Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 03.djvu/489

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DROP-WORT 427 DRUG tures, or into the cavities of the body. When the effusion is chiefly in the super- ficial parts, the dropsy is called ana- sarca {ana, upon, sarx, the flesh) ; when it is in the abdomen, it is termed ascites; when in the space around the lungs, hydrothorax. Dropsy most commonly depends on disease of the heart or kid- neys; in cases of ascites, the liver and spleen are often at fault. The treatment of dropsy is chiefly by diuretics and other evacuant remedies, which remove the fluid from the textures by unloading the blood of its excess of serum. Mechanical means are also frequently used to relieve the patient of the fluid — in the case of the cavities of the body, tapping; in the cellular tissue either free incisions, or small tubes inserted through the skin. DROP- WORT (from the small tubers on the fibrous roots), Spiras filipendnla, natural order Rosaceas, a British plant of the same genus as queen-of-the-mead- ow, found in dry pastures. The hemlock drop-wort, or water drop-wort, is (Enan- i/ig fistuloaa. DROSERACF.i'E, sundews, an order of hypogynous exogens, alliance Berber- ales. It consists of delicate herbaceous plants, often covered with glands. Found all over the world. DROSKY, DROSHKY, or DROSCH- KE, a Russian and Prussian four- wheeled vehicle in which the passengers ride astride a bench, their feet resting on bars near the ground. It has no top. DROSOMETER, an instrument for as- certaining the quantity of dew which falls. It consists of a balance, one end of which is furnished with a plate fitted to receive the dew, the other containing a weight protected from it. DROWN, THOMAS MESSINGER, an American scientist; bom in Philadelphia, March 19, 1842. He was graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1862, studying later at Yale, Harvard, and Heidelberg. He was Professor of Chem- istry at Lafayette College, 1874-81; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1885-95; was president of Lehigh Uni- versity, 1895-1904. He died Nov. 16, 1904. DROWNING, death by suffocation, owing to the mouth and nostrils being immersed in a liquid. Complete insensi- bility arises in from one to two minutes after submersion, recovery being still possible ; death occurs in from two to five minutes. As long as the heart continues to beat, recovery is possible; after it has ceased, it is impossible. Newly bom children and young puppies stand sub- mersion longer than the more fully grov n. Various methods have been de- vised for the restoration of the appar- ently drowned. That of Dr. Sylvester, recommended by the English Humane Society, produces deeper inspiration than any other known method. That known as the "direct method," introduced by Dr. Benjamin Howard, of New York, effects the most complete expiration. These instructions will be found use- ful when no assistance can be had : Arcrnse the Patient. — Do not move the patient unless in danger of freez- ing; instantly expose the face to the air, toward the wind if there be any; wipe dry the mouth and nostrils ; rip the clothing so as to expose the chest and waist; give two or three quick, smarting slaps on the chest with the open hand. If the patient does not revive, proceed immediately as follows : To Expel Water from the Stomach aiid Chest. — Separate the jaws and keep them apart by placing between the teeth a cork or small bit of wood; turn the patient on his face, a large bundle of tightly rolled clothing being placed be- neath the stomach; press heavily on the back over it for half a minute, or as long as fluids flow freely from the mouth. To Produce Respiration. — If no assist- ance is at hand and one person must work alone, place the patient on his back with the shoulders slightly raised on a folded article of clothing; draw forward the tongue and keep it projecting just beyond the lips; if the lower jaw be lifted the teeth may be made to hold the tongue in place; it may be necessary to retain the tongue by passing a handkerchief under the chin and tying it over the head. Grasp the arms just below the elbows and draw them steadily upward by the sides of the patient's head to the ground, the hands nearly meeting. Next lower the arms to the side and press firmly downward and inward on the sides and front of the chest over the lower ribs, drawing toward the patient's head. Repeat these movements 12 to 15 times every minute, etc. DROZ (dro), FRAN9OIS XAVIER JOSEPH, a French moralist and his- torian; born in Besangon in 1773. In 1806 he published "An Essay on the Art of Being Happy," which was very popular; and in 1823 "Moral Philosophy, or Different Systems of the Science of Life," which procured his admission into the Academy. His reputation is, how- ever, founded chiefly on his "Histoire du Tegne de Louis Xyi." He died in 1850. DRUG, a name applied to all articles used for medicinal purposes, though the term should, perhaps, be strictly confined