Medical Dictionary

Saint–Ignatius's–bean

noun Saint–Ig·na·tius's–bean \-ig-ˈnā-sh(ē-)əs-\

Medical Definition of SAINT-IGNATIUS'S-BEAN

:  the greenish straw-colored seed of a Philippine woody vine of the genus Strychnos (S. ignatii) that is like nux vomica in its action and uses—called also Ignatius bean

Biographical Note for SAINT-IGNATIUS'S-BEAN

Aze·ve·do \ə-zə-ˈvā-thü\ , Blessed Ignacio de (1527–1570), Portuguese missionary. Azevedo became a Jesuit in 1548 and subsequently served as rector of religious colleges in Lisbon and Braga, Portugal. In 1566 he journeyed to Brazil to serve the Jesuit missions there. While on a trip to Europe to recruit new missionaries, he and 39 other Jesuits were attacked by Huguenot privateers, who brutally slaughtered them. Azevedo and the other martyrs were beatified in 1854.

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