cinchona

cinchona /cin·cho·na/ (sin-ko´nah) the dried bark of the stem or root of various South American trees of the genus Cinchona; it is the source of quinine and other alkaloids and was used as an antimalarial.

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cin·cho·na (sng-kn, sn-ch-)

n.

1. Any of several trees and shrubs of the genus Cinchona, native chiefly to the Andes and cultivated for bark that yields the medicinal alkaloids quinine and quinidine.

2. The dried bark of any of these plants.

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cinchona (kin·chōˑ·n),

n Peruvian shrub, the bark of which is the source of quinine. Samuel Hahnemann repeatedly dosed himself with cinchona to examine its effects and realized that his symptoms paralleled those of malarial patients. This led to his development of his similia principle: “let likes be cured by likes.” Also called
quinine, china bark, or
china. See also quinine.