Act Med

An abbreviation of T-homae Bartho-lini Acta Medica et Philosophica Hafhiensia.

Act Philos. And Transact. Philos

The Philosophical Transactions.

Act Reg. Sc

The Histories and Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris.

Act

S. R. Acta Societatis Regiae, or Philosophical Transactions, London, 4to.

Act

Aea. Herb Christopher. A poisonous plant, which has been formerly used externally as a repellent, and internally by the ancients in female diseases. It is not now employed. The A. spicata, Lin. is the species that has been preferred, which belongs to the multisiliquae and ranunculaciae of Jussieu.

Acte

( from to break,) elder, so called from its being easy to break. See Sambucus.

Actine

(From a ray; from its radiated ramifications). See Bunias.

Acton

A town near London, where is a well that affords a purging water; from a gallon of which Dr. Rutty got 340 grains, or five drams, two scruples, of sediment by evaporation: of this, five drams and twenty-one grains were vitriolated magnesia, or vitriolated lime, called formerly nitrum calcarium, which took for-'y-eight times its own weight of water to dissolve it; and nineteen grains of aluminous earth. This is esteemed one of the strongest purging waters near London. It is drunk from one to three pints in a morning. Monro's Medical and Pharmaceutical Chemistry. See Aquae catharticae amarae.

Actualis

Actual, (from to act). This word is applied to any thing which acts by an immediate power inherent in itself: it is the reverse of po-tential; thus, a red-hot iron or fire is called an actual cautery, in contradistinction to cauteries, or caustics, "hat have the power of producing the same effect upon the animal solids as actual fire: these last are called .virtual or potential cauteries. Boiling water is actually hot; brandy, producing heat in the body, is potentially hot, though of itself cold.

This is the medicinal sense of the word; in logic and metaphysics it is used otherwise.

Actuatio

Actuation, (from to act).

That change wrought on a medicine, or any thing taken into the body, by the vital heat, which is necessary to make it act, and have its effect.

Aclttio

(From actio, to quicken). This is applied often to medicines which are added to others weaker than themselves, in order to increase their medicinal action; as vegetable acid may be sharpened by the addition of mineral acid, or mild purgatives may be quickened by the addition of small doses of those which are more powerful.

Aculei

(Dim of acus, a point,) the prickles and thorns on vegetables.

Aculon

Or Aculos, the fruit or acorn of the ilex, or scarlet oak, (from α non, and to roll round): this is called aculon therefore, because its fruit is not involved in a cup or sheath, like the others.