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247 results
  • Kidney stone
  • Thermogram of an infected middle finger, left hand.
  • Tropaeolum cv
  • Head, brain and large arteries of a healthy female adult, MRI
  • Neurovascular unit, blood brain barrier, TEM
  • Onion ring, illustration
  • Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment
  • Human heart (aortic valve) tissue displaying calcification
  • Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment
  • Imaginary Herbaria of Dr James Miranda Barry
  • Ricinus communis L. Euphorbiaceae Castor oil plant. Palma Christi. Distribution: Mediterranean, E Africa, India. The seeds themselves are pretty, brown, bean-like usually with gold filigree markings on them, and the interior of the seed is the source of castor oil. The outer coat of the seed is the source of the poison ricin, famous (infamous) for the umbrella murder of Georgi Markov on Waterloo Bridge in 1978. The KGB are alleged to have killed Georgi Markov, a dissident Bulgarian journalist, with a pellet containing 0.28mgm of ricin fired into his leg using a specially adapted air gun in an umbrella. While his symptoms were those of ricin poisoning, no ricin was ever found in the pellet that was extracted from his leg. Two seeds, chewed and ingested are said to be fatal, but most people vomit and get rid of the toxin. Ducks are resistant to ricin, and need to ingest more than 80 to be fatal! In Peru the leaves are used as a tea for stomach ache, although they contain small amounts of ricin. It is called Palma Christi in early herbals because of the five pointed leaves, which schematically represent a hand. It is a monotypic genus in the spurge family. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • ATP sysnthase fields
  • Mandarin orange, axial view, MRI
  • Neurotransmitter in limbic areas of a human brain, PET
  • Antique brain tissue, St Elizabeth's Hospital, Washington DC
  • Raynaud's Phenomenon
  • Kidney stone
  • Imaginary Herbaria of Dr James Miranda Barry
  • Healthy adult human brain viewed from above, MRI
  • Trichuris muris is a parasitic nematode affecting mice. Following ingestion, T. muris eggs hatch in the large intestine where they develop into adults. The anterior end of the worm burrows into the lining of the gut, leaving the posterior end protruding into the lumen of the gut. The worms mate in this orientation, and the resulting eggs are released in to the gut lumen and shed faecally.
  • Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment
  • Microvasculature of rat heart, iris and kidney
  • Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora 'Emily McKenzie'
  • Cortical bone mapping of hip from computed tomography
  • Xenoturbella, marine worm related to humans
  • Raynaud's Phenomenon
  • Spore tubes on mushroom (unknown species)
  • Adipose Tissue
  • Physalis alkekengi L. Rosaceae Chinese lantern, Winter Cherry, Bladder Cherry. Distribution: C & S Europe, W. Asia to Japan Culpeper: In his English Physitian of 1652 writes: Winter Cherry ...are of great use in physic ...’ and recommends them for almost all kidney and urinary problems. In particular he seems to advocate the use of green berries in beer, for preventing kidney stones lodging in the ureters. It is called ‘aikakengi’ in the College’s Pharmacopoeia Londinensis of 1618. Belonging to the family Solanaceae, all its parts are poisonous except the ripe fruit. The green fruit and the rest of the plant contain atropinic compounds and will produce a dry mouth, rapid heart beat, hallucinations, coma and death if enough is taken. As the atropine is only present in the unripe fruit eating one will make the mouth go dry (and it has the most unpleasant taste), but it will also relax the smooth muscle in the wall of the ureter which helps passage of ureteric stones. Culpeper’s observations on its usefulness are supported by more modern observations. When ripe, the orange fruit inside its skeletal outer ‘lantern’ is edible, free of atropine, and delicious. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Physalis alkekengi L. Rosaceae Chinese lantern, Winter Cherry, Bladder Cherry. Distribution: C & S Europe, W. Asia to Japan Culpeper: In his English Physitian of 1652 writes: Winter Cherry ...are of great use in physic ...’ and recommends them for almost all kidney and urinary problems. In particular he seems to advocate the use of green berries in beer, for preventing kidney stones lodging in the ureters. It is called ‘aikakengi’ in the College’s Pharmacopoeia Londinensis (1618). Belonging to the family Solanaceae, all its parts are poisonous except the ripe fruit. The green fruit and the rest of the plant contain atropinic compounds and will produce a dry mouth, rapid heart beat, hallucinations, coma and death if enough is taken. As the atropine is only present in the unripe fruit eating one will make the mouth go dry (and it has the most unpleasant taste), but it will also relax the smooth muscle in the wall of the ureter which helps passage of ureteric stones. Culpeper’s observations on its usefulness are supported by more modern observations. When ripe, the orange fruit inside its skeletal outer ‘lantern’ is edible, free of atropine, and delicious. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.