Ratany

RATANY, Krameria triandra Ruiz et Pavon (family Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae), is a low-growing, highly branched shrub with small, silvery-pubescent leaves and red flowers, growing in the mountains of Peru and Bolivia. In medicine, the root of Krameria (Radix Ratanhiae) is used, according to the Pharmacopoeia. The roots are dark brown on the outside and lighter on the inside. For the preparation of powder, only the outer bark is taken; for extract, decoction, and tincture, the whole root is used. The active principle of Krameria is ratanhia-tannic acid (about 8% in the whole plant, up to 42% in the bark), a substance of a glycosidic nature that splits into glucose and a coloring substance (ratanhia-red), C₂₆H₂₂O₁₁, which, when fused with alkali, yields phloroglucinol and protocatechuic acid; the root of Krameria also contains starch, sugar, and mucilage. As an astringent for external and internal use, Krameria root is used in the form of powder, decoction, tincture (Pharmacopoeia VII), and extract. As a substitute for the imported Krameria, the rhizome of the common plant bistort (see Bistorta) has been proposed, which contains a tannin similar to ratanhia-tannic acid.

RATIMOV, Vasily Alexandrovich (1850–1904), professor of the Hospital Surgical Clinic of the Military Medical Academy. He graduated from the Military Medical Academy (1876) and was retained at the academy in Bogdanovsky's clinic. In 1882, he was sent abroad for 2 years; he worked in the laboratories of Pasteur in Paris and Kronecker in Berlin. Upon receiving the chair of surgery, he reorganized it in accordance with modern requirements (asepsis with antisepsis). He introduced laparotomy and was one of the first in Russia to perform a successful resection of the pylorus for cancer (recurrence after 12 months). His works include: "On anthrax in humans" (Weekly Clinical Gazette of Botkin, 1881, No. 18); "Tumors of the upper jaw in clinical relation" (dissertation, St. Petersburg, 1882); "Recherches sur les substances antiseptiques et des consequences qui resultent par la pratique chirurgicale" (Archives de physiologie normale et pathologique, 1884); "On the causes of sudden death from chloroform" (Russian Medicine, 1884, Nos. 42 and 43); "On the question of resection of the outlet part of the stomach in case of cancerous lesions" (Weekly Clinical Gazette of Botkin, 1887); "Excision of the rectum with the help of temporary resection of the sacrum" (Proceedings of the Russian Surgical Society of Pirogov, 1893); "On the question of the origin of multiple echinococcus of the abdominal cavity" (Vrach, 1894, No. 38).