Next, Links student, Mark A. Stahmann, took over the project and initiated a large-scale extraction, isolating 1.8 g of recrystallized anticoagulant in about 4 months. This was enough material for Stahmann and Charles F. Huebner to check their results against Campbells, and to thoroughly characterize the compound. Through degradation experiments, they established that the anticoagulant was 3,3-methylenebis-(4-hydroxycoumarin), which they later named dicoumarol. They confirmed their results by synthesizing dicoumarol and proving in 1940 that it was identical to the naturally occurring agent.Dicoumarol was a product of the plant molecule coumarin (not to be confused with Coumadin, a later tradename for warfarin). Coumarin is now known to be present in many plants, and produces the notably sweet smell of freshly cut grass or hay and plants suc as sweet grass; in fact, the plants high content of coumarin is responsible for the original common name of "sweet clover", which is named for its sweet smell, not its bitter taste. They are present notably in woodruff (Galium odoratum, Rubiaceae), and at lower levels in licorice, lavender, and various other species. The name coumarin comes from the French pronunciation of coumarou, the Indian name for the tree of the tonka bean, which notably contains a high concentration of coumarin. However, coumarins themselves do not influence clotting or warfarin-like action, but must first be metabolized by various fungi into compounds such as 4-hydroxycoumarin, then further (in the presence of naturally occurring formaldehyde) into dicoumarol, to have any anticoagulant properties.
Microspherophakia is a rare congenital autosomal recessive condition where the lens of the eye is smaller than normal and spherically shaped. This condition may be associated with a number of disorders including Peters anomaly, Marfan syndrome, and Weill–Marchesani syndrome. The spherical shape is caused by an underdeveloped zonule of Zinn, which doesnt exert enough force on the lens to make it form the usual oval shape. It is a result of a homozygous mutation to the LTBP2 gene. See also
Ectopia lentis

References
Further reading
Microspherophakia at Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man


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