What is "capsule"

Capsule \Cap"sule\ (k[a^]p"s[=u]l), n. [L. capsula a little box or chest, fr. capsa chest, case, fr. capere to take, contain: cf. F. capsule.]

1. (Bot.) a dry fruit or pod which is made up of several parts or carpels, and opens to discharge the seeds, as, the capsule of the poppy, the flax, the lily, etc.

2. (Chem.)

   1. A small saucer of clay for roasting or melting samples of ores, etc.; a scorifier.

   2. a small, shallow, evaporating dish, usually of porcelain.

3. (Med.) A small cylindrical or spherical gelatinous envelope in which nauseous or acrid doses are inclosed to be swallowed.

4. (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.

5. 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, a ductless gland secreting epinephrine, norepinephrine, and steroid hormones, on the upper end of each kidney. It is also called the adrenal gland, glandula suprarenalis, suprarenal gland, epinephros, atrabiliary capsule, and adrenal capsule. [1913 Webster +PJC] ||

1650s, from French capsule "a membranous sac" (16c.), from Latin capsula "small box or chest," diminutive of capsa "box, case, chest" (see case (n.2)). Medicinal sense is 1875; shortened form cap is from 1942. Sense in space capsule is first recorded 1954. As an adjective from 1938. Related: Capsular.

n. 1 (context physiology English) A membranous envelope. 2 (context botany English) A type of simple, dehiscent, dry fruit (seed-case) produced by many species of flowering plants, such as poppy, lily, orchid, willow and cotton. 3 (context botany English) A sporangium, especially in bryophytes. 4 A detachable part of a rocket or spacecraft (usually in the nose) containing the crew's living space. 5 (context pharmacy English) A small container containing a dose of medicine. 6 (context dialectal UK Suffolk English) A weasel. 7 (context attributively figuratively English) in a brief, condensed or compact form 8 (context winemaking English) The covering — formerly lead or tin, now often plastic — over the cork at the top of the wine bottle. 9 (context chemistry dated English) A small clay saucer for roasting or melting samples of ores, etc.; a scorifier. 10 A small, shallow evaporating dish, usually of porcelain. 11 A small cup or shell, often of metal, for a percussion cap, cartridge, etc.

1. n. a small container

2. a pill in the form of a small rounded gelatinous container with medicine inside

3. a dry dehiscent seed vessel or the spore-containing structure of e.g. mosses

4. a shortened version of a written work [syn: condensation, abridgement, abridgment]

5. a structure that encloses a body part

6. a spacecraft designed to transport people and support human life in outer space [syn: space capsule]

7. a pilot's seat in an airplane that can be forcibly ejected in the case of an emergency; then the pilot descends by parachute [syn: ejection seat, ejector seat]

8. v. enclose in a capsule [syn: capsulate, capsulize, capsulise]

9. put in a short or concise form; reduce in volume; "capsulize the news" [syn: encapsulate, capsulize, capsulise]

Capsule may refer to:

is a Japanese electronica band consisting of record producer Yasutaka Nakata and singer Toshiko Koshijima.

Capsule is an event planning and private group based multi-media and photo sharing social platform. Founded in 2011, it provides members with a way to share event information among group members through its website or mobile app. It has been featured in The Huffington Post and New York Mag as a top app for weddings.

A capsule (from Latin capsula, "small box or chest"), or stadium of revolution, is a basic three-dimensional geometric shape consisting of a cylinder with hemispherical ends. Another name for this shape is spherocylinder.

The shape is used for containers for pressurised gasses and for pharmaceutical capsules.

In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels. In Angiosperms (flowering plants), the term locule is used to refer to a chamber within the fruit. Depending on the number of locules in the ovary, fruit can be classified as uni-locular (unilocular), bi-locular, tri-locular or multi-locular. The number of locules present in a gynoecium may be equal to or less than the number of carpels. The locules contain the ovules or seeds.

In most cases the capsule is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart (dehisces) to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example those of Adansonia digitata, Alphitonia, and Merciera. In some capsules, the split occurs between carpels, and in others each carpel splits open. Where a capsule splits into distinguishable parts, these are called valves; the borders of the valves may or may not coincide with the borders of carpels.

If the split occurs along junctions between carpels (i.e. along the septa) with the valves remaining in place, the capsule is described as septicidal. By contrast when it splits into cells (i.e. not at the septa) along the midrib or dorsal suture of the locules, it is described as loculicidal. The latter is common among many members of the Liliaceae.

In yet other forms of capsule, such as those of poppies, seeds are released through openings or pores that form in the capsule. If it is the upper part of the capsule that dehisces, the capsule is also called a pyxis. For example, in the Brazil nut, a lid on the capsule opens, but is too small to release the dozen or so seeds (the actual "Brazil nut" of commerce) within. These germinate inside the capsule after it falls to the ground.

Capsules are sometimes mislabeled as nuts, as in the example of the Brazil nut or the Horse-chestnut. A capsule is not a nut because it releases its seeds and it splits apart. Nuts, on the other hand, do not release seeds as they are a compound ovary containing both a single seed and the fruit. Nuts also do not split.

Examples of plants that produce capsules are nigella, poppy, lily, orchid, willow, cotton, and jimson weed.

In the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, encapsulation refers to a range of dosage forms—techniques used to enclose medicines—in a relatively stable shell known as a capsule, allowing them to, for example, be taken orally or be used as suppositories. The two main types of capsules are:

• Hard-shelled capsules, which are typically made using gelatin and contain dry, powdered ingredients or miniature pellets made by e.g. processes of extrusion or spheronisation. These are made in two halves: a lower-diameter "body" that is filled and then sealed using a higher-diameter "cap".
• Soft-shelled capsules, primarily used for oils and for active ingredients that are dissolved or suspended in oil.

Both of these classes of capsules are made from aqueous solutions of gelling agents, such as animal protein (mainly gelatin) or plant polysaccharides or their derivatives (such as carrageenans and modified forms of starch and cellulose). Other ingredients can be added to the gelling agent solution including plasticizers such as glycerin or sorbitol to decrease the capsule's hardness, coloring agents, preservatives, disintegrants, lubricants and surface treatment.

Since their inception, capsules have been viewed by consumers as the most efficient method of taking medication. For this reason, producers of drugs such as OTC analgesics wanting to emphasize the strength of their product developed the "caplet" or "capsule-shaped tablet" in order to tie this positive association to more efficiently-produced tablet pills. After the 1982 Tylenol tampering murders, capsules experienced a minor fall in popularity as tablets were seen as more resistant to tampering.