Harmony of  Body, Mind & Spirit to Achieve Perfect Health

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GLOSSARY OF TERMS

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

ACIDS, PLANTS Weak organic acids are found throughout the plant kingdom - citric acid in lemons. Organic acids can be divided into those based on a carbon chain or  those containing a carbon ring, but all have a COOH group in common. The chain or aliphatic acids range from simple formic acid > sting of nettles, to more complex like citric and valerianic acid.  Ring or aromatic acids - simplest is benzoic - found in many resins/balsams like gum benzoin, tolu, peru balsam, cranberries. Used as lotion or ointment, inhalant for chronic bronchial problems, has antiseptic, antipyretic, diuretic properties.

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 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.

ALCOHOLS Found in various forms in plants, often as constituents of volatile oils or as sterols > geraniol in rose attar, menthol in peppermint. Other common forms of alcohol are waxes - combs of alcohols and fatty acids - found in coatings of leaves -Carnauba wax > palm Copernicia cerifera.

ALOPECIA The loss of hair.

AERIAL The parts of plants growing above ground.

ALCOHOLS Found in various forms, often as constits of V/oils or as sterol - geraniol in attar of Rose, menthol in Peppermint oil. Others are waxes - combs of alcohols and fatty acids, found in coating of leaves.

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). Most potent group of constituents - include hallucinogenics - mescaline - and deadly poisons - brucine. There are alkaloids that act on the liver, nerves, lungs, digestive system. Many of the most valued herbs contain them. But within  the plants themselves there appears to be no important function for them apart from being a store for excess nitrogen. Very diverse in structure - all have a marked physiological activity. Chemically are divided into 13 groups based upon structure and activities they show are as diverse as structures.

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:  bladderwrack, blood root, blue flag, bogbean, burdock, cleavers, echinacea, figwort, fringetree, fumitory, garlic, golden seal, mountain grape, nettles, pasque flower, poke root, red clover, sarsaparilla, sassafras, wild indigo, yellow dock

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.

ANALGESIC A substance that relieves pain  ; figwort, hops, jamaican dogwood, lady's slipper, passion flower, poppy, scullcap, st john's wort, valerian

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.

ANTHELMINTIC : destroy or dispel worms from digestive system : aloe, garlic, pomegranate, tansy, thuja, wormwood, rue

ANTIBILIOUS : help body to restore excess bile, aid in cases of biliary, jaundice conditions : balmony, barberry, dandelion, fringetree, golden seal, mugwort, vervain, wild yam, wormwood

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.

ANTICATARRHAL Help body to remove excess catarrhal buildups, in sinus area or others :bearberry, boneset, cayenne, coltsfoot, cranesbill, echinacea, elder, elecampane, eyebright, garlic, golden seal, golden rod, hyssop, iceland moss, irish moss, marshmallow, mullein, peppermint, sage, thyme, wild indigo, yarrow

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 acetycholine at what are ca 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 Opopanax.

ANTI-EMETIC : reduce nausea, relieve or prevent vomiting : balm, black horehound, cayenne, cloves, dill, fennel, lavender, meadowsweet, peach leaves

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 : black willow, bogbean, chamomile, devils' claw, marigold, st john's wort, white poplar, witch hazel

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.

ANTI-LITHIC : prevention of stones or gravel in urinary system, help with removal : bearberry, buchu, corn silk, couchgrass, gravel root, hydrangea, sea holly, stone root, wild carrot

ANTIMICROBlAL An agent that kills or inhibits microorganisms: aniseed, balsam of peru, bearberry, caraway oil, cayenne, clove, coriander, echinacea, elecampane, eucalyptus, garlic, gentian, juniper, marigold, marjoram, wild myrrh, olive, peppermint, plantain, rosemary, rue,  sage, southernwood, thyme, wild indigo, wormwood

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 : black haw, black cohosh, chamomile, cramp bark, eucalyptus, lady's slipper, lime blossom, lobelia, mistletoe, motherwort, pasque flower, scullcap, skunk cabbage, thyme, valerian, vervain, wild lettuce, wild  yam

ANTIVIRAL An agent that experimentally inhibits the proliferation and viability of infectious viruses. 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.

ANTHRAQUINONES -  effective purgatives, good natural dyes. Appear in form of glycosides (in chemical combination  with a sugar) - rhubarb, yellow dock, senna, buckthorn, aloe. Gently stimulate colon after 8-12 hours of ingestion by stimulating peristalsis of intestines - can only do this when natural bile is present.

APERIENT : mild laxatives

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.

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 :   angelica, aniseed, balm, basil, caraway, cardamom, celery, chamomile, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, dill, fennel, hyssop, ginger, meadowsweet, pennyroyal, peppermint, rosemary, valerian, wood betony

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  :agrimony, avens, bayberry, bearberry, beth root, bistort, bugleweed, cranesbill, elecampane, eyebright,   golden rod, ground ivy, kola, lungwort, meadowsweet, mouse ear, mullein, oak bark, periwinkle, pilewort, plantain, ragwort, raspberry, red sage, rhubarb root, rosemary, slippery elm, st.john's wort, tormentil, wild cherry,  witch hazel, yarrow

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.

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.

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, Eriodicyon.

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 HYPER 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 binging 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 divided in pairs.

BITTER : stimulating tonic for digestive system through reflex via taste buds : barberry, boneset, chamomile, centaury, gentian, golden seal, hops, rue, southernwood, tansy, white horehound, wormwood

BITTER PRINCIPLES Have an exceedingly bitter taste. Show a wide diversity of structure, most belonging to the iridoids, some to the terpenes and others. Through a reflex action via the taste buds, they stimulate the secretion of all digestive juices and the activity of the liver, aiding hepatic elimination. Often show antibiotic, anti-fungal and anti-tumor actions.  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, hops, valerian, white horehound, bogbean, devil's claw, marigold.

BORBORYGMUS The bubbling, gurgling passage of gas across the transverse colon 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

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.

CARBOHYDRATES Found in form of sugars as glucose or fructose, or as starches where they serve as the main energy stores. Can also be in the more complex form of cellulose which gives structural support to plants. The large polysaccharides like cellulose can further bond with other chemicals and produce molecules like pectin - apples, seaweed gums like algin, agar or carragum in Irish Moss. Are all very viscous and demulcent, used to produce gels that are utilized in medicine and food preps. Gums and mucilages - very complex carbos - are contained in excellent soothing and healing herbs like the demulcents - coltsfoot, plantain, marshmallow. They relax the lining of the gut, triggering a reflex that runs thru the spinal nerves to areas related embryologically, like lungs and urinary system. Mucilages work in a two fold way - reduce irritation in alimentary canal, reduce sensitivity to gastric acid, prevent diarrhea and reduce peristalsis; also work via a reflex on respiratory system, reducing tension and coughing and increasing secretion of watery mucus.

CARDIAC GLYCOSIDES Similar to saponins - object of intensive investigation since they were discovered in 1785 in Foxglove, when it was seen that they can support a failing heart. Are formed by a comb of a sugar and a steroidal agylcone. Main activity is defined by shape and structure of the agyclone, it is the sugar that determines the bio-availability of the active agyclone. Many flowering plants contains cardiac glycosides - foxglove, Lily of Valley, Squill and the Strophanthus family. Foxglove is potentially poisonous so Lily is preferred. They have the incredible ability to increase the force and power of the heart beat without increasing the amount of oxygen needed by the heart muscle. They thus increase the efficiency of the heart and steady excess heart beats without strain.

CARDIAC TONIC : affect the heart : broom, bugleweed, cayenne, hawthorn, lily of valley, motherwort

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.

CARMINATIVE : rich in volatile oils, stimulate peristalsis, relax stomach, support ingestion, help eliminate gas : angelica, aniseed, balm, caraway, cardamom, cayenne, cinnamon, chamomile, coriander, dill, fennel, galangal,  garlic,   ginger, hyssop, juniper, mustard, peppermint, sage, thyme, valerian

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.

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.

CHOLAGOGUE : stimulate release and secretion of bile from gall bladder, have laxative effect on digestive system : balmony, barberry, black root, blue flag, boldo, dandelion, fringetree, fumitory, gentian, golden seal, mountain  grape,   wahoo, wild yam

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

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.

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. 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. MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities) are another syndrome that is often lumped with CFS, and they may often be two faces of the same condition.

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 life forms, virtually all fluids are held suspended in protein or starch colloids (hydro gels). 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

COUMARINS The rich smell of new mown hay/sweet woodruff is due to Coumarins - itself has limited effects on body, but one of its metabolites - di-coumarol - is powerful anti-clotting agent. Coumarins are basis for warfarin - anti-clotting drug against thrombosis in small doses, rat poison in large.

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

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

COUGH, REFLEX A cough induced by intestinal, gastric or uterine irritation, and not from respiratory causes.

COUMARINS - Highly aromatic constits - sweet woodruff. Coumarin itself has limited effects on the body; one of its metabolites - di coumarol - is powerful anti clotting agent. Coumarins used in warfarin - anti clotting drug as guard against thrombosis in small dosages.

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 enzy 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; 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.

DEMULCENT : rich in mucilage, soothe and protect irritated or inflamed tissue : coltsfoot, comfrey, corn silk, couchgrass, flaxseed, irish moss, lungwort, licorice, mallow, marshmallow,   mullein, oatmeal, slippery elm

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. 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 counter irritation 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, either by (1) dilating the peripheral blood vessels, (2) directly stimulating by drug action the nerves that affect the sweat glands, or by (3) introducing a volatile oil into the bloodstream that performs both tasks:  angelica, bayberry, black cohosh, boneset, buchu, cayenne, chamomile, elder, fennel, garlic, ginger, golden  rod, lime blossom, peppermint, pleurisy root, prickly ash, thuja, thyme, white horehound, yarrow

DIARRHEA A watery evacuation of the bowels, without blood.

DIASTOLIC The lower number of a blood pressure reading signifying the myocardial and arterial relaxation between pump strokes. Too close to the higher number (systolic) usually signifies inadequate relaxation of the heart and arteries between heartbeats.

DIE-OFF The phenomenon of killing so many infectious organisms so quickly that the amount of dead biomass itself causes liver overload, allergic reactions, or a mild foreign-body response. It can occur with antibiotic therapy, treatment of candidiasis, and even with use of some herbal antivirals. Outside of prescription antifungal, it is seldom acknowledged as a medical problem. If you use a liver stimulant, diaphoretic, and diuretic, you will increase the efficiency of transport, catabolism, and excretion, and lessen the effects of die-off.

DISTENTION An excess expansion of a tissue or organ, either from inflammation, injury or, as in the Bean Syndrome, gas.

DIURETIC A substance that increases the flow of urine, either by increasing permeability of the kidneys' nephrons, decreasing the re-absorption of filtered serum back into the blood exiting the nephron, increasing blood supply into the nephrons, or increasing the blood into each kidney by renal artery vaso-dilation : agrimony, bearberry, blue flag, boldo, boneset, borage, broom, buchu, bugleweed, burdock, celery seed,  cleavers, corn silk, couchgrass, dandelion, elder, gravel root, hawthorn berries, juniper, kola, lily of valley,    lime blossom, parsley, pellitory, pumpkin seed, saw palmetto, sea holly, stone root, wild carrot, yarrow

DIVERTICULOSIS Having congenital pouches of the type found in many organs, particularly the colon, that are benign, but, being little cul-de-sacs, are likely to become inflamed from time to time. Diverticulitis is the term for inflamed diverticula.

DUODENUM This is the beginning of the small intestines, and it empties the stomach. It is 9 or 10 inches long, holds about the same amount of food as the digestive antrum or bottom of the stomach, and, through a papilla or sphincter, squirts a mixture of bile and pancreatic juices onto the previous stomach contents. These juices neutralize the acidic chyme; the pancreatic alkali and bile acids form soap to emulsify and aid fat digestion; and the duodenum walls secrete additional fluids and enzymes to admix with the pancreatic enzymes to initiate the final upper digestive investment. The duodenal wall secretes blood hormones to excite gallbladder and pancreas secretions, and, if overwhelmed, can inhibit the stomach from sending anything else down for a while, until they can catch all their collective breath.

DURAL HEADACHES Perhaps the most common type; those resulting from auto-toxicity or an excess of blood metabolites, such as from liver dysfunction or hangovers.

DYSCRASIA Presently a term referring to inadequate synthesis of blood proteins by the liver, especially clotting factors. Formerly the term described an improper balance between Archaically, it referred to an imbalance between the four humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and the postulated black bile.

DYSENTERY Severe diarrhea, usually from a colon infection, and containing blood and dead mucus membrane cells.

DYSMENORRHEA Painful menstruation.

DYSPEPSIA Poor digestion, usually with heartburn and/or regurgitation of stomach acids.

DYSPLASIA Abnormal tissue growth...classically midway between hyperplasia (overgrowth) and neoplasia.

DYSPNEA Air hunger with pained breathing. It occurs normally from physical exertion, and abnormally either from impaired respiration, emotional distress, or a breakdown in nerve responses

DYSURIA  Painful urination.

EBV Epstein-Barr Virus, a relative of the herpes virus, is the cause of infectious mononucleosis, an African malignancy called Burkitt's lymphoma, and at least part of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. A very common virus, most of the time it only causes a head cold.

ECTOMORPH A thumbnail description of the somatotype who is dominated by the ectoderm, specifically the skin, nervous system, and endocrine glands. Less arcane, a tall and thin person, with long limbs, narrow chest, and a somewhat oversensitive nervous system.

ECZEMA A chronic dermatitis, more common in those with thin skin or allergies of an atopic or IgE-mediated type, and often clearly and distinctly aggravated by emotional stress.

EDEMA A localized or systemic condition in which the body tissues contain an excessive amount of fluid. Systemic edema can be as mild as premenstrual water retention (I mean mild by comparison) or involve loss of blood proteins or kidney and heart failures. Local edema is the result of extensive or extended inflammation, with blood protein leakage and the loss of interstitial colloid.

EHT Essential Hypertension...the early, mesomorphic stages of high blood pressure, caused mostly by thick blood and accompanying sodium retention.

ELECTROLYTES In my context, acids, bases, and salts that contribute to the maintenance of electrical charges, membrane integrity, and acid-alkaline balance in the blood and lymph.

EMETIC : cause vomiting : balm, blood root, boneset, catnip, elder flowers, lobelia, senega, squill

EMMENAGOGUE : stimulate and normalize menses flow : beth root, black cohosh, black haw, blessed thistle, blue cohosh, carline thistle, chamomile, chaste tree, cramp bark, false unicorn, fenugreek, gentian, ginger, golden seal, juniper berry, lime marigold, motherwort, mugwort,  parsley, pasque flower,   pennyroyal, peppermint, raspberry, red sage, rosemary, rue, shepherd's purse,  southernwood, squaw vine, st johns wort, tansy, thyme, true unicorn root, valerian, vervain, wormwood, yarrow

EMOLLIENT : soften, soothe and protect skin, act as external demulcent : balm of gilead, borage, chickweed, coltsfoot, comfrey, elecampane, fenugreek, flaxseed, licorice, mallow, marshmallow, mullein, plantain, quince seed, rose petals, slippery elm

EMPHYSEMA A pulmonary condition with loss of elasticity in the alveoli and the inter-alveolar septa...the meat-foam and their interleaving sheaths that you fill up when you breathe. If a septum gets too stretched over time, several of the little sacs will coalesce together, decreasing the surface area for oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange. If enough of these sacs lose their separateness, like small soap bubbles joining to make a few larger ones, breathing gets harder because each breath accomplishes less interchange of gases, resulting in emphysema. Caused by years of bad asthma, tobacco smoking, chemical damage, and other chronic lung disorders, it can be halted but not reversed. The first breath you take defines forever the number of the alveolar bubbles...they cannot be regenerated if they coalesce together.

ENDEMIC Confined to a limited geographic or ecologic niche.

ENDOGENOUS From within the body, either a native function or the product of the extended colony...normal flora in the colon are considered endogenous.

ENDOMETRIOSIS The presence of endometrial tissue outside of the uterus. The endometrium is the mucus membrane inner lining of the uterus, with glandular cells and structural cells, both responding to estrogen by increasing in size (the proliferative phase); if there is endometrial tissue outside of the uterus, the tissue expands and shrinks in response to the estrus cycle, but the normal shedding of the menstrual phase can be difficult. The most common type of endometriosis is found in the fallopian tubes; the abnormal fallopian endometrial tissue can shed and drain into the uterus, but it hurts! It's funny, but little tiny ducts, like the ureters, bile ducts, and fallopian tubes really cramp. The colon and uterus are big muscular tubes and, when cramped up, cause rather strong pain.  Endometriosis that occurs around the ovaries or inside the belly and therefore can NEVER drain is a purely physical and medical condition, but fallopian presence of endometrium usually reaches its peak in the early thirties. It can be helped by ensuring a strong estrogen and progesterone balance, thereby decreasing the tendency to form clots in the tubes, and to experience severe cramps every month

ENTERIC pertaining to the small intestines.

ENTERITIS Inflammation of the small intestines.

ENTIRE A leaf with a straight, un-toothed margin.

EOSINOPHILIA A group of conditions having the characteristic elevation of eosinophils. These somewhat mysterious granulocytic leukocytes (white blood cells filled with cottage cheese) are definitely involved in parasite resistance, seem to initiate strong inflammation under some conditions, can facilitate clotting by inhibiting heparin, yet also are a part of the process of healing and inflammation control as an infection winds down. Eosinophilia is on one hand an inherited condition associated with atopic dermatitis (common, relatively benign, and irritating), but, when acquired from chemical contact, drug reaction or spontaneously surfaced auto-immune response, it can destroy muscles, nerve, lungs, even kill. It caused the notorious string of chemical reactions that was triggered by tainted Japanese tryptophan.

EPIPHYTE An air plant, growing on or with other plants but not in any way parasitic.

EPISTAXIS Nosebleeds.

EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS A large, ubiquitous, and normally benign, herpes-like virus with both DNA and capsid. It is sometimes implicated in mononucleosis and at least two types of lymphomas. Recently it has been become connected with the symptom picture called chronic fatigue syndrome (as has been CMV) and can produce many ill-defined (but subjectively distressful) symptoms, including fatigue, fevers of an unknown origin and emotional liability. Immunosuppression, from whatever cause, allows the syndrome to occur. Many people in and out of medicine have come to regard it as both another form of Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS, naturally) and a sequel to excessive medical use of immunosuppressant anti-inflammatories.

ESOPHAGUS The dense, muscular tube, 9 to 10 inches long, that extends from the back of the throat (pharynx) to the stomach.

EXOGENOUS Arising from the outside; the opposite of endogenous

EXPECTORANT A substance that stimulates the outflow of mucus from the lungs and bronchial mucosa  ; aniseed, balm of gilead, balm of peru, blood root, coltsfoot, comfrey, elder flower, elecampane, garlic, golden seal, hyssop, iceland moss, irish moss, licorice, lobelia, lungwort, marshmallow, mouse ear, mullein, pleurisy root, senega, skunk cabbage, squill, thuja, thyme, vervain, white horehound, wild cherry

EXTRASYSTOLES A premature contraction of the heart. It can be caused by nervousness, indigestion, a tired and enlarged heart - anything up to overt organic heart disease.

EXUDATES The feral and congested fluids built up in a bruise or infection. Unlike a transudate, which is merely edema from lymphatic congestion, exudates contain dead cells, erythrocytes, white blood cells and often pus.

FAUCES The throat.

FEBRIFUGE, ANTI-PYRETIC : help reduce fevers : angelica, balm, blessed thistle, boneset, borage, cayenne, elder flower,eucalyptus, hyssop, lobelia,   marigold, pennyroyal,     peppermint, peruvian bark, plantain, pleurisy root, prickly ash, raspberry, red sage, thyme, vervain

FEBRILE Feverish.

FIBROIDS Also called a leiomyoma or fibromyoma matter), it is an encapsulated tumor made up of disorganized and irregular connective tissue. A uterine fibroid is benign, there may be one or many, they grow slowly, have unknown causes, and may or may not cause painful menses or mid-cycle bleeding. Much depends on where they are in the uterus and whether or not they extend far enough into the cavity to impair and thin out the endometrium. If they do, they cause distress.

FLATUS Intestinal or stomach gas.

FLAVONES, FLAVONOID GLYCOSIDES One of the most common groups of plant constits - anti-spasmodic, diuretic to circulatory and cardiac stimulants. Rutin, hesperidin, bioflavonoid vitamin P reduce permeability and fragility of capillaries, so help body strengthen circulatory system and lower BP - buckwheat. Bio-flavones are essential for complete absorption of vitamin C - occur in nature where it is resent.

FLAVONOIDS From flavus, Latin for yellow. A 2-benzene ring, 15-carbonmolecule, it is formed by many plants (in many forms) for a variety of oxidative-redox enzyme reactions. Brightly pigmented compounds that make many fruits and berries yellow, red, and purple, and that are considered in European medicine to strengthen and aid capillary and blood vessel integrity, they are sometimes (redundantly) called bioflavonoids.

FLUID EXTRACT An extract of an herb that is made according to official (and unofficial) pharmaceutical practice, with a strength of 1:1. That means each ounce of the fluid extract has the solutes found in an ounce of the dried herb. Advantageous for some herbs (such as Arctium or Taraxacum), where the active constituents retain the same proportions as in the plant, even though reduced to a very small volume of menstruum, it is deadly for others (such as Hydrastis or Lobelia), whose constituents may have wildly varying solubility, and whose fluid extract will contain only the most soluble constituents and lack others completely. The gradual disappearance of herbal preparations in Standard Medicine in the 1930s can partly be attributed to the almost complete reliance on fluid extracts. Some manufacturers  sold Tinctures (1:5 strength and meant to, at the least, contain EVERYTHING in the plant) that were made from diluted fluid extracts. Some fluid extracts were even made from dilutions of what were termed Solid Extracts....heat-evaporated tars, easy to store, easy to make in huge labor-minimal batches, where 100 pounds of Blue Cohosh could be reduced to 25 pounds of solid extract. This convenience pitch, with many constituents oxidized by heat, others never even extracted, could be diluted four times to sell as a fluid extract, TWENTY time to market as a tincture. These practices by American pharmaceutical manufacturers, with eyes perhaps on the larger drug trade (the use of crude drugs being a diminished part of their commerce, yet needing MANY different preparations...and being labor-intensive and profit-minimal...and sort of old-fashioned) ended up supplying terminally impaired products. Their value being reduced, physicians relied more and more on mainstream pharmaceuticals...and the medical use of whole plant preparations died.

FOMENTATION A hot, wet poultice used on painful, inflamed areas. The usual form is a towel dipped in tea and applied hot or warm to the swollen tissue, being changed when it cools.

FUNCTIONAL An imbalance of response, without permanent tissue damage, and generally reversible.

GALACTOGOGUE : increase milk production: aniseed, blessed thistle, centaury, fennel, goats rue, raspeberry, vervain

GANGLIA (singular: ganglion) Colonies of neurons outside the brain and spinal cord sometimes acting to control local functions. These latter are little affected by normal stress conditions. (Example: the solar plexus, made of two separate ganglions.)

GARDNERELLA Formerly Haemophilus, this is an anaerobic bacteria that is a main contributor to bacterial vaginosis. It is sometimes sexually transmitted, but can stick around for years as a passive part of the vaginal flora, only to flare up. It seems to occur i