Wormwood
The essence of absinthe, an emerald-green spirit, flavored with extracts of the wormwood plant, licorice and aromatic flavorings in a alcohol base. Absinthe was manufactured, commercialized and popularized in France in the late 1700s by Henri-Louis Pernod. It became an extremely popular drink. Among the famous figures who made absinthe a symbol of decadence were the writer Oscar Wilde, the poet Charles Baudelaire, and the artists Edouard Manet, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Pablo Picasso.
Medical research on absinthe was initiated in 1864 by a psychiatrist, Valentin Magnan, who studied alcoholics and did animal experiments regarding the inhalation of wormwood or alcohol vapor. The animals that breathed the alcohol fumes became drunk while those that inhaled the vapors of wormwood had epileptic seizures.
Absinthe has often been portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug. The chemical compound thujone, although present in the spirit in only trace amounts, was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. Although banned in some countries around the turn of the 20th century, bans have been lifted in most countries since the 1990s and the spirit has had a revival in its popularity.
Read Also:
- WPW syndrome
Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.
- Wrist
The part of the hand that is nearest the forearm and consists of the carpal bones and the associated soft tissues. The eight carpal bones are arranged in two rows. One row of carpal bones joins the long bones of the forearm (the radius, and, indirectly, the ulna). Another row of carpal bones meets the […]
- Writer's cramp
A dystonia that affects the muscles of the hand and sometimes the forearm and only occurs during handwriting. Similar focal dystonias have also been called typist’s cramp, pianist’s cramp, musician’s cramp, and golfer’s cramp.
- Writer's cramp
A dystonia that affects the muscles of the hand and sometimes the forearm and that only occurs during handwriting. Similar focal dystonias have been called typist’s cramp, pianist’s cramp, musician’s cramp, and golfer’s cramp.
- Wry neck
Medically called spasmodic torticollis, or torticollis. The most common of the focal dystonias. In torticollis, the muscles in the neck that control the position of the head are affected, causing the head to twist and turn to one side. In addition, the head may be pulled forward or backward.