Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
FISTULA
fistula, sinus
(noun) an abnormal passage leading from a suppurating cavity to the body surface
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
fistula (plural fistulas or fistulae or fistulæ)
(medicine) An abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels that normally do not connect.
(rare) A tube, a pipe, or a hole.
(Christianity, historical) The tube through which the wine of the Eucharist was once sucked from the chalice.
Synonym: calamus
Usage notes
• (medicine): The skin is regarded as an organ, so the definition includes the abnormal connection of an internal organ to the body's exterior (as in, for example, enterocutaneous fistulas).
• Sometimes, a fistula will be intentionally created; for example, an arteriovenous fistula is sometimes created to ease the treatment of a patient with end stage renal failure.
Synonyms
• (tube): pipe, tube
Source: Wiktionary
Fis"tu*la, n.; pl. Fistulæ. Etym: [L.]
1. A reed; a pipe.
2. A pipe for convejing water. [Obs.] Knight.
3. (Med.)
Definition: A permanent abnormal opening into the soft parts with a constant discharge; a deep, narrow, chronic abscess; an abnormal opening between an internal cavity and another cavity or the surface; as, a salivary fistula; an anal fistula; a recto-vaginal fistula. Incomplete fistula (Med.), a fistula open at one end only.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
28 April 2024
POLYGENIC
(adjective) of or relating to an inheritable character that is controlled by several genes at once; of or related to or determined by polygenes
Coffee Trivia