What does "capsule" mean?

Capsule: (Chem.) (a) A small saucer of clay for roasting or melting samples of ores, etc.; a scorifier. (b) a small, shallow, evaporating dish, usually of porcelain.

Additional senses

  1. 2.(Med.) A small cylindrical or spherical gelatinous envelope in which nauseous or acrid doses are inclosed to be swallowed.
  2. 3.(Anat.) A membranous sac containing fluid, or investing an organ or joint; as, the capsule of the lens of the eye. Also, a capsulelike organ.
  3. 4.A metallic seal or cover for closing a bottle, 6. A small cup or shell, as of metal, for a percussion cap, cartridge, etc. Atrabiliary capsule. See under Atrabiliary. -- Glisson's capsule, a membranous envelope, entering the liver along with the portal vessels and insheathing the latter in their course through the organ. -- Suprarenal capsule, an organ of unknown function, above or in front of each kidney.

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