ABDICATION. 



ABDOMEN, DISEASES OF. 



Bart, or Bt. Baronet. 



B.A. Bachelor of Arts. 



B.C.L. Bachelor of Civil Law. 



B.D. Bachelor of Divinity. 



Clk. Clerk, a Clergyman. 



C.B. Companion of the Bath. 



Dr. Doctor. 



D.C.L. Doctor of Civil Law. 



D.D. Doctor of Dhrinity. 



Hni.D. Doctor of Music. 



Esq. Esquire. 



F.G.8. Fellow of the Geological Society. 



F.L.S. Fellow of the Linmcan Society. 



P.M. Field Marshal. 



F.B.A.S. Fellow of the Koyal Astrono- 

 mical Society. 



F.R.C.S. Fellow of the Royal College 

 of Surgeons. 



F.K.G.S. Fellow of the Royal Geogra- 

 phical Society. 



F.R.S. Fellow of the Royal Society. 



F.S.A. Fellow of the Society of Anti- 

 quaries. 



G.C.B. Grand Cross of the Bath. 



G.C.H. Grand Cross of Hanover. 



H.E.I.C. Honourable East India Com- 

 pany. 



H.R.II. His or Her Royal Highness. 



J.P. Justice of Peace. 



J.V.D. of Canon and Civil Law. 



Kt. Knight. 



K.B. Knight of the Bath. 



K.C.B. Knight Commander of the Bath. 



K.C.H. Knight Commander of Hanover. 



K.G. Knight of the Garter. 



K.H. Knight of Guelph of Hanover. 



K.M. Knight of Malta. 



K.P. Knight of St. Patrick. 



K.T. Knight of the Thistle. 



Lp. Lordship. 



LL.D. or B. Doctor or Bachelor of Laws. 



Mr. Mister. 



Mrs. Mistress. 



Messrs. Gentlemen. 



M.A. Master of Arts. 



M.D. Doctor of Physic. 



M.P. Member of Parliament. 



M.R.C.S. Member of the Royal College 

 of Surgeons. 



M.RC.S.E. Member of Royal College 

 of Surgeons, Edinburgh. 



M.R.I.A. Member of the Royal Irish 

 Academy. 



M.R.S.L. Member of the Royal Society 

 of Literature. 



Q.C. Queen's Counsel. 



R.A. Royal Academician. 



Rt. Hon. Right Honourable. 



R.E. Royal Engineers. 



B.M. Royal Marines ; in Ireland, Resi- 

 dent Magistrate. 



R.N. Royal Navy. 



S.C.L. Student of Civil Law. 



S.S.C. Solicitors before Supreme Courts. 



S.T.P. Professor of Divinity. 

 W.S. Writer to the Signet. 



ox IKOUSH COINS. 



A.C. Arch-Chancellor. F.D. Defender of the Faith. 



A.D. Arch-Duke. S.R.I. Holy Roman Empire. 



A.T. Arch-Treasurer. M.B.F. et H. Great Britain, France, 



B. et L. D. Duke of Brunswick and and Ireland. 



Lnnenberg. R. Rex, King, or Regina, Queen. 

 D.G. By the Grace of God. 



Cr. Creditor. 



Dr. Debtor. 



Do. or ditto, the same. 



No. Number, 



f.o.b. free on board. 



Fo. Folio. 



4to. Quarto. 



Svo. Octavo. 



COMMERCIAL. 



12mo. Duodecimo. 

 Ro. Right-hand page. 

 Vo. Left-hand page. 

 L.S.D, Pounds, Shillings, and Pence. 

 A.R.P. Acres, Roods, and Poles. 

 Cwt. Or. Lb. Oz. Hundredweights, 

 Quarters, Pounds, and Ounces. 



UISCZLLAXXOVI. 



A.B. Able Seaman. 



A.D. the year of our Lord. 



A. II. the year of the Hegira. 



A.M. the year of the World. 



A.M. before noon. 



A.U.C. the year of the building of 



Rome. 



B.C. before Christ, 

 ef. compare. 



Cur. or Ct. the Current Month. 

 D.O.M. Deo Optimo Maximo ; or, to 



God the greatest Best. 

 D.V. Deo Volente ; or, if it pleaM God. 

 e.g. for example. 

 H.M.S. Her Majesty's ship. 

 H.S.E. Hie situs est, or Hie sepultns 



est He is buried here. 

 I.H.M.S. Jesu Hominis Moritur Sal- 



vator. 

 i.e. that is. 

 ib. in the same place, 

 id. the same. 

 L.S. the place of the Seal. 



MS. Manuscript. 



N.B. Observe. 



N.S. New Style (after the year 1752). 



O.S. Old Style (before 1752).! 



Nem. con. without contradiction. 



Nem. dis. unanimous. 



Per proc. by procuration for. 



P.M. Afternoon. 



P.8. Postscript. 



Prox. the next or coming month. 



q.e.d. quod erat demonstrandum, which 



was to be demonstrated. 

 R.I. P. Requiescat in Pace ; or, may he 



rest in peace. 



s.p. sine prole, without issue, 

 ip. g. specific gravity. 

 M. a half. 

 T.O. Turn over, 

 nit. the last month, 

 viz. namely. 

 U.S. United States. 

 Xmas. Christmas. 

 Xtian, Christian. 



ABDICATION (from the Latin abdicatio) is the act of renouncing 

 and giving up an office by the voluntary act of the party who holds it. 

 But the term is now applied to the giving up of the regal office ; and 

 income countries a king can abdicate in the proper sense of that term, 

 whi'iiever he pleases. IJut the Sovereign of England cannot abdicate, 

 except with the consent of the two Houses of Parliament, in any con- 

 stitutional form ; for a proper abdication would be a divesting himself 

 <>t* Lin regal powers by hi* own will, and such an abdication is incon- 

 sistent with the nature of his kingly office. It in,' however, established 

 by a precedent that he does abdicate, or that an abdication may be 

 presumed, if he does acts which are inconsistent with and subversive of 

 that system of government of which he forms a part. Thus it was 

 resolved by both Houses, in 1688, " King James II. having endeavoured 

 to subvert the constitution of the kingdom, by breaking the original 

 contract between king and people ; and by the advice of Jesuits and 

 other wicked persons, having violated the fundamental laws, and 

 having withdrawn himself out of the kingdom; has abdicated the 



government, and the throne is thereby vacant." The Houses, in 

 this well-known instance, proceeded on the doctrine of an original 

 contract between the king and the people, as the foundation of their 

 declaration that James II. had abdicated the throne ; and hence, 

 Blackstone, in arguing upon this declaration, assumes that the powers 

 of the King of England were originally delegated to him by the nation. 

 (' Blackstone's Commentaries,' Mr. Kerr's ed., vol. i., p. 198.) 



It appears, by the parliamentary debates at that period, that in the 

 conference between the two Houses of Pariiarnent, previous to the 

 passing of the statute which settled the crown upon William III., it 

 was disputed whether the word " abdicated," or " deserted," should be 

 the term used, to denote in the Journals the conduct of James II. in 

 quitting the country. It was then resolved that the word " abdicate " 

 should be used, as including in it the mal-administration of his govern- 

 ment. It has been said that, in coming to this resolution, the Houses 

 gave a new meaning to the word. 



Among the Romans the term Abdicatio signified generally a rejection 

 or giving up of a thing, and a magistrate was said to abdicate who for 

 any reason gave up his office before the term was expired. 



ABDOMEN, DISEASES OF. The abdomen is one of the largest 

 cavities of the body, and besides the peritoneum, with which it is every- 

 where lined^ contains the greater part of the djgestive organs, the 

 urinary organs, and the internal organs of generation. [ABDOMEN. 

 NAT. HIST. Div.] Any one of these organs may become diseased, and 

 as they are all more or less accessible by external examination, it is 

 of great importance in cases of suspected abdominal disease, that this 

 should be had recourse to. 



There is no part of the human body so well adapted for this kind of 

 examination as the abdomen. Its walls are soft and yielding ; some of 

 its most important organs lie immediately beneath the surface ; though 

 they cannot be seen they can be felt ; and several of their morbid 

 conditions can therefore be ascertained with clearness and certainty. 



Not only are some of the diseases of the abdominal viscera visible to 

 the naked eye, but they are even strikingly expressed ; for they either 

 cause a permanent change in the configuration of the abdomen, or 

 they produce a temporary alteration of its natural movements, or they 

 occasion both effects. 



Both in the male and in the female it often happens that diseases 

 not to be ascertained, or at any rate exceedingly apt to be overlooked, 

 or mistaken, if the region of the part affected be covered with its 

 ordinary clothing, become manifest the moment the part in question 

 is uncovered; or if not, are rendered obvious by other modes of 

 inspection to which the removal of the clothing is indispensable. 



The external examination of the abdomen, or the exploration of it, 

 as it is technically termed, is comprised in simple inspection, manual 

 examination, and percussion. 



, 1. The simple inspection of the abdomen often affords valuable in- 

 formation. The mere alteration of its form is sometimes of itself suffi- 

 cient to determine the seat and the nature of the disease. In each case 

 of diseased organs the change is different ; in each it is peculiar, and even 

 characteristic. The abdomen may be affected with spasm, as in the 

 disease called colic, or with inflammation, as in the disease called enteritis. 

 Life may depend on the promptitude with which the true nature of the 

 affection is detected. One set of remedies is required for one of these 

 diseases, and a totally different set for the other. Remedies essential to 

 the preservation of life, if the disease be inflammation, may be destruc- 

 tive of life, if the disease be merely spasm ; and if under the notion 

 that the disease is spasm, the remedies proper for inflammation be not 

 employed, death may be the consequence of the error in less than 

 twenty-four hours. In both affections the pain may be the same, and 

 several other symptoms may be similar, but the form of the abdomen 

 may be alone sufficient to determine the true nature of the malady ; 

 for, if it be inflammation, the abdomen will be rounded, enlarged, and 

 distended ; while if it be spasm, it will be drawn in and contracted. 

 There are affections which place life in the most imminent danger, 

 especially in children, in which it is difficult, if not impossible, to 

 determine, from the symptoms alone, whether the seat of the disease be 

 in the brain, or in the inner coat of the intestines. Suppose it be in 

 the brain, one set of remedies are required, which must be applied to 

 the head ; suppose it be in the intestines, a different sort of remedies 

 is required, which must be applied to the belly. An index is some- 

 times afforded to the real seat of the disease, by the mere form of 

 the abdomen ; while its size, combined with its form, oftener affords 

 a still more certain guide ; and so does any deviation from its natural 

 movements. 



2. Manual examination affords still more correct and complete 

 information relative to the condition of the abdominal organs. The 

 size, the tension, the temperature, the sensibility of the abdomen, the 

 presence or absence of unnatural tumours or morbid growths within its 

 cavity, the presence or absence of fluids, the nature and extent of the 

 contents of the intestinal canal, may be ascertained with considerable 

 precision by touch combined with pressure. Increase of temperature 

 on the surface of the body is a most important sign of internal disease. 

 Increase of temperature arises from a preternatural increase in the 

 action of the arteries, and denotes inflammation of the part affected. 

 All acutely inflamed organs are hotter than in their natural state, and 

 if the inflammation be intense, the neighbourhood of the inflamed part 

 gives to the hand of the examiner the sensation of pungent heat, 



