NOTE TO USERS: This manual is best viewed by using a uniform-spaced font (such as Courier or Monaco) and setting a width of 80 characters. HERBAL-MEDICAL GLOSSARY, 1.2 Michael Moore Copyright 1995 by Michael Moore. Use it, share it, just don't sell it or change it in any way (unless you get my permission) The definitions below are pertinent to my use of those terms as an herbalist. Those of you versed in medicine may find the emphasis sometimes peculiar. You are used to employing those parts of anatomy, physiology and pharmacology that explain phenomena treatable with Standard Practice Medicine. Clinical diagnosis uses the physical sciences to help define conditions with medical implications, even though much of both physiology and pharmacology deals with observations that may not have medical treatment. It isn't unimportant, simply not pertinent. MY application of physiology and pharmacology is similarly biased towards MY tools. Herbs work rather poorly within the current medical model; they neither block nor suppress effectively (at least those that are reasonably safe). The best that can be said is that they NUDGE. We need to use the sciences to define constitutional, environmental and life-style factors, since we cannot CREATE a new state, only manipulate existing potentials. With herbs, you usually try to STIMULATE native resistance, and need to understand the factors that compromise it. The focus is on self-limiting and acute disorders, chronic and functional disorders, and the subclinical imbalances that are not "ripe" enough to warrant a medical approach but that compromise general health and that may in time lead to disease. Medicine needs to use procedures in intervening when native strengths have proved inadequate; the use of herbs needs to understand the co-factors and physiology of native strengths in order to extend them. Hence some of the definitions, while being accurate, may seem to emphasize almost trivial aspects. It's all a journey, this process of trying to help sick people. Current medicine drives quickly, but only on roads it has built. Herbal therapies travel on horseback; poorly on the roads, best across the countryside where the cars can't go. The great evils of medicine are that it claims to be scientific (it is an art using science as a tool) and that it denies other modalities (using the standards of science, not art). January, 1995 Albuquerque, New Mexico ACHENE A dry, one-seeded fruit, without a predictable opening and formed from a single carpel. It usually one of many, like an unshelled Sunflower seed. ACHLORHYDRIA The lack of free hydrochloric acid in the stomach; more broadly, inadequate or suppressed secretions. Without enough acid, proteins are not broken down, butterfats are not digested, Vitamin B12 may not be absorbed, and there is a long-term risk for the potential of food sensitivities to undigested foreign proteins. ACID In our context, a substance having a pH below that of neutral water (7.0) when in solution. Most metabolic waste products are acidic. Sour. See pH ACIDOSIS Specifically, the abnormal buildup of acids in the body, classically caused by diabetes or kidney disease. Broadly, the potential caused by increased protein intake or metabolism, coupled with inadequate intake (or loss) of alkali. ACUTE A type of disease or disorder having a sudden onset with severe symptoms, and generally a short or self-limited duration (such as a head cold or sprain). The opposite of chronic. ADAPTOGEN A recent (and to me, slightly flaky) term used to describe agents, often botanical, that stimulate non-specific resistance, and that seem to decrease hypothalamus and pituitary over-reactions to perceived...not real...stress. ADENITIS An inflammation of one or several lymph nodes, or related lymphoid tissues. ADRENAL CORTEX The outer covering of the two adrenal glands that lie atop each kidney. Embryonically derived from gonad tissue, they make steroid hormones that control electrolytes, the management of fuels, the rate of anabolism, the general response to stress, and maintenance of nonspecific resistance. ADRENAL MEDULLA The inner part of the adrenals, derived embryonically from spinal nerve precursors, they secrete epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine; used locally as neurotransmitters, sensitive receptors can be mobilized totally by the adrenal medullas. ADRENALIN Called epinephrine in the U.S., this is a substance secreted into the bloodstream and reacted to by specialized receptors throughout the body, initiating a "code blue" or flight-or-fight response. Many receptors are a regular part of sympathetic function, and respond to their own local relative, norepinephrine or noradrenalin, in the course of normal autonomic nervous system interplay. See: SYMPATHETIC, PARASYMPATHETIC, LIMBIC ADRENERGIC Functions that are dominated by epinephrine (the blood hormone) or norepinephrine (local sympathetic adrenergic nerve stimulus) ADRENOCORTICAL Pertaining to the adrenal cortex. ALOPECIA The loss of hair. AERIAL The parts of plants growing above ground. ALKALINE In our context, a substance having a pH above that of neutral water (7.0) when in solution. Signified as pH (potential of Hydrogen), alkaline fluids, such as the blood (pH about 7.4), have the ability to neutralize acids (solutions below pH 7.0). Metabolic wastes are acids, and the alkaline reserve of the blood neutralizes them until they are excreted. See pH ALKALOID One of a varied family of alkaline, nitrogen-containing substances, usually plant-derived, reacting with acids to form salts. Normally intensely bitter, alkaloids form a body of substances widely used in drug and herbal therapy. They are usually biologically active and have a toxic potential. The term is more pharmaceutical and medical than chemical since alkaloids come from a variety of otherwise unrelated organic compounds. (Examples: caffeine, morphine, berberine). ALTERATIVE A term applied in naturopathic, Eclectic, and Thomsonian medicine to those plants or procedures that stimulate changes of a defensive or healing nature in metabolism or tissue function when there is chronic or acute diseases. The whole concept of alteratives is based on the premise that in a normally healthy person, disease symptoms are the external signs of activated internal defenses and, as such, should be stimulated and not suppressed. Sambucus (Elder), as an example, acts as an alterative when it is used to stimulate sweating in a fevered state. Without a fever or physical exertion, Sambucus tea will increase intestinal, lung, and kidney secretions. With fever or exercise, the buildup of heat from combustion, and the dilation of peripheral blood supply, it takes the defense response to the next stage of breaking a sweat. You might have sweated eventually anyway, but you may be one of those people who doesn't perspire easily, and a diaphoretic such as Sambucus will act as an alterative for you by stimulating the next stage of defenses sooner than you would have on your own. The term alterative is sometimes inaccurately used as a synonym for "blood purifier," particularly by nature- cure neo-Thomsonians such as Jethro Kloss and John Christopher. "Blood purifier" is a term better applied to the liver, spleen, and kidneys, not to some dried plant. ALTERNATE Having plant parts, particularly leaves, arranged alternately along a stem, as opposed to in pairs or whorled. AMEBIASIS Having an amoebic infection, usually in reference to amoebic dysentery, caused by the parasitic amoeba, Entameba histolitica. AMENORRHEA Absence or suppression of menses. Primary amenorrhea is the failure to begin menses by age 16, secondary amenorrhea is tardy menses (from pregnancy, stress, dieting, illness or intensive physical training) in the previously menstruating woman. ANABOLIC Promoting anabolism. Specifically, an agent or function that stimulates the organization of smaller substances into larger ones. Examples: making a starch out of sugars, a protein out of amino acids, or making triglycerides out of fatty acids are anabolic functions. Anabolic steroids are internal or external substances that will induce increased body size or mass. The opposite of catabolic. ANAL WARTS Also called Condylomata acuminata. A sexually transmitted viral infection, caused by human papillomavirus. See VENEREAL WARTS ANALGESIC A substance that relieves pain. (Examples: aspirin, Balsam Poplar.) ANESTHETIC A substance that decreases nerve sensitivity to pain. Examples: nitrous oxide, Peppermint. ANGINA PECTORIS A painful chronic heart condition, characterized by an oppressive sensation, difficulty breathing, and pain in the chest or arms. Attacks are often triggered by exertion or a sudden adrenergic discharge, and the underlying cause is insufficient blood supply to the heart muscles ANGINA, VASOMOTORIA Like the previous, but less dangerous and more frequently caused by purely neurologic stimulus. The pain is more spasmodic and there is usually little actual blood vessel blockage. ANGIOTENSIN A substance formed in tissues or blood vessels when there needs to be local or even massive vasoconstriction. The primary precursor is renin, made by the kidneys, and elevated when the blood seems dehydrated or low in volume; the next substance needed for this reaction is a liver protein, angiotensinogen; when both are present in the blood, local factors can then form this pressor substance. Excess production is often implicated in high blood pressure. ANORECTIC An agent that suppresses appetite for food. ANOREXIA Having little or no appetite for food. ANTIBODY These are immunologic proteins, usually made from immunoglobulins, that are capable of binding to, and rendering inactive, foreign substances that have entered the skin envelope and have been deemed dangerous. They may be synthesized anew in the presence of a previously encountered substance (antigen); they may be present in small amounts at all times in the bloodstream; or they may be present in the tissues in a more primitive form designed to react to a broad spectrum of potential antigens. The latter may be responsible for some allergies. ANTICHOLINERGIC An agent that impedes the impulses or actions of the nerves or fibers of the parasympathetic ganglia, competing with, and blocking the release of acetylcholine at what are called the muscarinic sites. Cholinergic functions affected are those that induce spasms and cramps of the intestinal tracts and allied ducts. Examples: Atropine, Datura, Garrya. ANTICOAGULANT A medication or natural compound that slows or prevents the formation of blood clots. Examples: Heparin (endogenous), Dicumarol and warfarin (drugs), Melilotus (coumarin-containing). ANTIDEPRESSANT Literally, substances meant to oppose depressions or sadness, and generally heterocyclic types such as Elavil, MAO inhibitors like phenelzine, or lithium carbonate. This category of substances formerly included stuff like amphetamines and other stimulants. The only plants in this program that could fit the current definition for antidepressant activity would be Hypericum, Peganum and perhaps Oplopanax. ANTIFUNGAL An agent that kills or inhibits fungi, and, in my usage here, an herb that inhibits either a dermatomycosis like ringworm or athlete's foot, or one that inhibits Candida albicans either externally as a douche or internally as a systemic antifungal. Examples: Nystatin, griseofulvin, Tabebuia. ANTIGEN A substance, usually a protein, that induces the formation of defending antibodies. Example: bacterial toxins, Juniper pollen (in allergies). Auto-immune disorders can occur when antibodies are formed against normal proteins created within the body. ANTIHISTAMINE An exogenous agent that inhibits the release of histamine, the amino acid derivative that stimulates vasodilation and permeability under many circumstances, particularly tissue irritation. The most common type of antihistamine, the H1 receptor antagonist, produces many moderate side effects, and the H2 receptor antagonist cimetidine is even more problematic. That they are so commonly used can lull both physician and patient into trivializing their iatrogenic potential. Histamines, which are most abundant in the skin, respiratory, and GI tract mucus membranes, help heal; using antihistamines to inhibit the healing response for the whole body simply in order to lessen the acute but physiologically superficial symptoms of something like hay fever is to risk many subtle side effects. ANTIMICROBlAL An agent that kills or inhibits microorganisms. ANTIOXIDANT A substance that prevents oxidation or slows a redox reaction. More generally, an agent that slows the formation of lipid peroxides and other free-radical oxygen forms, preventing the rancidity of oils or blocking damage from peroxides to the mitochondria of cells or cell membranes. Examples : Vitamin E, Larrea (Chaparral), Gum Benzoin. ANTIPHLOGISTINE An agent that limits or decreases inflammation; an anti- inflammatory or antihistamine. ANTISPASMODIC A substance that will relieve or prevent spasms, usually of the smooth muscles of the intestinal tract, bronchi, or uterus.(Examples: barbiturates, Garrya.) ANTIVIRAL An agent that experimentally inhibits the proliferation and viability of infectious viruses. In our domain of herbal medicines, some plants will slow or inhibit the adsorption or random initial attachment of viruses, extend the lifespan of infected target cells, or speed up several aspects of immunity, including complement, antibody, and phagocytosis responses. Herbal antivirals work best on respiratory viruses such as influenza, adenoviruses, rhinoviruses, and the enteric echoviruses. Touted as useful in the alphabet group of slow viruses (HIV, EBV, CMV, etc.), they really help to limit secondary concurrent respiratory infections that often accompany immunosuppression. ANTIPHLOGISTINE An agent that limits or decreases inflammation; an anti- inflammatory or antihistamine. APOCRINE Secretory glands, especially found in the armpit and groin, that secrete oily sweat derived from shed cell cytoplasm, and which contain aromatic compounds that possess emotional information for those nearby. Examples: The smell of fear, the scent released after orgasm, the odor released by annually-frustrated Chicago Cubs fans. APTHOUS STOMATITIS Little ulcers or canker sores on the surface. of the tongue, lips, and cheek mucosa. In adults, they are often related to gastric reflux and dyspepsia. AROMATICS Chemically, molecules containing one or more benzene rings, but in our usage, plant compounds which, upon contact to the air, form gases which can be smelled: volatile oils. (Examples: menthol, Peppermint oil.) ARRHYTHMIAS An abnormal or irregular rhythm, usually in reference to the heart. ARTERIAL Blood that leaves the heart. When it leaves the right ventricle, it is venous blood; and when it leaves the left ventricle, through the aorta, it is fresh, hot, oxygenated red stuff. After it has passed out to the capillaries and started to return, it is venous blood. ARTERIOSCLEROSIS The condition of blood vessels that have thickened, hardened, and lost their elasticity-"hardening of the arteries." Aging and the formation of blood-derived fatty plaques within or directly beneath the inner lining of the arteries are the common causes. Many of the large arteries aid blood transport from the heart by their rebound elasticity, "kicking" it out; smaller ones have muscle coats that need to contract and relax in response to nerves. All this is compromised when there is arteriosclerosis. ARTHRITIS Literally, inflammation of one or more joints, usually with pain and sometimes with changes in the structure. Osteoarthritis is a chronic condition of loss in the organization of joint cartilage, with gradual calcification of the gristle, formation of spurs, and impaired function. Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disorder, with chronic inflammation and eventual distortion of the joints; the victim experiences a lessening of good health, worsening metabolic imbalance, allergies, and general stress (emotional, physical, and dietary). ASCITES An abnormal buildup of serous fluid, usually in regards the viscera. Although many infections and serious metabolic disorders can induce it, the most common cause is trauma and surgery. ASTHENIC having little tone or strength, especially in regards the nervous system or the skeletal muscles. ASTHMA, EXTRINSIC Asthma triggered by pollen, chemicals or some other external agent. ASTHMA, INTRINSIC Asthma triggered by boggy membranes, congested tissues, or other native causes...even adrenalin stress or exertion ASTRINGENT An agent that causes the constriction of tissues, usually applied topically to stop bleeding, secretions, and surface inflammation and distension. Some, such as gallotannins, may actually bind with and "tan" the surface layer of skin or mucosa. Examples: a styptic pencil, Oak Bark. ATONIC Having poor tone or diminished strength. ATOPIC A type of inherited allergic response involving elevated immunoglobulin E. Sometimes called a reagin response, it means that you have hay fever, bronchial asthma, or skin problems like urticaria or eczema. It can be acquired, sometimes after hepatitis or extended contact with solvents or alcohol, but if your mama sneezed and your daddy itched, you will probably have one form or another of the above stuff at different times of your life. Solution: since you can't change your stripes, keep in balance and avoid, if possible, the distortions of constant medications, both prescription and over-the-counter. ATROPINE An alkaloid derived from Belladonna (Atropa belladonna) and related plants that blocks some cholinergic or parasympathetic functions. It has been used to stop the cramps of diarrhea and is still found in some OTC cold remedies, since it dries up secretions. The main current medical use is in eye drops used to constrict the pupil. AUTOIMMUNITY The state of having acquired an immunologic memory that says a normal cell membrane is "other", and having forming antibody responses against it. A viral infection or organic chemical (hapten) may have started the response, but surviving healthy cells may have so close a charge pattern (epitope) that acquired immunity keeps on as if the cell was still "other". Any physical stress that causes the target tissue to become inflamed or replicate rapidly to heal can restimulate the auto-immune response. AWN A terminal or lateral bristle on a seed or plant organ. AXIL The upper angle formed by a leaf or branch with a stem. Things that pop out in the axils are called AXILLARY. AZOTEMIA The abnormal presence of urinary waste products in the blood. BACTERIOSTATIC Slowing or stopping the proliferation of bacteria. BASAL METABOLISM The basic rate of combustion by a person, usually measured after sleep and while resting. BALSAMIC Soft or hard plant or tree resins composed of aromatic acids and oils. These are typically used as stimulating dressings and aromatic expectorants and diuretics. This term is also applied loosely to many plants that may not exude resins but which have a soothing, pitchy scent. Examples: Balsam Poplar, Eriodictyon. BASAL At or near the base, and, if leaves, those that sprout directly from the root or crown. BELLS PALSY An inflammatory condition of the facial, nerve, with paralysis, distortion and diminished tears. BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERTROPHY, or HYPERPLASIA (BPH) The benign buildup in the prostate of "warts" or epithelial neoplasias that can block or interrupt urination, and which are usually concurrent with moderate prostate enlargement. They cause a dull ache on urination, ejaculation, and/or defecation. The diagnosis is medical, since the same subjective conditions can result from cancer of the prostate. BPH is common in men over fifty and can be the result either of diminished production of complete testosterone or poor pelvic circulation. Alcohol, coffee, speed, and antihistamines can all aggravate the problem. BETA BLOCKERS Drugs used to slow the response to epinephrine only (as released hormonally by the adrenal medulla), usually to attempt controlling high blood pressure BILIARY COLIC See CHOLECYSTITIS, CHOLECYSTALGIA, etc. BILIOUSNESS A symptom-picture resulting from a short-term disordered liver, with constipation, frontal headache, spots in front of the eyes, poor appetite, and nausea or vomiting. The usual causes are heavy alcohol consumption, poor ventilation when working with solvents, heavy bingeing with fatty foods, or moderate consumption of rancid fats. The term is genially archaic in medicine; people who are bilious are seldom genial, however. BILIRUBIN A waste product of hemoglobin recycling, it is primarily excreted in feces, oxidizing into that familiar brown color (except for beets). BILIRUBINEMIA The presence of abnormally high bilirubin in the blood, usually signifying hepatitis, with jaundice due next week. BIODIVERSE The state of life interdependency that is possible when large and small plants, soil organisms, insects, and fuzzy beasts exist in the ebb and flow created by the natural environment. Cut down the trees once and you lessen the biodiversity drastically. Wait fifty years and cut again and you have a small fraction of the life-form variety that you started with; the old diversity will never return...never. BIOMASS The actual amount of existing material within a species or genus. BIOSPHERE Literally, the part of the earth that supports life; more broadly, a large community of life-forms sharing a similar environment, such as a rain forest or prairie grassland. BIPINNATE A pinnate compound leaf whose leaflets, in turn, are stems that have pinnate leaflets. BITERNATE A compound leaf divided in threes, whose leaflets are in turn di- vided in pairs. BITTER TONIC A bitter-tasting substance or formula used to increase a deficient appetite, improve the acidity of stomach secretions and protein digestion, and slightly speed up the orderly emptying of the stomach. A good bitter tonic should possess little, if any, drug effect, only acting on oral and stomach functions and secretions. Dry mouth, bad gums, teeth problems with bad breath in the morning, and weak digestion, often with constipation, are the main deficiency symptoms. A bitter tonic has little effect in normal digestion. Example: Gentiana BORBORYGMUS The bubbling, gurgling passage of gas across the transverse colon...NOT a small North African rodent. BPH Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy, or Hyperplasia. BRACTS Reduced or modified leaflets that are usually parts of flowers or an inflorescence, generally subtending or beneath the floral parts. BRADYCARDIA A distinctly slow heartbeat, which may be a normal idiosyncrasy or with causes ranging from regular strenuous exercise to abnormally slow heart stimulus to the side-effects of medication. Bradycardia is usually defined as a pulse below sixty beats a minute, or seventy in children. BRADYKININ A plasma polypeptide that tends to lower blood pressure and increase capillary permeability. BRAIN FEVER Cerebral hyperemia. See POE, EDGAR ALLEN BRICK DUST The presence of reddish brown sediment in the urine, indicating uric acid, hippuric acid and creatinine excess in the blood...an anabolic greaseball who needs more liquids and alkali and who has over-acidic urine. It can be symptomatic of more serious problems as well. BROMIDES A binary salt of bromine, formerly used as a simple sedative. Given so freely and with no intent of affecting a healing, it became synonymous with a useless treatment only meant to shut up the patient. Excessive bromide use can cause some pronounced neurologic disturbances... they disappear with cessation of the drug. BRONCHITIS Inflammation of the mucus membranes on the bronchi, usually caused by an infection, sometimes by allergies or chemical irritations. BRONCHORRHEA Excess mucus secretions by the bronchi; a runny nose of the lungs. BUFFERING SYSTEM The several blood factors that enable the acid waste products of metabolism to be carried in the alkaline blood without disrupting its chemistry. These include carbolic acid, carbonates, phosphates, electrolytes, blood proteins, and erythrocyte membranes. BURSITIS Inflammation of a bursa, the lubricating sac that reduces friction between tendons and ligaments or tendons and bones. The more common localities for bursitis are the shoulders, the elbows, the knees, and the big toe (a bunion). CALYX The outer set of sterile, floral leaves; the green, clasping base of a flower. CANDIDIASIS Generally, a disorder caused by Candida (Monilia) albicans. This is a common yeast-like fungus found in the mouth, vagina, and rectum, as well as on the outside skin. It is a common cause of thrush in infants and vaginal yeast infections. In recent years much attention has been given to the increased numbers of people with candidiasis in the upper and lower intestinal tract. This condition is now known to occur as a result of extended antibiotic therapy and anti-inflammatory treatment. Most anti-inflammatory drugs are really immunosuppressants, and the normal, stable competition between fungus and bacteria is altered by the antibiotic use; this rather benign and common skin and mucosal fungus can then move deeply into the body. Although both therapies are of major importance in managing disease, they are often prescribed or requested trivially, and both are centerpieces to the increased reliance on procedural medicine (surgery). The drug industry is paralyzed by the cost of marketing new drugs, whereas surgical procedures need far easier peer and FDA acceptance. Procedural medicine normally needs antibiotic AND anti-inflammatory therapy. CAPlLLARY The smallest blood or lymph vessel, formed of single layers of interconnected endothelial cells, sometimes with loosely attached connective tissue basement cells for added support. Capillaries allow the transport across their membranes and between their crevices of diffusible nutrients and waste products. Blood capillaries expand and contract, depending upon how much blood is needed in a given tissue and how much is piped into them by the small feeder arteries upstream. They further maintain a strong repelling charge that keeps blood proteins and red blood cells pushed into the center of the flow. Lymph capillaries have many open crypts, allowing free absorption of interstitial fluid that has been forced out of the blood; these capillaries further tend to maintain a charge that attracts bits of cellular garbage too large to return through the membranes of exiting venous capillaries. CARBOS Carbohydrates, like starch or sugar. CARDIOGLYCOSIDES Sugar-containing plant substances that, in proper doses. act as heart stimulants. Examples; digitoxin, strophanthin. CARDIOTONIC A substance that strengthens or regulates heart metabolism without overt stimulation or depression. It may increase coronary blood supply, normalize coronary enervation, relax peripheral arteries (thereby decreasing back-pressure on the valves), or decrease adrenergic stimulation. Examples: magnesium, Crataegus, Selenicereus. CARDIOPATHIES Heart diseases, usually needing medical intervention. CARPEL A simple pistil or one of the modified leaflets forming a compound pistil. CATABOLIC The part of metabolism that deals with destruction or simplification of more complex compounds. Catabolism mostly results in the release of energy. Examples: the release of glucose by the liver, the combustion of glucose by cells. CATARRH Inflamed mucous membranes, an older term that usually implied excess secretions, particularly with congestion. CAULINE Belonging to the stem, as in cauline leaves emerging from the stem CELIAC Pertaining to the abdomen. CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM A collective term for the brain, spinal cord, their nerves, and the sensory end organs. More broadly, this can even include the neurotransmitting hormones instigated by the CNS that control the chemical nervous system, the endocrine glands. CERUMINOSIS Too much beeswax. See: BEESWAX, NONE OF YOUR CERVICAL VENOSITIES Enlarged varicose veins on the cervix of the uterus, often accompanying ulcerations or long-term pelvic congestion. A symptom only of congestion or impaired circulation, they can occur in both semi-trivial and serious conditions. CERVICO-OCCIPITAL HEADACHE A headache of the neck and side of the head...a tension headache. CHOLANGITIS Inflammation of only bile ducts. This word and the next three describe conditions that may be, subjectively, all the same. CHOLECYSTALGIA Cramps or tenesmus of the gall bladder or bile ducts. CHOLECYSTITIS Inflammation of the gall bladder and ducts, sometimes from the presence of passing stones, sometimes following fasting or anorexia, sometimes because of a spreading intestinal tract infection....sometimes just because you eat three avocado sandwiches before going to bed. CHOLELITHIASIS Having gall stones. CHOLESTEROL A fatty substance produced predominantly by the liver, and necessary for building cell membranes, insulating the CNS, covering fats for blood transport, forming bile acids, oiling the skin and making steroid hormones. Blood cholesterols are not derived from food (digestion breaks them down) but are intentionally synthesized by the liver, in response to seeming need. Elevated cholesterols are the result of certain types of stress or metabolic imbalances, and the liver makes more than the tissues need. Although not a direct cause, high consumption of fats and proteins will convince the liver to kick into a fat/protein or anabolic stance...THEN it may oversecrete cholesterols, perhaps thinking you are putting food away for the winter. CHOLINERGIC Pertaining to functions primarily controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system. See PARASYMPATHETIC CHOREA A neuromuscular condition, with twitching and spastic muscle control. CHOREA, SYDENHAM'S A disease or syndrome of children, usually following or companion to rheumatic fever, and having involuntary movements, anxiety and impaired memory. It usually clears up in two or three months. CHRONIC A disease or imbalance of long, slow duration, showing little overall change and characterized by periods of remission interspersed with acute episodes. The opposite of acute. CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (CFS) is a recently designated semi-disease, often attributed to EBV (the Epstein-Barr virus) or CMV (Cytomegalovirus) infections, characterized by FUOs (Fevers of Unknown Origin) and resulting in the patient suffering FLS (Feels Like Shit). In most of us, the microorganisms involved in CFS usually provoke nothing more than a head cold; in some individuals, however, they induce a long, grinding, and debilitating disorder, characterized by exhaustion, depression, periodic fevers...a crazy-quilt of symptoms that frustrates both the sufferer and the sometimes skeptical physician. MCCOY (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities) are another syndrome that is often lumped with CFS, and they may often be two faces of the same condition. I am not using all these acronyms to mock the conditions, but in irony. There is too much ASS(Acronym Safety Syndrome) in medicine, reducing complex and frustrating conditions to insider's techno-babble, somehow therein trivializing otherwise complex, painful and crazy-making problems. The widest use of acronyms (AIDS, HIV, CFS, MCCOY, MS etc.) seems to be for diseases hardest to treat, least responsive to procedural medicine, and most depressing to discuss with patients or survivors. CHYLOMICRONS These are organized blobs of fats, synthesized in the submucosa of the small intestine out of dietary fats, phospholipids, specialized proteins and cholesterol, carried out of the intestinal tract by the lymph, and slowly released into the bloodstream. In the capillaries, the triglycerides inside the chylomicrons, recognized by their protein markers, are absorbed into the tissues for fuel or storage, and the outside cholesterol and phospholipid transport-cover continues through the blood to be absorbed by the liver for its use. This sideways approach takes (ideally) a large part of dietary fats into the lymph back alleys, spreading their release into the bloodstream out over many hours, thereby avoiding short-term blood fat and liver fat overload. To synthesize the maximum amount of dietary fats into chylomicrons, you need well-organized emulsification and digestion of lipids by the gallbladder and pancreas. CIRRHOSIS, LAENNECS The most common type of cirrhosis, caused by chronic alcoholism and a lousy diet (or malabsorption). CIRCUMBOREAL Plants that are found worldwide, encircling the lands around the north pole. CISTERNA CHYLI A sac in the back of the pelvic region that drains the lymph from the intestinal tract, pelvis and legs, and acts as the beginning of the thoracic duct. See LACTEALS, THORACIC DUCT CLONIC Smooth muscle spasms or colic that alternate rhythmically with a rest state...like birthing contraction or waves of nausea. CMV (Cytomegalovirus) This subtle, worldwide microorganism is a member of the herpes virus group. It is large for a virus, contains DNA, and has a complex protein capsid. It forms latent, lifelong infections, and, except for occasional serious infections in infants and malnourished youngsters, seldom produced a disease state. With increased use of immunosuppression therapies for conditions ranging from arthritis to cancer to organ transplants, the incidence of adults with major infections of CMV increases yearly. CNS Central nervous system. COLIC Cramping or spasms of a smooth muscle tube, such as the uterus (menstrual cramps) the ureters (passing kidney stones) or the stomach (stomachache). Also called tenesmus. COLIFORM BACTERIA Intestinal bacilli that are gram-negative, sugar-digesting, and both aerobic and anaerobic. They are usually from the family Enterobacteriaceae; Escherichia coli is the best known of the group. COLITIS Colon inflammation, usually involving the mucus membranes. Mucus colitis is a type with cramps, periods of constipation, and copious discharge of mucus with feces. Ulcerative colitis has pain, inflammation, ulceration, fever, and bleeding, all interspersed at various times - a long and serious illness. COLLAGEN The fibrous insoluble structural protein that forms almost a third of our total body protein and holds everything together. Too much collagen is what makes a steak tough. COLLOID Gooey substances, usually proteins and starches, whose molecules can hold large amounts of a solvent (usually water) without dissolving. In lifeforms, virtually all fluids are held suspended in protein or starch colloids (hydrogels). Examples: cell protoplasm, lime Jell-O. COLOSTRUM The first breast milk after birth, containing minerals and white blood cells. This is followed gradually by true milk. COMPLEMENT A large body of blood proteins (over 20), initiated in the liver, and intimately involved in nearly all aspects of immunity and nonspecific resistance. They form two types of self-mediated cascade reactions to antigens, antibody-antigen complexes, dead tissue and the like, and are almost solely able to initiate the rupture and killing of bacteria. The protein strings they form around foreign substances are the main "hooks" used for absorption by macrophages as they digest and clean up. CONGESTION Thick and boggy tissues, usually resulting from excess inflammation, or irritation that is unremitting. It is characterized by the accumulation of an excess volume of fluid, with impairment of venous and lymphatic drainage, and the buildup of unremoved cellular waste products. COMPOUND Leaves that are made up of leaflets, such as pinnate and palmate leaves. CONJUNCTIVA The mucus membrane which covers the underside of the eyelids and the front surfaces of the eyeball. CONJUCTIVITIS An inflammation of the conjunctiva, either from environmental irritation, allergies, viral or bacterial infections. CONSTITUTIONAL Deriving from basic hereditary strengths and weaknesses, and including early environmental factors. CONTUSIONS A bruise, characterized by a trauma in which the skin is not broken but underlying blood vessels are busted, causing a deep or lateral hematoma, with disorganized blood and interstitial fluid buildup. see EXUDATE CORDILLERA The mountain ridge that spans North America, from Mexico through the Rocky Mountains into Alaska. CORM The fleshy, bulblike, solid base of a stem, often rising out of a tuber or bulb. CORPUS LUTEUM A temporary endocrine gland formed at ovulation from part of the former egg follicle, and the source of progesterone. See PROGESTERONE, ESTROGEN, MENOPAUSE CORTICOSTEROIDS Natural steroid hormones or synthetic analogues, usually taken for suppressing inflammation (and immunity) and therefore having cortisone-like functions, or taken as analogues to adrenocortical androgen...or even testosterone, in order to impress the other gym members, make varsity by your junior year or to join the WWF and get newbie-mangled for two years by The Hangman or even the Hulkster Himself. Then, if your gonads don't fall off and your back holds up you get promoted to Good Guy, have your chance to Take A Name and finally wear your chosen costume...a spandex violet nurse's uniform. COUGH, HECTIC The dry and unproductive coughing in early bronchitis, when the mucosa is irritated but still too infected to secrete mucus COUGH, PAROXYSMAL Attacks of uncontrollable coughing or "whooping", often relating to whooping cough or bronchiectasis, but they can also be caused by the smoke from burning plastics and (memories of yesteryear) hash oil. COUGH, REFLEX A cough induced by intestinal, gastric or uterine irritation, and not from respiratory causes. COUNTERIRRITANT A substance applied to the skin to produce an irritating, heating, or vasodilating effect, in order to speed local healing by increasing circulation of blood, radiating the heat inward to inflamed tissues deep below the skin. It can also be used to induce reflex stimulation to seemingly unrelated internal organs. (see DERMATOMES) CREATININE It is the waste product of creatine, an enzyme found in large amounts throughout the tissues, and mainly excreted in the urine. The parent compound creatine enables the body to use the "blue flame" of anaerobic combustion (as opposed to the yellow flame of oxidation). Elevated creatinine in the blood may be an early symptom of kidney disease. CRENELATED (or CRENATE) Leaves having rounded, scalloped teeth along the edges. CROHN'S DISEASE Also called regional enteritis or regional ileitis, this is a nonspecific inflammatory disease of the upper and lower intestine that forms granulated lesions. It is usually a chronic condition, with acute episodes of diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and loss of weight. It may affect the stomach or colon, but the most common sites are the duodenum and the lowest part of the small intestine, the lower ileum. The standard treatment is, initially, anti-inflammatory drugs, with surgical resectioning often necessary. The disease is autoimmune, and sufferers share the same tissue type (HLA-B27) as those who acquire ankylosing spondylitis. CRUDE DRUG A dried, unprocessed plant, and referring to one that was or is an official drug plant or the source of a refined drug substance. A CRUDE BOTANICAL, on the other hand, is one of our herbs that has no official standing. Examples: Digitalis leaves (crude drug), White Sage (crude botanical). CYSTITIS An inflammation, often infectious, of the urinary bladder. It usually arises from a distal infection of the urethra or prostate. CYSTORRHEA Mucus in the urine, usually following infection or from chronic congestion of the bladder mucosa. CYTOKINE Also lymphokine, a broad term for a variety of proteins and neuropeptides that lymphocytes and macrophages use to communicate between themselves, often from long distances. They stimulate organization and antibody responses, seem to induce the bone marrow to proliferate the type of white blood cells needed for immediate resistance, and generate sophistication and fine tuning for an overall strategy of resistance. A lymphocyte FAX. CYTOPROTECTANT A substance or reaction that acts against chemical or biological damage to cell membranes. The most common cytoprotectant actions are on the skin and the liver (hepatoprotectant), although there has been recent research involving lymphocyte T-cell cytoprotectants. DECIDUOUS A plant that drops its leaves in the fall or, in some cases, during drought. DECOMPENSATION The failure of the heart to maintain full and adequate circulation. DELIRIUM TREMENS (DTs) A distinct neurologic disorder suffered by late-in-the-game alcoholics, characterized by sensory confusion (is it red or sour, hot or loud, smelly or wet, am I thinking or screaming); part of the problem is the result of diminished myelination of nerves and decreased brain antioxidant insulation (cholesterol), with nerve impulses "shorting out" across temporary synapses. It sounds ugly. DEMULCENT An agent that soothes internal membranes, traditionally separated from external soothing agents, emollients. DERMATOMES As spinal chord nerves branch out into the body, some segments fan out across the skin; these are the nerves that monitor the surface and are the source of senses of touch, pain, hot, cold and distension. All this information is funneled back in and up to the brain, which learned early on to correlate WHAT information comes from WHERE. Think of the brain as the CPU, with the spinal chord nerves uploading raw binary data; the brain has to make a running program out of this. It must form a three-dimensional hologram or homunculus from the linear input, and retranslate it outwards as binary data. The surface of the forearm, as an example, has sensory input gathered from several different and very separate spinal chord nerves. The brain will origami-fold these separate data streams into FOREARM. If you were to inject novacaine into the base of the left first sacral nerve (LS1), you would find that a whole section of skin became numb. So well defined a section that you could outline in charcoal the demarcation between sensation and numbness. This section would be a long oval of of numbness around the left buttock, under to the groin, perhaps part of the thigh...and the left heel. That spinal nerve is solely responsible for carrying sensation from that zone of skin...that dermatome; your brain mixes all the dermatomes together to get a working hologram of your total skin surface. That particular nerve also brings and sends information about the uterus, abdominal wall and pelvic floor. If you are a woman suffering pelvic heaviness and suppressed menses, a hot footbath might be enough S1 (heel dermatome) stimulation to cross-talk over to the S1 pelvic functions...and heat up the stuck uterus. Much of acupuncture, Jinshinjitsu, and zone and reflex therapy (not to mention Rolfing) uses various aspects of this dermatome crossover phenomena (by whatever name) and zone counterirritation was widely used in American standard medicine up until...penicillin. It was still being described in clinical manuals as late as 1956, although with the mention that it was only used infrequently and with a "mechanism not understood" disclaimer. DIABETES Properly diabetes mellitus, it is a disease characterized by high blood sugar levels and sugar in the urine. Diabetes is really several disorders, generally broken down into juvenile onset and adult onset. The first, currently called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM or Type I), is somewhat hereditary, and results from inadequate synthesis of native insulin or sometimes from auto-immunity or a virus, and occurs most frequently in tissue-types HLA, DR3, and DR4. These folks tend to be lean. The other main group is known as non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM or Type II). It is caused by a combination of heredity, constitution, and lifestyle, where high blood sugar and high blood fats often occur at the same time, and where hyperglycemic episodes have continued for so many years that fuel-engorged cells start to refuse glucose, and the person is termed insulin resistant. These folks are usually overweight, tend to have fatty plaques in their arteries, and usually have chunky parents. DIAPHORESIS Sweating. DIAPHORETIC A substance that increases perspiration.