Protonopsidse 
and well-developed limbs. Also called Meno- 
pomitlee. 
Protonopsis (pro-to-nop'sis), M. [NL., irreg. < 
Gr. npureif (see Protean) + tytf, view.] A 
genus of tailed amphibians, typical of the fam- 
ily Protonopsidee : synonymous with Menopoma. 
See cut under hellbender. 
protonotariat, protonotary (pro-ton-o-ta'ri- 
at, pro-ton'o-ta-ri), n. 8ee prothonotaruit, pro- 
tliomitary. 
Protonucleata (pro-to-nu-kle-a'ta), n.pl. [NL. : 
see protonucleate.] A hypothetical ancestral 
stock of protonucleate protozoans, derived from 
homogeneous protoplasm, and giving rise to all 
other animals. 
protonucleate (pro-to-nu'kle-at), . [< Gr. nyxj- 
rof, first, + L. nucleatux, having a kernel: see 
nucleate.] Exhibiting the first signs of nuclea- 
tion ; having a primitive or primordial nucleus ; 
of or pertaining to the Protonucleata. 
proto-organism (pro-to-or'gan-izm), n. [< Gr. 
TrpuTOf, first, + E. organism.'] A micro-organ- 
ism, whether animal or vegetal ; a protozoan or 
protophyte ; a protist. 
protopapas (pro-to-pap'as), n. [= ML. proto- 
papa, prothopapus, < M<Jir. nyxjroiraTrd?, a chief 
priest, < Gr. TiyxJrof, first, + LGr. mjirof, a 
bishop, priest: see papa?.] In the Gr. Ch., a 
chief priest ; a priest of superior rank, corre- 
sponding nearly to a dean or an archdeacon. 
protoparent (pro-to-pSr'ent), u. [< Gr. wpuTof, 
first, + L. paren(t-)s, parent.] A first parent. 
Dories, Microcosmos, p. 23. 
protopathia (pro-to-path'i-ii), n. [NL., < Gr. 
Trpoirof, first, + iraDof, disease."] Primary disease. 
protopathic (pro-to-path'ik), a. [< protopathia 
+ -ic.] Pertaining to the original lesion of u 
disease; primary. 
protopepsia (pro-to-pep'gia), n. [NL., < Gr. 
irpurof, first, + irtytf, digestion: see pepsin.] 
Primary digestion ; digestion proper as it oc- 
curs in the cavity of the alimentary tract, and 
as distinguished from any further elaboration 
of the products effected in the walls of the in- 
testine, the liver, or elsewhere. 
protophloem (pro-to-flo'em), . [< Gr. jr/)irof, 
first, + E. phloem,] In bot., the first formed 
elements of phloem in a vascular bundle. 
Protophyta (pro-tof i-tji), . pi. [NL., pi. of 
protophytum : see protophyte.] One of the pri- 
mary groups or divisions of the vegetable king- 
dom, containing the lowest and simplest plants, 
and corresponding to the Protozoa of the ani- 
mal kingdom. They are usually exceedingly minute 
plants, requiring the highest powers of the microscope for 
their study. The cells are in general poorly developed ; 
the nucleus is wanting in many cases, and frequently there 
is either no cell-wall or an imperfectly developed one. 
They multiply most commonly by flssion, the sexual or- 
gans being unknown or only very slightly differentiated. 
According to the classitication of Bennett and Murray, 
the Protophyta embrace two groups the chlorophyllous 
group, or Schizophycese, and the uon-chlorophyllous group, 
or Scnizomycett*. The first group includes the classes Pro- 
tococcoideai, Diatmtutcea, and Cyannphycex ; the second 
includes the Bacteria. See Schizophyccte and Schiztttny- 
ceta. 
protophyte (pro'to-fit), . [< NL. protophytum, 
< Gr. Tiyxjro^woc, nrst-produced, < Trpurof, first, 
+ <t>vr6v, a plant.] A plant of the group Pro- 
tophyta. 
protophytic (pro-to-fit'ik), . [< Protophyta + 
-ic.] Of or pertaining to the Protophyta, or hav- 
ing their characters. 
protoplasm (pro'to-plazm), . [< NL. proto- 
plasma, protoplasm, < ML. protoplasma, the first 
creation, the first creature or thing made (pro- 
toplasmiis, the first man made), < MGr. irpuro- 
7rAao/ta, < Gr. Trpurof, first, + Trhaaua, anything 
formed or molded : see^tosm.] An albuminoid 
substance, ordinarily resembling the white of 
an egg, consisting of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, 
and hydrogen in extremely complex and un- 
stable molecular combination, and capable, 
underproper conditions, of manifesting certain 
vital phenomena, as spontaneous motion, sen- 
sation, assimilation, and reproduction, thus con- 
stituting the physical basis of life of all plants 
and animals ; sarcode. it is essential to the nature 
of protoplasm that this substance consist chemically of 
the four elements named (with or without a trace of some 
other elements); hutthe molecule is sohighly compound- 
ed that these elements may be present in somewhat differ- 
ent proportions in different cases, so that the chemical 
formula is not always the same. The name has also been 
somewhat loosely applied to albuminous substances widely 
different in some physical properties, as density or fluid- 
ity. Thus the hard material of so-called vegetable ivory 
and the soft body of an anuuba are both protoplasmic. The 
physiological activities of protoplasm are manifested in 
its irritability, or ready response to external stimuli, as 
well as its inherent capacity of spontaneous muvenu -nt 
4799 
and other Indications of life; so that the least particle of 
this substance may be observed to go through the whole 
cycle of vital functions. Protoplasm builds up every vege- 
table and animal fabric, yet is itself devoid of discerni- 
ble histological structure. It is ordinarily colorless and 
transparent, or nearly so, and of glairy or viscid semifluid 
consistency, as is well seen in the bodies of foraminlfers, 
jimu'lue. and other of the lowest forms of animal life. 
Such protoplasm (originally named sarcode), when not 
confined by an investing membrane, has the power of ex- 
tension in any direction In the form of temporary pro- 
cesses (see peeudopodium) capable of being withdrawn 
again ; and it has also the characteristic property of stream- 
ing in minute masses through closed membranes without 
the loss of the identity of such masses. An Individuated 
mass of protoplasm, generally of microscopic size, and 
with or without a nucleus and a wall, constitutes a cell, 
which may be the whole body of an organism, or the struc- 
tural unit of aggregation of a multicellular animal or plant. 
The ovura of any creature consists of protoplasm, and all 
the tissues of the most complex living organisms result 
from the multiplication, differentiation, and speclaliia- 
tlou of such protoplasmic cell-units. The life of the or- 
ganism as a whole consists in the continuous waste and 
repair of the protoplasmic material of its cells. Noanlmal, 
however, can elaborate protoplasm directly from the 
chemical elements of that substance. The manufacture 
of protoplasm is a function of the vegetable kingdom. 
Plants make it directly from mineral compounds and from 
the atmosphere under the influence of the sun's Ughtand 
heat, thus becoming the storehouse of food-stuff for the 
animal kingdom. Protoplasm appears to have been first 
recognizably described by Rosel, in or about 1756, in his 
account of the proteus-anlmalcule. It was observed, not 
named, seventeen years later by Corti, In the cells of Chara. 
Like motions of protoplasm were noticed by Heyen in 1&7 
In V'atttMurfa, and by R. Brown in 1831 in his discovery of 
the cyclosis in the filaments of Tradetcantia. In 1 >x'i Du- 
jardin called attention to a " primary animal substance " in 
the cells of foraminifers, described as "a sort of slime " en- 
dowed with the property of spontaneous motion and con- 
tractility, and called It tarcode. The word protoplasm was 
first used (in the form protoplasma) by Hugo von Mohl, in 
I Mi;, with reference to the slimy granular semi-fluid con- 
tents of vegetable cells. The identity of this vegetable 
"protoplasm" with animal "sarcode," suggested in 1850 
by Culi 1 1, who regarded this common substance as "the 
prime seat of almost all vital activity," was confirmed by 
Schultze In 1861 ; Virchow had In 1858 abandoned the Idea 
that a cell-wall is necessary to the integrity of a cell, hold- 
ing that a nucleus surrounded by a molecular blastema 
(that is, protoplasm) constitutes a cell, and Schultze de- 
fined the cell as protoplasm surrounding a nucleus, which 
since that time the term has come into universal use. Also 
called bioplasm, cytoplasm or cytioplasm, and plasmoaeii. 
See these words, and cuts under amoeba and cell, 5. 
Hence this substance, known in Vegetable Physiology as 
protoplasm, but often referred to by zoologists as sarcode, 
has been appropriately designated by Prof. Huxley "the 
Physical Basis of Life." W. B. Carpenter, Micros., { 219. 
For the whole living world, then, It results that the 
morphological unit -the primary and fundamental form 
of life is merely an Individual mass of protoplasm, in 
which no further structure is discernible. 
//./.A./, Anat. Invert., p. 18. 
protoplasma(pr6-to-plas'ma),M. [NL. : see pro- 
toplasm.'] Protoplasm, lingo von Mohl, 1846. 
protoplasmal (pro-to-pla/.'nial), a. [< proto- 
plasm + -/.] Protoplasmic'! 
protoplasmatic (pro-to-plaz-mat'ik), a. [< 
protoplasm + -atic^.] Same as protoplasmic. 
Part of its pr<ttopla*matic matter has undergone resorp- 
tion and served nutritory purposes. 
Quart. Jour, o/ M icrot. Set., \. S., XXX. 845. 
protoplasmic (pro-to-plaz'mik), a. [< proto- 
plasm + -ic.] 1. First-formed, as a constitu- 
ent of organized beings ; primitive or primor- 
dial, as a cause or result of organization ; of or 
pertaining in any way to protoplasm: as, a 
protoplasmic substance; a protoplasmic pro- 
cess; & protoplasmic theory. 
In the young state of the cell, the whole cavity is oc- 
cupied by the protoplasmic substance. 
W. B. Carpenter, Micros., 224. 
2. Consisting of, formed or derived from, or 
containing protoplasm; bioplasmic; sarcodous. 
3. Resembling protoplasm in chemical com- 
position or in vital activities; protoplastic; 
plastic; germinative or formative Protoplas- 
mic processes of Deiters, the thickly branched pro- 
cesses of the large central ganglion-cells : distinguished 
from the axis-cylinder process of Deiters. 
protoplast (pro'to-plast), n. [< ML. protoplas- 
tus, the first man made, the first creation, < Gr. 
KpurAirAatrrof, formed or created first, < npuro^, 
first, + ir?^z<TTOf, formed, molded: see plastic. 
Cf. protoplasm.] 1. That which or one who is 
first formed ; the original, type, or model of 
some organic being; especially, the hypotheti- 
cal first individual or one of the supposed first 
pair of the human race; a protoparent. 
The consumption was the primitive disease which put 
a period to our protoplasts, Adam and Eve. Harvey. 
Adam was set up as our great protoplast and representa- 
tive. Glanrjilie, Pre-existence of Souls, Pref. 
Fresh frnm the Protoplast, 
Furnished for ages to come, when a kindlier wind should 
blow, 
Lured now to begin and live. Brooming, AbtVogler.st 5. 
2. A protozoan; a simple unicellular organism; 
specifically, a member of the Protoplasta. 
protosalt 
Protoplasta (pro-to-plas'tS), n. pi. [NL.: see 
protoplast.] An order of rhizopods; unicellular 
organisms in general; those Protozoa, Protista, 
or Plastidizoa the organization of which has the 
morphological valence of a simple cell. 
protoplastic (prd-to-plas'tik), a. [< protoplast 
+ -ic.J 1. Protoplasmic; pertaining to or nav- 
ing the character of a protoplast. 
Our protoplastic*, sire 
Lost paradise. 
lluuvll, Lexicon Tetraglotton (1600). 
A return to the condition of Lord Monboddo's protoplas- 
tic baboon even the farlylists . . . might find it Irksome 
to realize with equanimity. /'. Hull, Mod. Eng., p. 30. 
2. Specifically, belonging to the Protoplasta. 
Protopoda (pro-top'o-dii), n. pi. [NL., < Gr. 
irpurof, first, + Trodf (7r<x5-j'= E. foot.] A group 
of tteuioglpssate gastropods, with the foot rudi- 
mentary, including the Vermttidtt. 
protopodia, . Plural ot protopodium. 
protopodial (pro-to-po'di-al), a. [< protopo- 
(li-um + -al.] Of or pertaining to the protopo- 
dium, or having its character. 
protopodite (pro-top'o-dit), . [< Gr. irptrrof, 
first, + jrorf (7ro<5-), = E./opf, + -i'te2.] In Crvs- 
tacea, the first or basal division of an appendage 
of a segment, by which such appendage articu- 
lates with its somite; the root or first joint 
of a limb, which may bear an endopodite or an 
exopodite, or both of these. See endopodite, 
and cut under chehii. 
Each appendage consists of three divisions . . . sup- 
ported on a protopodite, or basal division. 
Huxley, Anat Invert., p. 244. 
Probably the coxo- and baslpodite (of the ambulatory 
leg of a crawfish] together answer to the protnpodite of the 
abdominal appendages, the remaining joints representing 
the endopodite. Huxley, Auat, Invert., p. 20, note. 
protopoditic (pro'to-po-dit'ik), a. [< protoyo- 
ditt- -T -ic.] Of or pertaining to a protopodite. 
protopodium (pro-to-po'di-um), u. ; pi. proto- 
podia (-fi). [NL., < Gr. npuTof, first, + NL. 
podium, q. v.J In Mollusca, the primitive or 
typical podium; the foot proper, irrespective 
of its various modifications. 
The valve of the siphon (In cephalopoda] is a true foot, 
or protopodium, and the two lateral folds are pteropodla. 
Gill, Smithsonian Report, 1880, p. 861. 
protopope (pro ' to-pop ), w. [<Kuss. protopopu, 
< MGr. jr^KJTOTrnirdc, a chief priest: see proto- 
papas, and cf. pope 1 .] Same as protopapas. 
protopresbyter (pro-to-pres'bi-ter), n. [< Gr. 
vpuToc., first, + irpeafiirrepot, presbyter: aeejtren- 
byter.] Same as protopope. 
protoprism (pro'to-prizm), n. [< Gr. mxi- 
i-of, first, + repio/ja', prism: see prism.'} See 
prism, 3. 
protopsyche (pro-to-si'ke), n. [< Gr. n-porof, 
first, + Tbvxh, soul: see Psyche.] See psyche, 
4 (c). Hoeckel. 
protopteran (pro-top'te-ran), a. and n. I. . 
Same as protopterous. 
II. . A member of the Protopteri. 
protoptere (pro-top'ter), n. A fish of the order 
Protopteri. SirJ. Richardson. 
Protopteri (pro-top'te-ri), n. pi. [NL., pi. of 
Protopterus.] In Owen's classification, an order 
of cold-blooded vertebrates transitional be- 
tween the fishes and the amphibians : same as 
Sirenoidei and Dipnoi. 
Protopteridae (pro-top-ter'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < 
Protopterus + -idte.] A family of dipnoans, 
typified by the genus Protopterus: same as 
Lepidosirenida. 
protopterous (pro-top'te-rus), a. [< NL. pro- 
topterus, < Gr. jrpurof, first, Hr Trrtpov, wing, = 
E. feather. ] Having a simple or primitive type 
of limb, as a protopterus; of or pertaining to 
the Protopteri. 
Protopterus (pro-top'te-rus), . [NL. (Owen, 
1837): see protopterous^] 1. The typical genus 
of Protopteridse, containing the African mud- 
fish, P. annectens. in this dipnoous fish the pectorals 
and ventrals are reduced to long filaments with fringes 
containing rudimentary rays. See Lepidoriren, and cut 
under mudfiih. 
2. [I. c.] A member of this genus.. 
protopyramid (pro-to-pir'a-mid), n. In crystal. 
See /lyratnid, 3. 
Protomis (pro-tor'nis), n. [NL., < Gr. irpiiroc, 
first, + &pvt(, bird.] A genus of birds, founded 
by Von Mever upon remains from the Lower 
Eocene of Claris. P. (/lariensis is regarded as 
the oldest known passerine bird. 
protosalt (pro'to-salt), M. [< Gr. irpurof, first, 
+ E. salt 1 .] In chem., that one of two or more 
compounds of the same metal with the same 
acid which contains relatively the least quan- 
tity of metal. 
