Animal pearl

Invertebrates With hard parts (mollusks, corals, etc.) Dry shells, wet-preserved animals Pearls, shell (M-of-p), coral, sponges... 

Dickinson PJ, LeCouteur RA, Anderson JR, O Rourke KS, Ike RW, Pearl GS, Ghatak NR, Braund KG, Edwards RH, Round JM, et al. 2002. Muscle and nerve biopsy recommendations for the biopsy procedure and assessment of skeletal muscle biopsies. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract 32 63-102. 

Shell is the term generally used to refer to the hard exoskeleton of some animals, such as the mollusks, as well as to the protective covering of the eggs of birds and some amphibians and reptiles. The shell of many mollusks, for example, consists of three layers the innermost is a shiny layer of nacre, also known as mother of pearl, which includes a mixture of the mineral arag-... 

Ibogaine itself stimulates locomotor activity in rats. However, it reduces the locomotor activity induced by morphine, with greater effects in female animals than males (Pearl et al. 1997). It also reduces locomotor activity induced by cocaine and amphetamine (Sershen et al. 1992a, 1992b Blackburn and Szumlinski 1997). However, the interaction between ibogaine and cocaine is time-dependent, with motor activity inhibited at short delays, but potentiated at long delays (Maisonneuve et al. 1997). 

Biological calcification processes are widely distributed in nature. They can be found in microorganisms, in plants, in the animal kingdom and in humans. Under physiological conditions, the results of mineral deposition in biological systems can be represented by the formation of bones, teeth and shell material as well as coccoliths, corals, pearls etc. The variety of biomineralisates can best be expressed by the fact that approximately 128,000 species of molluscs636 are known. The majority of them (Conchifera) form shells of different kinds of size and shape as well as of color. 

Chemey, D. J. R., Patterson, J. A., and Johnson, K. D., 1990, Digestibility and feeding value of pearl millet as influenced by the brown-midrib, low-lignin trait, J. Anim. Sci. 68 4345-4351. 

Calcium carbonate, mother-of-pearl, magnesite, dolomite and other inorganic materials which nature uses to provide an organism with solidity, have been categorized under the name bioceramic materials. Later some synthetic materials were added to this group. This means that the definition of a ceramic material, as given at the beginning of this book, must somewhat be adjusted as the heat treatment of a ceramic material obviously does not apply in the animal world. 

Coral, like pearls, is calcium carbonate (CaC03) derived from living matter. It is the outer shells of small marine animals. It occurs in many colors, from white to deep pink and red. The greatest demand is for red coral. The best coral comes from the Mediterranean Sea, along the coasts of Algeria and Tunisia. 

Pearls are growths that form inside the shells of mollusks, usually in response to the presence of a parasite or other irritant. They are composed of layers of nacre that the animal secretes over the foreign body. Pearls tend to be the same color as the nacre inside the shell. Sometimes pearls are loose, forming in the mantle cavity, and sometimes they become attached to the inside of the shell. These latter pearls are called blisters and may contain rotten organic matter or a smaller, loose pearl. 

Mabe pearls are based on a hemispherical nucleus that is inserted through a hole drilled in the outside of the oyster s shell and glued into place. The animal inside will secrete nacre over this round knob which, when harvested, will yield a large pearl that is flat on one side. Mabes and other blister pearls can only be harvested by killing the oyster, since they must be cut out of the shell. 

The vast majority of pearl producing molluscs belong to the group called bivalves (see also Chapter 10, Shell ), which have two shells, hinged together, that can open and close as the animal feeds. Inside the shell is the soft body of the mollusc. It has no head, and a very simple nervous system. The main part of the body is called the mantle, which covers all the organs, and which secretes the shell. 

As with SO many animals the conservation status of the various species changes from year to year. Nautilus has been thought to be endangered but is still widely sold, while some of the freshwater mussels, from which mother-of-pearl nuclei are made for the cultured pearl industry, are in real danger of extinction and are now protected. 

The technology of making drugs was crude at best tinctures, poultices, soups, and infusions were made with water- or alcohol-based extracts of freshly ground or dried herbs or animal products such as bone, fat, or even pearls, and sometimes from minerals best left in the ground. ... 

The critical factor leading to the formation of urinary solids is the solubUity of the substance in the urine. However, this can be influenced by several factors normally present in the urine which can vary considerably, not only between species but also within a given animal or human based on variations in food and water consumption, type of diet, hydration, and alterations in metabolism (Cohen 1995,1998 McPherson et al. 2006 Pearle and Lotan 2007). 

Calcium carbonate, CaC03 (also called calcite), is the principal mineral found in limestone, marble, chalk, pearls, and the shells of marine animals such as clams. 

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