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Nephridium

A segmental tubule; one of the tubules of the primitive urinogenital organs; a segmental organ. See Illust. under Loeven's larva.

nephrite

A hard compact mineral, of a dark green color, formerly worn as a remedy for diseases of the kidneys, whence its name; kidney stone; a kind of jade. It varies in color from white to dark green. It is the more common and less valuable variety of jade, the other being jadeite. Large deposits are found in Australia. Called also nephritic stone. See also Jade.

Nephritic

A medicine adapted to relieve or cure disease of the kidneys.

nephrolithic

Of or pertaining to kidney stones, or renal calculi.

Nephrology

A treatise on, or the science which treats of, the kidneys, and their structure and functions.

Nephropsidae

A natural family in some classifications coextensive with the Homaridae.

Nephrostome

The funnel-shaped opening of a nephridium into the body cavity.

Nephrotomy

Extraction of stone from the kidney by cutting.

Nephthys

The goddess associated with ritual of the dead; sister of Geb and Nut; wife of Set.

Nepidae

A natural family of water scorpions.

Nepotic

Of or pertaining to nepotism.

Nepotism

Undue attachment to relations; favoritism shown to members of one's family; bestowal of patronage in consideration of relationship, rather than of merit or of legal claim.

Neptune

The son of Saturn and Ops, the god of the waters, especially of the sea. He is represented as bearing a trident for a scepter.

Neptunian

Of or pertaining to the ocean or sea.

Neptunicentric

As seen from Neptune, or having Neptune as a center; as, Neptunicentric longitude or force.

Neptunium

A radioactive metallic element of atomic number 93, produced in nuclear reactors from Plutonium or Uranium. Symbol Np; The atomic weight of the most stable isotope is 237.0482.

Nereid

A sea nymph, one of the daughters of Nereus, who were attendants upon Neptune, and were represented as riding on sea horses, sometimes with the human form entire, and sometimes with the tail of a fish.

Nereidian

Any annelid resembling Nereis, or of the family Lycoridae or allied families.

Nerita

A genus of marine gastropods, mostly natives of warm climates.

Nerite

Any mollusk of the genus Nerita.

neritic

Relating to the belt or region of shallow water adjoining the seacost; as, neritic fauna.

neritid

An operculate seasnail of coastal waters with a short spiral shell.

Neritidae

A natural family comprising the neritids.

Neritina

A genus including numerous species of shells resembling Nerita in form. They mostly inhabit brackish water, and are often delicately tinted.

Nerka

The most important salmon of Alaska (Oncorhinchus nerka), ascending in spring most rivers and lakes from Alaska to Oregon, Washington, and Idaho; -- called also red salmon, redfish, blueback, and sawqui.

Nero

A Roman emperor notorious for debauchery and barbarous cruelty; hence, any profligate and cruel ruler or merciless tyrant.

Nero-antico

A beautiful black marble found in fragments among Roman ruins, and usually thought to have come from ancient Laconia.

Neroli

An essential oil obtained by distillation from the flowers of the orange. It has a strong odor, and is used in perfumery, etc.

Nerthus

The Teutonic goddess of fertility; later identified with Norse Njord.

Nervation

The arrangement of nerves and veins, especially those of leaves; neuration.

nerve

One of the whitish and elastic bundles of fibers, with the accompanying tissues, which transmit nervous impulses between nerve centers and various parts of the animal body.

Nerve

To give strength or vigor to; to supply with force; as, fear nerved his arm.

nerve-racking

Extremely irritating to the nerves; stressful; trying; as, nerve-wracking noise.

Nerve-shaken

Affected by a tremor, or by a nervous disease; weakened; overcome by some violent influence or sensation; shocked.

Nerved

Having nerves of a special character; as, weak-nerved.

Nervimotion

The movement caused in the sensory organs by external agents and transmitted to the muscles by the nerves.

Nervimotor

Any agent capable of causing nervimotion.

nervine

Having the quality of acting upon or affecting the nerves; quieting nervous excitement. A nervine agent.

nervomuscular

Of or pertaining to both nerves and muscles; of the nature of nerves and muscles; as, nervomuscular energy.

Nervous

Possessing nerve; sinewy; strong; vigorous.

Nervure

One of the nerves of leaves.

nervus

Any bundle of nerve fibers running to various organs and tissues of the body.

Nescience

Want of knowledge; ignorance; agnosticism.

Nesh

Soft; tender; delicate.

Ness

A promontory; a cape; a headland.

Nesslerize

To treat or test, as a liquid, with a solution of mercuric iodide in potassium iodide and potassium hydroxide, which is called Nessler's solution or Nessler's test, and is used to detect the presence of ammonia.

Nest

To put into a nest; to form a nest for.

nest egg

An egg left in the nest to prevent the hen from forsaking it, and to induce her to lay more in the same place.

Nestful

As much or many as will fill a nest.

Nestling

Newly hatched; being yet in the nest.

Nestor

A genus of parrots with gray heads, of New Zealand and Papua, allied to the cockatoos. See Kaka.

Nestorianism

The doctrines of the Nestorian Christians, or of Nestorius.

Net

To produce or gain as clear profit; as, he netted a thousand dollars by the operation.

Net-veined

Having veins, or nerves, reticulated or netted; as, a net-veined wing or leaf.

Netball

A team game that resembles basketball; a soccer ball is to be thrown so that it passes through a ring on the top of a post.

Nether

Situated down or below; lying beneath, or in the lower part; having a lower position; belonging to the region below; lower; under; -- opposed to upper.

Nethinim

Servants of the priests and Levites in the menial services about the tabernacle and temple.

Netify

To render neat; to clean; to put in order.

Netsuke

In Japanese costume and decorative art, a small object carved in wood, ivory, bone, or horn, or wrought in metal, and pierced with holes for cords by which it is connected, for convenience, with the inro, the smoking pouch (tabako-ire), and similar objects carried in the girdle. It is now much used on purses sold in Europe and America.

nett

remaining after all deductions; same as net a., 3. Contrasted to gross.

netted

resembing a net or a web.

Nettle

To fret or sting; to irritate or vex; to cause to experience sensations of displeasure or uneasiness not amounting to violent anger.

Nettles

The halves of yarns in the unlaid end of a rope twisted for pointing or grafting. Small lines used to sling hammocks under the deck beams. Reef points.

Netty

Like a net, or network; netted.

Network

A fabric of threads, cords, or wires crossing each other at certain intervals, and knotted or secured at the crossings, thus leaving spaces or meshes between them.

network

To connect together into a network; as, to network computers; to network the printer with computers.

networking

Interchanging information or services, among a group; -- of persons or organizations.

Neufchatel

A kind of soft sweet-milk cheese; -- so called from Neufch/tel-en-Bray in France.

Neurad

Toward the neural side; -- opposed to haemad.

Neural

relating to the nerves or nervous system; taining to, situated in the region of, or on the side with, the neural, or cerebro-spinal, axis; -- opposed to hemal. As applied to vertebrates, neural is the same as dorsal; as applied to invertebrates it is usually the same as ventral. Cf. Hemal.

Neuralgia

A disease, the chief symptom of which is a very acute pain, exacerbating or intermitting, which follows the course of a nervous branch, extends to its ramifications, and seems therefore to be seated in the nerve. It seems to be independent of any structural lesion.

Neuralgic

Of or pertaining to, or having the character of, neuralgia; as, a neuralgic headache.

Neurapophysis

One of the two lateral processes or elements which form the neural arch. The dorsal process of the neural arch; neural spine; spinous process.

Neurasthenia

A condition of nervous debility supposed to be dependent upon impairment in the functions of the spinal cord.

Neuration

The arrangement or distribution of nerves, as in the leaves of a plant or the wings of an insect; nervation; venation.

Neurenteric

Of or pertaining to both the neuron and the enteron; as, the neurenteric canal, which, in embroys of many vertebrates, connects the medullary tube and the primitive intestine. See Illust. of Ectoderm.

Neuridin

A nontoxic base, C5H14N2, found in the putrescent matters of flesh, fish, decaying cheese, etc.

Neurilemma

The delicate outer sheath of a nerve fiber; the primitive sheath. The perineurium.

Neurility

The special properties and functions of the nerves; that capacity for transmitting a stimulus which belongs to nerves.

Neurine

A poisonous organic base (a ptomaine) formed in the decomposition of protagon with boiling baryta water, and in the putrefaction of proteid matter. It was for a long time considered identical with choline, a crystalline body originally obtained from bile. Chemically, however, choline is oxyethyl-trimethyl-ammonium hydroxide, while neurine is vinyl-trimethyl-ammonium hydroxide.

Neurism

Nerve force. See Vital force, under Vital.

Neuro-central

Between the neural arch and the centrum of a vertebra; as, the neurocentral suture.

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