An anatomical structure enclosing an organ or body part: for example, capsules enclose the liver, kidneys, joints, and eye lenses.
The term capsule is also used to describe a soluble, elongated shell, usually made of gelatine, containing a drug to be taken by mouth. The coating of some capsules prevents a drug that may have an irritant effect being released into the
stomach, or allows a drug to be released slowly so it can be taken less frequently.
A term used in several senses in medicine. It is applied to a soluble case, usually of gelatine, for enclosing small doses of unpleasant medicine.
Enteric-coated capsules, which have been largely superseded by enteric-coated tablets, are capsules treated in such a manner that the ingredients do not come in contact with the acid stomach contents but are only released when the capsule disintegrates in the alkaline contents of the intestine.
The term is also applied to the ?brous or membranous envelope of various organs, as of the spleen, liver or kidney. Additionally, it is applied to the ligamentous bag surrounding various joints and attached by its edge to the bones on either side.
n. 1. a membrane, sheath, or other structure that encloses a tissue or organ. For example, the kidney, adrenal gland, and lens of the eye are enclosed within capsules. A joint capsule is the fibrous tissue, including the synovial membrane, that surrounds a freely movable joint. 2. a soluble case, usually made of gelatin, in which certain drugs are administered. 3. the slimy substance that forms a protective layer around certain bacteria, hindering their ingestion by phagocytes. It is usually made of *polysaccharide.
a dry fruit, opening when ripe, composed of more than one carpel.
The thickening of the cuticular lining of buccal cavity; buccal capsule may be large, small, vestigial or absent. In some nematodes, the cuticle lining within the buccal capsule may be modified to be chitinous teeth or cutting plates as in Ancylostomatidae or a stylet as in Trichinelloidea.... buccal capsule
the cup-shaped end of a *nephron, which encloses a knot of blood capillaries (glomerulus). It is the site of primary filtration of the blood into the kidney tubule. [Sir W. P. Bowman (1816–92), British physician]... bowman’s capsule
(VCE) an investigation for visualizing the intestinal lining (mucosa). A capsule containing a miniature digital video camera is swallowed by the patient and passively propelled through the intestine by peristalsis. The images are uploaded to a computer for subsequent analysis. Various capsules are available for investigation of oesophageal, small-intestinal, and colonic disorders. The commonest in use is the small-intestinal capsule, for investigation of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, recurrent iron-deficiency anaemia, or in cases of suspected Crohn’s disease, coeliac disease, or small-bowel tumours.... video capsule endoscopy
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