When Theias shot an arrow into the tree â or when a boar used its tusks to rend the tree's bark â Adonis was born from the tree. This myth fits both Adonis' nature as a vegetation god and his origins from the hot foreign desert lands where the myrrh tree grew.
intrinsic. adj. 1. of or relating to the essential nature of a thing; inherent. 2. (Anatomy) anatomy situated within or peculiar to a part: intrinsic muscles. [C15: from Late Latin intrinsecus from Latin, inwardly, from intrÄ within + secus alongside; related to sequÄ« to follow].
Intrinsic factor is a glycoprotein secreted by parietal (humans) or chief (rodents) cells of the gastric mucosa. In humans, it has an important role in the absorption of vitamin B12 (cobalamin) in the intestine, and failure to produce or utilize intrinsic factor results in the condition pernicious anemia. Dietary vitamin B12 is released from ingested proteins in the stomach through the action of pepsin and acid. It is rapidly bound by one of two vitamin B12-binding proteins that are present in gastric juice; at acid pH, these binding proteins have a greater affinity for the vitamin than does intrinsic factor.