Anatomical Dissection: Thorax and Abdomen

aphrodisiac, a laxative, a spice, an ingredient in candles and cosmetics, and as a medication for treating a diversity of ailments. Its reputation soon spread around the globe. In those days ambergris was picked up on beaches or found fl oating on the sea, and its origin remained a complete mystery, thus giving rise to many fanciful and hotly debated theories. In 1574 the Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius was the fi rst author to deduce from the inclusions of squid beaks in ambergris that it was the product of the digestive tract of whales. It was not until after the commencement of the American sperm whale fi shery in 1712 that it became generally recognized that ambergris was produced solely by the spermaceti whale ( Beale, 1839 ; Dannenfeldt, 1982 ). In the ensuing years ambergris was prized mainly as a fi xative for fragrances in perfumes. In the twentieth century synthetic chemicals replaced it, so it no longer has much value.