalmologist. 
Ophrydiidae (of-ri-di'i-de), . pi. [< Ophrydium ophthalmite (of-thal'mit), w. [< Gr. ixffla'/uur. 
+ -irfn 1 .] A family of peritrichous ciliated in- eye, + -itr-.] In Crustacea, an ophthalmic 
fusorians. t\ pitted by the genus Ophrydium. peduncle; one of the movable stems or stalks 
Ophrydiinse (of-rid-i-i'ne \ n. />'. [< Oplirijdium upon which are borne the eyes of the stalk-eyed 
+ -!.] A subfamily of Oplirydiida;. They are or podophthalmous crustaceans, as a crab or 
jointed appendages have been replaced by eyes. The po- 
sition of this hypothetical segment with respect to the oth- 
ers la not well ascertained : Packard supposes it to be the 
third from the anterior end, lying between the second ocel- 
lary and the antennary segments. Ophthalmic vein, a 
vein which returns blood from parts supplied by the oph- 
thalmic artery through the sphenoldal fissure into the cav- 
ernous sinus. 
