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BezoarA bezoar or enterolith is a sort of calculus or concretion, a stone found in the intestines of mostly ruminant animals, but occurring among others including humans. There are several varieties of bezoar, some of which have inorganic constituents and others organic. Additional recommended knowledge
HistoryBezoars were formerly sought after because they were believed to have the power of a universal antidote against any poison. It was believed that a drinking glass which contained a bezoar set within would neutralize any poison poured into the glass. The word "bezoar" ultimately comes from the Greekpâdzahr (پادزهر), which literally means "protection from poison." In fact, some types of trichobezoar are apparently able to precipitate or bind arsenic compounds (long used as poison) from a solution.[citation needed] In 1575, the surgeon Ambroise Paré described an experiment to test the properties of the Bezoar Stone. At the time, the Bezoar stone was deemed to be able to cure the effects of any poison, but Paré believed this was impossible. It happened that a cook at Paré's court was caught stealing fine silver cutlery. In his shame, the cook agreed to be poisoned. He then used the Bezoar stone to no great avail as he died in agony days after. Paré had proved that the Bezoar stone could not cure all poisons as was commonly believed at the time. A famous case in the common law of England (Chandelor v. Lopus, 79 Eng Rep. 3, Cro. Jac. 4, Eng. Ct. Exch. 1603) announced the rule of caveat emptor, "let the buyer beware" if the goods he purchased are in fact genuine and effective. The case concerned a purchaser who sued for the return of the purchase price of an allegedly fraudulent bezoar. (How the plaintiff discovered that the bezoar did not work is not discussed in the report.) Judicial scepticism over the alleged magical powers of bezoars may well have justified this judgment in this particular case. The ruling, however, was seized on and formed an impediment to the formation of effective consumer protection remedies and the law of implied warranty well into the nineteenth century. The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy notes that persimmons have been identified as causing epidemics of intestinal bezoars, and that up to ninety percent of food boluses that occur from eating too much of the fruit require surgery for removal.[1] Bezoar pearlsIn addition to bivalve pearls, there are a group of sacred natural gemstones largely considered bezoar stones, which were first documented in the Garuda Purana, one of the books of Hindu holy text Atharvaveda. In addition to oyster pearls, also enumerated are the Conch Pearl, Cobra Pearl, Boar Pearl, Elephant Pearl, Bamboo Pearl, Whale Pearl, Fish Pearl, and Cloud Pearl. These pearls were later documented in the treatise Brihat-Samhita ("The Great Compilation") of Varahamihira, the Indian mathematician. The first documented contact with these artifacts by the Western world is described in the sole volume of 18th Century scientist Albertus Seba, entitled Cabinet of Natural Curiosities. Therein, a large collection of bezoar stones and non-oyster pearls were hand-sketched, and the collection of these items were on display in a forum which was the precursor of the modern day museum. Today, the original 446-plate volume, part of the greater work Locupletissimi Rerum Naturalium Thesauri Accurata Descriptio, is on permanent exhibit at the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in The Hague, Netherlands. While the sacred Nine Pearls of Vedic tradition are typically considered bezoars, the Bamboo Pearl forms in the stem of the Bamboo plant, while others such as the Cloud Pearl have no known formation process. In Indian mythology two famous pearls find mention, the Nag Mani or Snake Pearl and Gaja Mukta or Elephant Pearl. The Nag Mani is believed to be endowed with magical properties and occurs in the mouths of cobras. The Gaja Mukta is believed to occur in the forehead of elephants. Types of bezoars
Miscellaneous
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bezoar". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia. |