Function is the specific office or action which any organ or system of organs is fitted to perform in the animal or vegetable economy. Vital functions are functions immediately necessary to life, as those of the brain, heart, lungs, etc. Natural or vegetative functions, functions less instantly necessary to life, as digestion, absorption, assimilation, expulsion, etc. Animal functions are those which relate to the external world, as the senses, voluntary motions, etc. Research Function
The earthworm (Lumbrlcusterrestris) is a genus of common worms, of the natural order Oligochaeta, belonging to the abranchiate (having no branchiae, or external respiratory organs) section of the class Annelida. They have a long, cylindrical body, divided by transverse furrows into numerous rings. The mouth is destitute of teeth, and they have no eyes, tentacles, or cirrhi. They are hermaphrodite. The common earthworm attains nearly 30 cm in length. It subsists on roots, woody fibres, animal matter, etc. It moves by the contractions of successive parts of the body aided by a double row of bristles. They are of great service to the agriculturist by loosening the soil and increasing its depth. This is chiefly the result of their mode of nourishment, since they deposit the soil they have swallowed, after digestion, in heaps called worm castings which bring up rich fine soil to the surface, gradually covering the upper layer sometimes to the extent of several inches. Research Earthworm
Garlic (Allium sativum) is a hardy perennial plant, allied to the onion, of the family Liliaceae with an edible bulb divided into segments. Garlic is indigenous to the south of Europe, forming a favourite condiment amongst several nations. The leaves are grass-like, and differ from those of the common onion in not being fistulous; the stem is about 60 cm high; the flowers are white; and the root is a compoundbulb, consisting of several smaller bulbs, commonly denominated cloves, enveloped by a common membrane. It has a strong, penetrating odour, and a pungent acrid taste. Used as a medicine it is stimulant, tonic, and promotes digestion; it has also diuretic and sudorific qualities, and is a good expectorant. Research Garlic
Hypermastigina are an order of Zoomastigina. They are small flagellates with numerous flagella. They live in the gut of insects. Hypermastigina in the gut of termites assist in the digestion of wood. Research Hypermastigina
Massospondylus was a dinosaur of the Triassic period. One of the earliest dinosaurs it was a herbivore - indicated by the presence of small stones in the stomach, used for helping to grind tough vegetation for digestion - with a large bulky body and a tiny head. It grew to about six metres long. It had a strange thumb claw which could have been used for defence and also digging. Research Massospondylus
Tarragon (Artemisiadracunculus) is a perennialherb of the daisy family, native to the Mediterranean countries. It has a rhizome, erect leafy stems and alternate green, entire, linear to lanceolate leaves. The flower heads are yellow, globose and rayless and are arranged in long, loose terminal panicles. The fruit is a cylindrical achene without a pappus. Tarragon is widely cultivated as a culinary herb, and used to a lesser extent in medicine as an aid to digestion and as a general tonic. Research Tarragon
In biology, a vacuole is a fluid-filled, membrane-bound cavity inside a cell. It may be a reservoir for fluids that the cell will secrete to the outside, or may be filled with excretory products or essential nutrients that the cell needs to store. In amoebae, vacuoles are the sites of digestion of engulfed food particles. Plant cells usually have a large central vacuole for storage. Research Vacuole
Andrew Combe was a Scottish physician. He was born in 1797 at Edinburgh and died in 1847. He was educated at the Edinburgh High School, and afterwards for the medical profession at the university there. In 1822 he commenced practice at Edinburgh, and had considerable success. In 1838 he was appointed one of the physicians extraordinary to the queen in Scotland. His chief works are: Observations on Mental Derangement (1831), Principles of Physiology (1834), Physiology of Digestion (1836), and A Treatise on the Physiological and Moral Management of Infancy (1840). Like his brother George Combe he was a zealous phrenologist. Research Andrew Combe
Galenists was the name of the body of controversialists who, appealing to the authority of Claudius Galen, opposed the introduction of chemical ;md alchemical methods of treatment into medicine. They adhered to the ancient formulas, which prescribed preparations of herbs and roots by infusion, decoction, etc, while the chemists professed to extract essences and quintessences by calcination, digestion, fermentation, etc. Neither body possessed a monopoly of the truth, and modern medicine combines the better elements in each method. Research Galenists
William Beaumont was an American surgeon. He was born in 1785 and died in 1853. His experiments on digestion with the Canadian St Martin, who lived for years after receiving a gunshot wound in the stomach which left an aperture of about two inches in diameter, were of great importance to physiological science. Research William Beaumont
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Function
