Ailments and Treatments

At any rate disease is now almost unknown among the gorean cities, with the exception of the dreaded Dar-Kosis disease or the holy disease, reasearch upon which is generally frowned upon by the caste of initiates who insist the disease is a visitation of the displeasure of the Preist-Kingss on its recipients."

~Assassin of Gor, page 30

Aging Process

Aging is caused by the strands of DNA fraying every time that cells divide during the growth and healing processes. An enzyme called Telomerase acts like a protective cap around the ends of DNA strands. Each time cells divide, a portion of Telomerase is lost and with humans being unable to produce a new supply of the enzyme, old age becomes the result. To combat this inevitable wearing, Gorean Physicians have developed serums that work to stablize the loss of telomerase.

Stablization Serums

A series of four medical injections which, among other things, retards the aging process; an invention of the Priest-Kings, approved by them for use by humans.

Supporting Quotes

Strangely, though it had now been six years since I left counter-earth, I can discover no signs of aging or physical alteration in my appearance. I have puzzled over this, trying to connect it with the mysterious letter, dated in the seventeenth century, ostensibly by my father, which I received in the blue envelope. Perhaps the serums of the Caste of Physicians so skilled on Gor, have something to do with this, but I cannot tell."
~ Tarnsman of Gor, page 218 - 219

"At one time, said he, centuries ago, men of my Caste claimed age was incurable. Others did not accept this and continued to work. The result was the Stabilization Serums."
~ Assassin of Gor, page 266

"They are administered in four shots, said the Physician."....The Physician busying himself with fluids and a syringe before a shelf in another part of the room laden with vials. I screamed. The shot was painful. It was entered in the small of my back, over the left hip.....the Physician returned to check the shot. There had been apparently no unusual reaction. On the first day I had been examined, given some minor medicines of little consequence, and the first shot in the Stabilization Series. On the second, third and fourth day I received the concluding shots of the series. On the fifth day the Physician took more samples. "The serums are effective," he told the guard."
~ Captive of Gor, page 93-94

"You spoke of knowing the Cabots for four hundred years," I said.
"Yes," said Misk, "and your father who is a brave and noble man, has served us upon occasion, though he dealt only, unknowingly, with Implanted Ones. He first came to Gor more than six hundred years ago."
"Impossible!" I cried.
"Not with the stabilization serums," remarked Misk."
~ Priest Kings of Gor pg. 126

The Player was a rather old man, extremely unusual on Gor, where the stabilization serums were developed centuries ago by the Caste of Physicians in Ko-ro-ba and Ar, and transmitted to the physicians of other cities at several of the Sardar Fairs. Age, on Gor, interestingly, was regarded, and still is, by the caste of Physicians as a disease, not an inevitable natural phenomenon. The fact that it seemed a universal disease did not dissuade the caste from considering how it might be combated. Accordingly the work of centuries was turned to this end. Many other diseases, which presumably flourished centuries ago on Gor, tended to be neglected, as less dangerous and less universal then that of aging. A result tended to be that those less susceptible lived on, propagating their kind. ~Assassin of Gor, page 30

"The Stabilization Serums, which are regarded as the right of all human beings, be they civilized or barbarian, friend or enemy, are administered in a series of injections, and the effect is, incredibly, an eventual, gradual transformation of certain genetic structures, resulting in indefinite cell replacement without pattern deterioration. These genetic alterations, moreover, are commonly capable of being transmitted. For example, though I received the series of injections when first I came to Gor many years ago I had been told by Physicians that they might, in my case, have been unnecessary, for I was the child of parents who, though of Earth, had been of Gor, and had received the serum.
But different human beings respond differently to the Stabilization Serums, and the Serums are more effective with some than with others. With some the effect last indefinitely, with others it wears off after but a few hundred years, with some the effect does not occur at all, with others tragically, the effect is not to stabilize the pattern but to hasten its degeneration. The odds, however, are in favor of the recipient, and there are few Goreans who, if it seems they need the Serum's do not avail themselves of them.
~ Assassin of Gor, pages 30 - 31

"You were English ," I said.
"Yes," he said, smiling. "Brought here on the Voyages of Acquisition?"
"Of Course, he said."
..."How long ago?" I asked.
He began to try to stuff the tobacco into the bowl of the pipe. Given the gravitational alteration this was no easy task. "Do you know of these things?" asked Parp, without looking up.
"I know of the Stabilization Serums," I said.
Parp glanced up from the pipe, holding his thumb over the bowl to prevent the tobacco from floating out of it, and smiled. "Three centuries," he said, and then returned his attention to the pipe.
~ Priest Kings of Gor, page 288

"Torvald, said he, sleeps in the Torvaldsberg, and has done so for a thousand years. He waits to be wakened. When his land needs him, he shall awake. He shall then lead us in battle. Again he will lead the men of the north." ..."What is your true name? I had inquired. He looked at me, and smiled. It was strange what he said. My name, he said, is Torvald. Then he had turned away, I watched him return to the mountain. I thought of the stabilization serums, My name is Torvald, he had said."
Marauders of Gor, page 232 & 294

"I had spent eight days in the slave pens, waiting the night of the sale. I had been examined medically, in detail, and had had administered to me, while I lay bound, helplessly, a series of painful shots, the purpose of which I did not understand. They were called the stabilization serums. We were also kept under harsh discipline, close confinement and given slave training. I well recalled the lesson which was constantly enforced upon us: "The master is all. Please him fully."
"What is the meaning of the stabilization serums?" I had asked Sucha. She had kissed me.
"They will keep you much as you are," she said, "young and beautiful." I had looked at her, startled.
"The masters, and the free, of course, if there is need of it, you must understand, are also afforded serums of stabilization," she said adding, smiling, "Though they are administered to them I suppose, with somewhat more respect than they are to a slave."
"If there is need of it?" I asked.
"Yes " she said,
"Do some not require the serum'?" I asked.
"Some," said Sucha, "but these individuals are rare, and are the offspring of individuals who have had the serums."
"Why is this?" I asked.
"I do not know," said Sucha "Men differ."
The matter, I supposed, was a function of genetic subtleties, and the nature of differing gametes. The serums of stabilization affected, it seemed, the genetic codes, perhaps altering or neutralizing certain messages of deterioration, providing, I supposed, processes in which an exchange of materials could take place while tissue and cell patterns remained relatively constant. Ageing was a physical process and, as such, was susceptible to alteration by physical means. All physical processes are theoretically, reversible. Entropy itself is presumably a moment in a cosmic rhythm. The physicians of Gor, it seemed, had addressed themselves to the conquest of what had hitherto been a universal disease called on Gor the drying and withering disease, called on Earth, ageing. Generations, of intensive research and experimentation had taken place. At last a few physicians drawing upon the accumulated data of hundreds of investigators, had achieved the breakthrough, devising the first primitive stabilization serums, later to be developed and exquisitely refined.
I had stood in the rage startled, trembling. "Why are serums of such value given to slaves?" I asked.
"Are they of such value?" she asked. "Yes," she said, "I suppose so." She took them for granted, much as the humans of Earth might take for granted routine inoculations. She was unfamiliar with ageing. The alternative to the serums was not truly clear to her. "Why should slaves not be given the serums?" she asked. "Do the masters not want their slaves healthy and better able to serve them?"
~ Slave Girl of Gor, page 282

"In the first house of my slavery," I said, "I was given a series of injections. I am curious about them. Were they inoculations against disease?"
"I know those you mean," he said. "No, they were the stabilization serums. We give them even to slaves."
"What are they?" I asked.
"You do not know?" he asked.
"No," I said.
"They are a discovery of the caste of physicians," he said. "They work their effects on the body."
"What is their purpose?" I asked.
"Is there anything in particular which strikes you generally, statistically, about the population of Gor?" he asked.
"Their vitality, their health, their youth," I said.
"Those are consequences of the stabilization serums," he said.
"I do not understand," I said.
"You will retain your youth and beauty, curvaceous slave," he said. "That is the will of masters."
"I do not understand," I said, frightened.
"Ageing," he said, "is a physical process, like any other. It is, accordingly, accessible to physical influences. To be sure, it is a subtle and complex process. It took a thousand years to develop the stabilization serums. Our physicians regarded ageing as a disease, the drying, withering disease, and so attacked it as a disease. They did not regard it as, say a curse, or a punishment, or something inalterable or inexplicable, say, as some sort of destined, implacable fatality. No. They regarded it as a physical problem, susceptible to physical approaches. Some five hundred years ago, they developed the first stabilization serums."
"How could I ever pay for such a thing!" I gasped.
"There is no question of payment," he said. "They are given to you as an animal, a slave."
"Master," I whispered, awed.
"Do not fret," he said. "In the case of a woman from earth, like yourself, they are not free."
"Master?" I asked.
He took my collar in both hands, and moved it in such a way that I could feel how sturdily, and obdurately, it was locked on my neck. "For a woman such as you," he said, "their price is the collar."
~ Dancer of Gor, page 472-473

BAZI PLAGUE

Bazi plague is a deadly, rapidly spreading disease with no known cure. Its symptoms include pustules which appear all over the body, and a yellowing of the whites of the eyes. A Free Person diagnosed with the Bazi Plague may be quarantined and made comfortable for the rest of Their days; a slave will most likely be slain.

Supporting Quotes

The Physician would check the health of the crew and slaves, Plague some years ago had broken out in Bazi, to the North, which port had been closed by the merchants for two years. In some eighteen months it had burned itself out, moving south and eastward. Bazi had not yet recovered from the economic blow."
I with the crew members submitted to the examination of the Physician. He did little more than look into our eyes and examine our forearms. But our eyes were not yellowed nor was there sign of the broken pustules in our flesh.
~Explorers of Gor, page 117, 118

The girl looked at the Physician with horror, tears in her eyes. But he completed her examination, looking into her eyes and examining the interior of her thighs her belly and the interior of her forearms, for marks.
~Explorers of Gor, page 120

She, as a slave knows that if she should contract the disease she would in all probability be summarily slain.
~Explorers of Gor, page 134

"It is the plague!" she cried. "It is the Plague!" I walked over to a mirror. I ran my tongue over my lips. They seemed dry. The whites of my eyes clearly were yellow. I rolled up the sleeve of my tunic and saw there on the flesh of the forearm like black blisters open, erupted, a scattering of pustules."
~Explorers of Gor, page 135

I knew that I had not been in a plague area. Too, the Bazi Plague had burned itself out years ago. No cases to my knowledge had been reported for months."
~Explorers of Gor, page 136

I simply did not feel ill. I was slightly drunk and heated from the paga, but I did not believe myself fevered. My pulse and heartbeat, and respiration, seemed normal. I did not have difficulty catching my breath. I was neither dizzy nor nauseous, and my vision was clear. My worst physical symptoms were the irritation about my eyes and the genuinely nasty itchiness of my skin. I felt like tearing it off with my own fingernails.
~Explorers of Gor, page 136

"We are going to test you for pox," he said. The girl groaned. It was my hope that none on board the Clouds of Telnus had carried the pox. It is transmitted by the bites of lice. The pox had appeared in Bazi some four years ago. The port had been closed for two years by the merchants. It had burned itself out moving south and eastward in some eighteen months. Oddly enough some were immune to the pox, and with others it had only a temporary, debilitating effect. With others it was swift, lethal and horrifying. Those who had survived the pox would presumably live to procreate themselves, on the whole presumably transmitting their immunity to their offspring. Slaves who contracted the pox were often summarily slain. It was thought that the slaughter of slaves had had its role to play in the containment of the pox in the vicinity of Bazi.
~Slave Girl of Gor, page 326

I'm a title. Click here to edit me.

DAR-KOSIS

Dar-kosis is a virulent, horrible, wasting disease and is similar in many ways to leprosy. Dar-kosis, also known as the Sacred Affliction, means "Holy Disease." Those afflicted with Dar-kosis are considered favored by the Priest Kings and Their bloodshed is prohibited. Traditionally Dar-Kosis Victims dress in yellow to mark Their condition and any research effort to cure the disease is forbidden.

Supporting Quotes

Suddenly to my horror, I saw the quarry of the larl, It was a human being, moving with surprising alacrity over the rough ground. To my astonishment, I saw it wore the yellow cerements of the sufferer of Dar-Kosis, that virulent, incurable, wasting disease of Gor.
~Tarnsman of Gor, page 149

I turned to regard the individual whose life I had saved. He was now bent and crooked, like a broken, blasted shrub in his yellow shroud like robe. The hood concealed his face.
There are more of these about," I said. "You'd better come with me. It wont be safe here."
The figure seemed to shrink backward and grow smaller in its yellow rags. Pointing to its shadowed concealed face it whispered "The Holy Disease." That was the literal translation of Dar-Kosis--the Holy Disease-- or, equivalently, the Sacred Affliction. The disease is named that because it is regarded as being holy to the Priest Kings, and those who suffer from it are regarded as consecrated to the Priest Kings. Accordingly, it is regarded as heresy to shed their blood. On the other hand, the Afflicted, as they are called, have little to fear from their fellow men. Their disease is so highly contagious, so invariably devastating in its effects, and so feared on the planet that even the boldest of outlaws gives them a wide berth. Accordingly, the afflicted enjoy a large amount of freedom of movement on Gor. They are of course, warned to stay away from the habitations of men, and if they approach too closely, they are sometimes stoned. Oddly enough, caustically, stoning the Afflicted is not regarded as a violation of the Priest Kings supposed injunction against shedding their blood.
As an act of charity, Initiates have arranged at various places Dar-Kosis pits where the Afflicted may voluntarily imprison themselves to be fed with food hurled downward from the backs of passing tarns. Once in a Dar-Kosis pit the Afflicted are not allowed to depart. Finding this poor fellow in the Voltai, so far from the natural routes and fertile areas of Gor, I suspected he might have escaped, if that was possible, from one of the pits. "What is your name?" I asked.
"I am of the afflicted," said the weird, cringing figure. "The afflicted are dead. The dead are nameless." The voice was little more than a hoarse whisper.
I was glad that it was night and that the hood of the man was drawn, for I had no desire to look on what pieces of flesh might still cling to his skull.
~Tarnsman of Gor, page 149-151

"You seem to me, from what I have seen and heard," I said, "a skilled Physician." He handed me the second cup, though I wore the black tunic.
"In the fourth and fifth year of the reign of Marlenus," said he, regarding me evenly, "I was first in my caste in Ar."
I took a swallow. "Then," I said, "you discovered paga?"
"No," said he.
"A girl?" I asked.
"No, said Flaminius, smiling. "No," he took another swallow. "I thought to find," said he, "an immunization against Dar Kosis."
"Dar Kosis is incurable," I said.
"At one time," he said, "centuries ago, men of my Caste claimed age was incurable. Others did not accept this and continued to work. The result was the Stabilization Serums."
Dar-Kosis or the Holy Disease, or Sacred Affliction, is a virulent wasting disease of Gor. Those afflicted with it, commonly spoken of simply as the Afflicted Ones, may not enter into normal society. They wander the country side in shroud like yellow rags, beating a wooden clapping device to warn men from their path; some of them volunteer to be placed in Dar-Kosis pits, several of which are in the vicinity of Ar, where they are fed and given drink, and are, of course, isolated; the disease is extremely contagious. Those who contract the disease are regarded by law as dead.
"Dar-Kosis," I said, "is thought to be holy to the Priest Kings, and those afflicted with it to be consecrated to Priest-Kings."
"A teaching of Initiates," said Flaminius, bitterly. "there is nothing holy about disease, about pain, about death." He took another drink.
"Dar-Kosis," I said, "is regarded as an instrument of Priest Kings, used to smite those who displease them."
"Another myth of the Initiates," said Flaminius, unpleasantly.
"But how do you know that?" I queried.
"I do not care," said Flaminius,"if it is true or not. I am a Physician."
"What happened?" I asked.
"For many years," said Flaminius, "and this was even before 10,110, the year of Pa-Kur and his horde, I and others worked secretly in the Cylinder of Physicians. We devoted our time, those Ahn in the day in which we could work, to study, research, test and experiment. Unfortunately, for spite and for gold, word of our work was brought to the High Initiate, by a minor Physician discharged from our staff for incompetence. The Cylinder of Initiates demanded that the High Council of the Caste of Physicians put an end to our work, not only that it be discontinued but that our results to that date be destroyed. The Physicians, I am pleased to say stood with us. There is little love lost between Physicians and Initiates, even as is the case between Scribes and Initiates. The Cylinder if the High Initiates then petitioned the High Council of the city to stop our work, but they, on the recommendation of Marlenus, who was then Ubar, permitted our work to continue." Flaminius laughed. "I remember Marlenus speaking to the High Initiate. Marlenus told him that either the Priest Kings approved of our work or they did not; that if they approve, it should continue; if they did not approve, they themselves, as the Masters of Gor, would be quite powerful enough to put an end to it."
I laughed.
Flaminius looked at me curiously. "It is seldom that those of the black caste laugh."
"What happened then?"
Flaminius took another drink, and then he looked at me, bitterly. "Before the next passage hand," he said, "armed men broke into the Cylinder of Physicians; the floors we worked on were burned; the Cylinder itself was seriously damaged; our work, our records, the animals we used were all destroyed; several of my staff were slain, others driven away."
~more written about Flaminius being beaten back when trying to save his work, getting burned, etc~
"I had," he said, "shortly before the fire developed a strain of urts resistant to the Dar-Kosis organism; a serum cultured from their blood was injected in other animals, which subsequently we were unable to infect. It was tentative, only a beginning, but I had hoped--I had hoped very much."
~more here now about how Flaminius hates men, realized that if they started again, the Initiate's henchmen would return yet again with torches and destroy the work. So he works in the slavers house, with much gold and much paga.~
"One more thing to this little story," said Flaminius. He lifted the bottle to me.
"What is that?" I asked.
"At the games on the second of En Kara in the Stadium of Blades," said he, "I saw the High Initiate Complicius Serenus."
"So?," said I.
"He does not know it," said Flaminius, "nor will he learn for perhaps a year."
"Learn what?," I asked.
Flaminius laughed and poured himself another drink. "That he is dying of Dar-Kosis," he said.
~Assassin of Gor, page 265-269

CHILDBIRTH AND OBSTETRICS

The following pages are designed as resources of information for healing in the Gorean world and should NOT be used as a substitute for real life medical care.

Pregnancy

Common Symptoms Women Experience During Pregnancy

Soreness or tenderness of the breasts. This is usually the first noticeable symptom.
Extreme senses of taste and smell.
Mood swings due to hormonal changes.
Fatigue/Exhaustion
Nausea/Vomiting
Gaining weight or tight fitting clothes, even before the pregnancy begins to show outwardly.
Frequent urination, constipation, water retention, bloating.
Cravings for specific foods, sometimes in odd combinations.
Feelings of clumsiness (due to a hormone that loosens joints and ligaments to prepare for birth) and dizziness.

Fetus Development

Human pregnancies last about 9 months (40 weeks). This time frame is divided into three sections called trimesters and are generically used to indicate how far into the pregnancy and close to giving birth the mother is. Some may prefer to track development by weeks as the process of growing a human from a cluster of cells in a mere 40 weeks brings rapid changes.

First Trimester This period includes the time of conception, generally calculated as about 2 weeks from the first day of the woman's last menstrual period. Upon conception, the fertilized egg, called a zygote, is a ball of 32 cells that's about the size of a poppy seed. The cells separate into three distinct layers from which the infant's internal organs and skin develops, beginning with the basic foundations for brain, spinal cord, heart and blood vessels. Around Week 7, arm buds develop and by Week 8, webbed fingers and toes begin to form, which will become individual digits as the extra tissue is reabsorbed. At Week 9, the embryo is the size of a cherry and is now considered a fetus. The digestive tract and reproductive organs are formed, eyes and eyelids are more developed, fingernails, toenails and bones are forming, and it will have a fine layer of hair covering most of it's body. By the end of the first trimester, the fetus is about three inches long, roughly the size of a passion fruit.

Second Trimester All of the organs developed in the first trimester will continue to grow and mature until the infant is born. Although Mothers' may not feel it for Their firstborn, the brain controls all muscles and the fetus is able to move. To coincide with this movement, legs have grown longer than the arms. Around Week 21, the fetus begins to respond to sensory inputs such as touching of the Mother's belly, recognizing the voice of the parents, and engages in 'practice breathing'. During the second trimester, the fetus has grown from the size of an apple to about the size of an acorn squash.

Third Trimester The third trimester includes final growth of the fetus through the actual birth. At Week 30, the fetus engages in cycles of sleeping and wakefulness and will begin to gain as much as half a pound of weight each week until born. Lanugo, the fine hair that covered the fetus' entire body and helped provide warmth through development, is starting to disappear. At Week 35, the fetus is preparing for birth and has most likely turned upside down in the uterus. Sometime between Week 36 and 42, the infant is born.

Child Birth

Step One ~ Keep the patient calm and resting. Speak in soothing tones. It is important to explain the birthing process, but it is also important to help the woman through it. One method is to "chat" with her about a happy memory, dreams, travels, whatever is suited to her persona.
Step Two ~ Check the dilation to see how open the womb is. Time the contractions. Continue these activities until the contractions are close together and she is widely dilated.
Step Three ~ Make sure the baby is turned correctly in the womb, so that the head is the first part of the body to crown. A C-Section or surgical removal of the baby may be required if the infant is not positioned property, otherwise, the "breech" birth can kill both the infant and the mother.
Step Four ~ When You can see the head of the infant in the vaginal opening, encourage the woman to push and gently guide the infant out. Once the head and shoulders are free, be prepared for the rest of the infant to surge forth. The baby should be put immediately into a warm blanket, and remember to support the head and neck.
Step Five ~ Clear the mouth and naval cavities by sucking the mucus from them. Smack the infant's feet or bottom. Instinctively, the infant will attempt to cry, and in doing so, will fill its lungs with the first gulp of air. This is painful for the babe and should result in some well-earn wails, a good sign that the infant is strong. If You cannot produce a cry, repeat the process. If this is unsuccessful, You will need to get air into the infant's lungs immediately. Have a ventilation apparatus prepared just in case.
Step Six ~ Tie a cord around the umbilical cord about seven inches from the infant's belly. Tie a second cord about five inched up from there. Cut the cord in the middle of the two knots. Clean the baby as best as possible, but do not let it get chilled.
Step Seven ~ Have someone hold the baby until after the mother has expelled the afterbirth. Then, gently check to be sure the birth canal is cleared and that no tears or rips have occurred in the uterus wall. Make any small repairs as needed. When everything checks out okay, give her the baby and allow both to rest.

Obstetrics

Fridigity in Free Women ~ A familiar bit of advice given by bold Gorean physicians to free women who consult them about their frigidity is, to their scandal, "Learn slave dance." Another bit of advice, usually given to a free woman being ushered out of his office by a physician impatient with her imaginary ailments is, "Become a slave." Frigidity, of course, is not accepted in slaves. If nothing else, it will be beaten out of their beautiful hides by whips.
~ Guardsman of Gor

Artificial insemination done in Tharna ~ I have never been in the arms of a man before, she said, for the men of Tharna may not touch women. I must have looked puzzled. The Caste of Physicians, she said, under the direction of the High Council of Tharna, arranges these matters.
~ Outlaw of Gor, page 106

Birth of an Alar baby ~ The tiny baby, not minutes old, with tiny gasps and coughs, still startled and distressed with the sharp, frightful novelty of breathing air, never again to return to the shelter of its mothers body, lost in a chaos of sensation, its eyes not focused, unable scarcely to turn its head from side to side, lay before him. The cord had been cut and tied at its belly. Its tiny legs and arms moved. The membranes and fluids had been wiped from its small hot red firm body. Then it had been rubbed with animal fat.
~ Mercenaries of Gor, page 46.

Discussing differences between Red Hunter and Red Savage Babies ~ Theirs (Red Savages) are not born with a blue spot at the base of the spine, as in the case with most of the Red Hunters.
~ Savages of Gor, page 35

Cleanliness habits of Tahari Mothers and resultant low infant mortality rate ~ Another habit of nomads, or of nomad mothers, is to frequently bathe small children, even if it is only with a cloth and a cup of water. There is a very low infant mortality rate among nomads, in spite of their limited diet and harsh environment.
~ Tribesmen of Gor, page 171

Comparison of infant nursing habits ~ It might be of interest to note that children of the nomads are suckled for some eighteen months, which is nearly twice the normal length of time for Earth infants, and half again the normal time for Gorean infants.
~ Tribesmen of Gor, page 170

Gynecology

Speaking of the differences in menstruation ages between Red Savage and Red Hunters ~ Their daughters (Red Savages) menstruate earlier (than Red Hunter daughters)
~ Savages of Gor, page 35

Terms to refer to the virginity of Free Women ~ Glana denotes the state of virginity and metaglana denotes the state succeeding virginity.
~ Savages of Gor, page 203

Another way of drawing distinction is in terms of falarina and profalarina. Profalarina designates the state preceding falarina which is the state of a woman who has been penetrated at least once by a male.
~ Savages of Gor, page 203
The buyers were also informed that I was `glana' or a virgin. The correlated term is `metaglana,' used to designate the state to which the glana state looks forward, or that which it is regarded as anticipating. Though the word was not used of me I was also `profalarina', which term designates the state preceding, and anticipating, that of `falarina,' the state Goreans seem to think of as that of being a full woman, or, at least, as those of Earth might think of it, one who certainly is no longer a virgin. In both terms, `glana' and `profalarina,' incidentally, it seems that the states they designate are regarded as immature or transitory, state to be succeeded by more fully developed, superior states, those of `metaglana' or `falarina.' Among slaves, not free women, these things are sometimes spoken of along the lines as to whether or not the as been `opened' for the uses of men. Other common terms, used generally of slaves, are `white silk' and `red silk', for s who have not yet been opened, or have been opened, for the uses of men, respectively.
~ Dancer of Gor, page 128

Slave wine and the prevention of pregnancy ~ Slave wine is bitter intentionally so. Its effect last for more than a Gorean month. I did not wish the females to conceive. A female slave is taken off slave wine only when it is her Masters intention to breed her.
~ Marauders of Gor, page 23-24

He proffered me a cup and I with one hand holding the blanket about me with the other drank its contents. It was a foul brew, but I downed it. I did not know at the time, but it was slave wine. Men sledom breed upon their slaves.
~ Slave of Gor, page 69
I held the object before her. She regarded it with dismay, I have already chewed sip root within the moon, she said. She did not need the sip root of course for as she had pointed out she had had some within the moon and indeed the effect of sip root in the raw state in most women is three or four moons.
~ Brothers of Gor, page 319

POISONING.

A poison is any substance that causes harm (mild or severe) if it gets into the body.

Common Types of Poisoning on Gor

Kanda Leaf ~ Usually kanda leaves are not fatal, but can be if a person has too much, and/or if the person is not used to the narcotic. As a narcotic, it is very addictive. Treat by inducing vomiting. Follow up with drinking milk and honey to protect the stomach and esophagus linings.

Kanda Root ~ Much more toxic than kanda leaf. Administer antidote, induce vomiting and follow with milk and honey. Treatment should be done within 10 to 15 heartbeats.

Cosian Wingfish Spine ~ Poison drawn from the poison sacks attached to the base of each spine of the Cosian Wingfish. This is a common poison used on the needles and knives of pesky Free Women. Treat with antidote within 3 to 5 heartbeats.

Ost Snake Venom ~ Venom from the glands of the ost snake. Welcome to the City of Dust. There is no cure. Massive tissue necrosis is mentioned in Outlaws of Gor and Assassins of Gor.

Types of Exposure

Acute exposure ~ a single contact that lasts for seconds, minutes or hours, or several exposures over about a day or less.

Chronic exposure ~ contact that lasts for many days, months or years. It may be continuous or broken by periods when there is no contact. Exposure that happens only at work, for example, is not continuous.

Methods of Exposure

Swallowing (Ingestion) ~ Most poisoning happens this way, whether accidental or intentional. If people eat, drink or smoke after they have been handling poisons, without first washing their hands, they may accidentally swallow some of the poison. When poisons are swallowed they go to the stomach and pass through the walls into blood vessels, thus, the longer a poison stays in the stomach, the worse the poisoning will be. Sometimes it is possible to expel the poison from the body soon after swallowing by inducing vomiting. Other ways to expedite the process is to give laxatives (to move the poison through the body more quickly) or administer activated charcoal (to bind poisons so they cannot pass through the gut walls). Be cautioned that there are some instances where these techniques are ineffective and even dangerous.

Breathing (Inhalation) ~ Poisons in the form of gas, vapour, dust, fumes, smoke or fine spray droplets may be breathed into the mouth and nose and go down the air passages into the lungs. Only particles that are too small to be seen can pass into the lungs. Larger particles are trapped in the mouth, throat and nose and may be swallowed. Poison that gets into the lungs passes into the blood vessels very quickly because the air passages in the lungs have thin walls and a good blood supply. Good ventilation will help prevent this type of poisoning.

Skin Contact ~ People working with chemicals such as pesticides may be poisoned if the chemical is sprayed or splashed onto the skin, or if they wear clothes soaked with chemical. Poisons pass through warm, wet, sweaty skin more quickly than through cold, dry skin. Poisons pass through skin damaged by scratches or burns more quickly than through undamaged skin. A poison that damages the skin will pass through more quickly than one that does not damage the skin. It may be possible to wash poison off the skin before a poisonous dose gets into the body.

Injection ~ Poisons can be injected through the skin from a syringe, or a pressure gun, or during tattooing, or by the bite or sting of a poisonous animal, insect, fish or snake. The injection may go directly into the blood vessels, or under the skin into muscle or fatty tissues. Poison injected into the blood has a very quick effect. Poison injected under the skin or into muscle has to pass through several layers of tissue before reaching the blood vessels, so it acts more slowly.

**Information gathered from various sources and websites.