[Variously written moscatel, muscadel, etc.]
||Musch"el*kalk` (?), n. [G., from muschel shell + kalk limestone.]
||(Geol.) A kind of shell limestone, whose strata form the middle one
||of the three divisions of the Triassic formation in Germany. See
||Chart, under Geology.
||Mus"ci (?), n. pl. [L. muscus moss.] (Bot.) An order or subclass of
||cryptogamous plants; the mosses. See Moss, and Cryptogamia.
Mus*cic"a*pine (?), a. [L. musca a fly + capere to catch.] (Zoöl.) Of
or pertaining to the Muscicapidæ, a family of birds that includes the
true flycatchers.
Mus"cid (?), n. Any fly of the genus Musca, or family Muscidæ.
Mus"ci*form (?), a. [Musca + -form.] (Zoöl.) Having the form or
structure of flies of the genus Musca, or family Muscidæ.
Mus"ci*form, a. [Muscus + - form.] (Bot.) Having the appearance or form
of a moss.
Mus"cle (?), n. [F., fr. L. musculus a muscle, a little mouse, dim. of
mus a mouse. See Mouse, and cf. sense 3 (below).] 1. (Anat.) (a) An
organ which, by its contraction, produces motion. See Illust. of
Muscles of the Human Body, in Appendix. (b) The contractile tissue of
which muscles are largely made up.
Muscles are of two kinds, striated and nonstriated. The striated
muscles, which, in most of the higher animals, constitute the principal
part of the flesh, exclusive of the fat, are mostly under the control
of the will, or voluntary, and are made up of great numbers of
elongated fibres bound together into bundles and inclosed in a sheath
of connective tissue, the perimysium. Each fiber is inclosed in a
delicate membrane (the sarcolemma), is made up of alternate segments of
lighter and darker material which give it a transversely striated
appearance, and contains, scattered through its substance, protoplasmic
nuclei, the so-called muscle corpuscles.
The nonstriated muscles are involuntary. They constitute a large part
of the walls of the alimentary canal, blood vessels, uterus, and
bladder, and are found also in the iris, skin, etc. They are made up of
greatly elongated cells, usually grouped in bundles or sheets.
2. Muscular strength or development; as, to show one's muscle by
lifting a heavy weight. [Colloq.]
3. [AS. muscle, L. musculus a muscle, mussel. See above.] (Zoöl.) See
Mussel.
Muscle curve (Physiol.), contraction curve of a muscle; a myogram; the
curve inscribed, upon a prepared surface, by means of a myograph when
acted upon by a contracting muscle. The character of the curve
represents the extent of the contraction.
<! p. 956 !>
Mus"cled (?), a. Furnished with muscles; having muscles; as, things
well muscled.
Mus"cling (?), n. (Fine Arts) Exhibition or representation of the
muscles. [R.]
A good piece, the painters say, must have good muscling, as well as
coloring and drapery.
Shaftesbury.
Mus*co"gees (?), n. pl. See Muskogees.
Mus"coid (?), a. [Muscus + - oid: cf. F. muscoide.] (Bot.) Mosslike;
resembling moss.
Mus"coid, n. (Bot.) A term formerly applied to any mosslike flowerless
plant, with a distinct stem, and often with leaves, but without any
vascular system.
Mus*col"o*gy (?), n. [Muscus + -logy.] Bryology.
Mus*cos"i*ty (?), n. [L. muscosus mossy, fr. muscus moss.] Mossiness.
Jonhson.
Mus`co*va"do (?), a. [Corrupted fr. Sp. mascabado; cf. Pg. mascavado,
F. moscouade, n., formerly also mascovade, It. mascavato.] Pertaining
to, or of the nature of, unrefined or raw sugar, obtained from the
juice of the sugar cane by evaporating and draining off the molasses.
Muscovado sugar contains impurities which render it dark colored and
moist.
Mus`co*va"do, n. Unrefined or raw sugar.
Mus"co*vite (?), n. [See Muscovy glass.] 1. A native or inhabitant of
Muscovy or ancient Russia; hence, a Russian.