Finishing the "Ts"

As I write this final essay before heading off to Cheyenne for my spelling bee, I do so feeling that I am in a stronger position with words than I have ever previously been. I spent significant time in March and April compiling lists of good words, and then learning and writing on many of them. Building a comprehensive vocabularly and deep understanding of words and the worlds they open is a multi-year task, but it is a task worth all the effort. Thus, regardless of how things work out this weekend, I feel (at least now!) satisfied with my preparation. Let's review some of words in the the final group from this essay. The words include:

"theremin, tetrapyrrole, tetrahymena, thysanuran, thioridazine, tetramerous, trevally, tetramethyllead, tristearin, triamcinolone, trimethoprim, vancomycin, veratrine, valpolicella, veratrum, verapamil, veratridine, verdin, zein, vasopressin, zamia, ziram, zineb, zidovudine, zouk, pravastatin."

A duller list of words I could barely imagine. Let's try to make some headway here. A theremin is a unique musical instrument, played by the free movement of the performer's hands in the space surrounding the instrument. Here is a description with pictures. It was named after its inventor, Leon Theremine, who invented it in 1919. Tetrapyrrole, a tricky word to spell, is a chemical group consisting, appropriately enough, of four pyrrole rings. A tetrahymena is from the genus Tetrahymena of ciliate (hairy) protozoans. Thysanuran, taken from Greek words meaning "bristle" and "tail," is the, drum roll, bristletail--a primitive wingless insect. Pictures are online. Then, thioridazine is a tranquilizer treating anxiety and psychotic disorders. Something tetramerous has four parts, such as tetramerous flowers. A trevally is a fish of the family Carangidae and is pictured here.

I would love to stop and pause on so many of these words, but I rush on. Tetramethyllead is a poisonous liquid used esp. as an antiknock agent. Tristearin is a chemical term, a triglyceride which is the primary fat in beef. Triamcinolone is a glucocorticoid drug used chiefly in the treatment of skin disorders and asthma. Trimethoprim is a "bacteriostatic antibiotic mainly used in the prophylaxis and treatment of urinary tract infections." But this drug is way beyond me now, especially as I don't know much about the group of which it is a part nor of the way it acts in the body. Chemistry, as you can see, will be on my plate for the future.

On to the V's

That's enough of the "t's" for now; let's conclude this essay with some "v's," "z's" and one "p." Vancomycin is used especially against staphylococci resistant to methicillin. It is also used to treat colitis. I think I need a glass of valpolicella now after all these chemical terms. Valpolicella is a dry red Italian table wine, named after a district in Northern Italy. I didn't know that Valpolicella, the region, ranks just after Chianti in total Italian wine production. Veratrine is a poisonous irritant mixture of alkaloids from sabadilla seed that has been used as an insecticide or counterirritant. Veratrum is a hellebore, a genus of coarse poisonous perennial herbs. Members of this genus are known both in western herbalism and traditional Chines medicine as toxic herbs to be used with great caution. Veratridine is, like veratrine, the poisonous alkaloid ocurring especisally in sabadilla seed. Then, there is verapamil, a drug used to treat irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias) and high blood pressure. Verdin is a very small yellow-headed bird found in arid locations from TX to CA and into Mexico. Finally, among the "v's," we have vasopressin, which is defined as a polypeptide hormone secreted by the pituitary gland and obtained synthetically that increases blood pressure and decreases urine flow.

Conclusion

Actually I think this is enough for one essay. I will be concluding here, aware of my partial understanding of so many things, but rejoicing in the fact that the world consists of so many passionate and insightful people who want to learn, help others and leave a legacy of good for the future. I hope you are one of these people.

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