.- 



- \i:< OCBLJt 



. tTEBOS, 80 



iw Marcrllinui (sir. c. 10) exactly corresponds with the habit* 

 of the Bedouin*. In course of time it became the generic name of all 

 the Arabian tribe* who embraced the religion of Mohammed, and 

 read their conquest* over the greater portion of Asia and Africa. 



SARCOCEI.K (from <rX, flesh, and 4*% a tumour) it Uie name of a 



sease by which the tetti' le become* altered from iU natural atnicture 

 and converted into a hard llcah-iike inbst&nce. The term however u of 

 ucb general import, tr ' -re are few rtiimim of the teaticle which 

 may not be included under it ; accordingly the older writers called all 

 induration* and enlargempnU of thin organ sarcocele*, whether they 

 were of a benign or of a nuiignant nature. In modern phraseology the 

 term U luatiirtad to' certain chronic enlargement* and induration* of 

 the body of the to*ti*, of a perfectly benignant character, but incon- 

 venient on account of their i*e and weight. Theae swellings may 

 continue for yean without undergoing any visible change, or a (widen 

 incinasi) in their bulk may arise, and the testicle be converted into a 

 painful, ulcerated, and incurable maa* of disease. Sarcocele may be 

 distinguished from hydrocele, the dueaae, which most nearly resemble* 

 it, by it* hardne**, weight, and want of transparency ; but occasionally 

 the two di*eaae* are met with together, and this compound affection 

 fa called hydroaaroocele. With respect to the treatment of aarcocele, 

 variou* and rather opposite remedies have at time* proved successful 

 When the enlargement is accompanied by pain or any degree of inflam- 

 mation, leeches, hot fomentation*, and poultice* applied externally, 

 with the administration of an emetic, and the adoption of a general 

 antiphlogistic regimen, would seem to be indicated. When the disease 

 is altogether chronic, stimulating lotions, liniments, or ointments may 

 be applied to the (welling. In either case, the use of a suspensory 

 bandage, or bag truss for the support of the part should not be 

 neglected. If these means fail in arresting the progress of the disease, 

 extirpation of the gland must be had recourse to. 



8ARCOCOLL1N (C M H,,O IO f). A gummy matter, extracted from 

 the aareooolla of commerce, the dried juice of the Ptrnea mucrvnata. 

 It possesses a peculiar but feeble odour, and a bitter-sweet taste. It is 

 sparingly soluble in water, but readily so in alcohol. Nitric acid trans- 

 forms it into oxalic acid. 



SARCOMA is a morbid tumour whose tissue is fleshy and moderately 

 firm. Several species of sarcoma were described by Mr. Abernethy in 

 his ' Classification of Tumours,' such as the common vascular Bar- 

 coma, the adipose or fatty kind, the pancreatic, the mammary, lie. 

 Some of these still retain the same names, but in general the term 

 sarcoma has no other meaning in surgical works than the indefinite 

 one already given, and includes all fleshy tumours that are not 

 cancerous, or medullary, or melanotic. [TuMOl'lt.] 



SARCOPHAGUS, a word derived from the Greek signifying /M- 

 tattr, but used to designate any kind of coffin, especially large ones of 

 stone. This name was given from sarcophagi being originally made 

 of a kind of stone from Assos in Mysia, supposed to be alumtm chitti, 

 or a kind of pumice stone, which was fabled to consume the entire 

 body, with the exception of the teeth, in the space of forty days. 

 (Pliny, ' N. H.,' ii., 98, xxvi. 27.) The term was, however, applied at 

 the time of the Roman Empire to all kinds of stone coffins. (Juvenal, 

 x., 172; Dig., 34, tit. L, s. 18, s. 5 ; Orellius Inscript.,' Nos. 194, 

 4452, 54.) The earliest sarcophagi are the Egyptian, called in the 

 hieroglyphs ttba, or chest, and found from the time of the pyramids 

 [PYRAMIDS] till the 1st century A.D. Those of the early dynasties 

 were sculptured in shape of a square chest, or edifice, and left plain 

 or else only ornamented with two leaves of the lotus. Those of the 

 18th and following dynasties were of different shapes, the most usual 

 being that of an Egyptian mummy swathed, dividing into two parts 

 lengthwise, the cover formed by the front, and the chest by the back 

 of the figure the two fixing by mortices and grooves, holes for which 

 were cut in the stone. The coffins of this period were principally of 

 red granite, and ornamented with inscriptions or scenes relating to the 

 myth of Osiris, or the passage of the Sun through the lower hemi- 

 sphere, or regions of the night and darkness. The most remarkable of 

 this period are the arragonite or oriental alabaster sarcophagus of 

 Sett I., in the Soane Museum, and that of Rameses III., hi the Louvre, 

 the cover of which is in the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge. At 

 the period of the 26th dynasty, the sarcophagi were generally made 

 of basalt ; although a coarse red granite, black or white marble was 

 occasionally used. The hieroglyphic legends of this age are often 

 chapters extracted from the Ritual of the Dead. The last of the royal 

 sarcophagi U that of Nekhtherhebi, or Nectanebes I., in the British 

 Museum, made of a fine breccia, and sculptured with scenes of the 

 passage of the Sun. This was formerly at Alexandria, and supposed 

 upon very insufficient grounds by some to have been the tomb of 

 Alexander the Great. Recent discoveries have shown that the 

 Phoenician kings were buried in sarcophagi of basalt or alabaster, of a 

 mummied shape like the Egyptians, although different in treatment 

 and art. The most remarkable of these is that of Esmunazar, king of 

 Sidon, inscribed with a long Phoenician inscription, and supposed to be 

 of about B.C. 574. The Persian monarch* were also buried in sarco- 

 phagi, and one of those of the kings of Judah, a plain rectangular chest, 

 decorated with a simple floral ornament of vine branches, is in the 

 Museum of the Louvre. Rude sarcophagi were also used by the 

 Lycians and other Oneco-barbsric people of Asia Minor. 



In Asiatic and European Greece many sarcophagi have been found, 



but few, if any, earlier than the Roman Empire, and generally of the 

 1st and 2nd century A.D. These are of the same character as those 

 discovered in the Roman columbaria, consisting of rectangular chests 

 about 8 feet long, 3 feet high, and as many broad. The covers are 

 often in shape of a pent roof, or ornamented with figures of the 

 deceased in full relief. They are richly decorated with bas-reliefs, at 

 an earlier period, of many figures representing mythological subjects, 

 but at a later with festoons of flowers, fruit, and arabesques, with 

 small figures. A still larger class than the Greek are the Etruscan, 

 none of which, from their style of art, seem older than the middle of 

 the 4th century B.C., and are made of peperino, alabaster, or terra- 

 cotta, generally having on their covers a full-length recumbent figure 

 of the deceased leaning on the elbow as if on a couch at a feast. The 

 chests are decorated with reliefs, reptesenting Greek myths, treated in 

 the Etruscan manner, with the names of the persons represented in 

 the Etruscan language. Those found in the tombs of Volterra and 

 Chiusi are of arragonite or marble, of small dimensions, about 1 4 inches 

 long by 3 inches broad, and 1 foot 6 inches high, and .n. jatlu-r 

 cinerary urns, as they contain only the ashes of the dead. 'I'll.- Koman 

 sarcophagi, at the time of the republic, appear to have been |>iam 

 architectonic chests, as shown by those of the Sripi.i family, but under 

 the empire they became more richly ornamented, like the Etruscan, 

 with recumbent figures on the cover and bas-reliefs of mythological 

 subjects, allusive to the life or death of the person buried, aa Prome- 

 theus, Orestes, and Ganymede. These sarcophagi continued till the 

 6th and 7th century, when arabesques were introduced, and 

 remarkable ones of the first period of Christian art are those <>t St. 

 Constantia and St. Helena of red porphyry, ornamented with bas- 

 reliefs, representing triumphs and processions, at present in the Vatican. 

 At a later period Christian sarcophagi are ornamented with subjects 

 taken from the Old and New Testament. Stone chests or sarcophagi 

 were also used for interment by the Gaulish tribes, and their use for 

 the sepulture of distinguished persons has been continued till the 

 present day. 



(De Rouge", Muntimentt fSyyptiens du Matte de Louvre, 8vo, Paris, 

 1855; Due de Luynes, Le Sarcophage ctEinwnazar, 4to, Paris, 1856; 

 Slicali, Storia if Italia, Fir., 1832.) 



SARCOSINE (C 8 H,N0 4 ). An organic alkaloid, belonging to the 

 same class of bodies as urea and sugar [of gelatine. It is procured by 

 adding hydrate of baryta to a boiling saturated solution of crentin. 

 On filtration a colourless liquid is obtained, containing caustic baryta 

 and sarcosine. Through this liquid a current of carbonic acid gas is 

 passed whilst it is gradually heated to boiling. The filtered liquid 

 becomes syrupy on evaporation, and finally deposits large crystalline 

 leaves of sarcosine, which is purified by conversion into sulphate, 

 agitation with alcohol, solution in water, and final treatment with 

 carbonate of baryta. The filtered liquid being then evaporated upon 

 the water-bath deposits crystals of pure sareosine, which are col< 

 and transparent, very soluble in water, slightly so in alcohol, and 

 insoluble in ether. They fuse at a temperature somewhat above -J 1 1' , 

 and volatilise without residue. 



Sareosine. is isomeric with lactamide, urethane, and alaniue. It does 

 not affect vegetable colours, but forms salts with acids. The sulphate 

 of sareosine has the formula C e H,N0 4 , S0 3 HO + aq., that of the 

 double platinum salt is C 6 H,N0 4 , HC1, P1C1 2 + 2 aq. The solution of 

 the sulphate reacts strongly acid. 



SARDONICUS RISUS, a convulsive affection of the muscles of the 

 face, in which the lips are drawn involuntarily apart, so as somewhat 

 to resemble the expression of the countenance in laughter. The name 

 is derived from a species of ranunculus that grows in Sardinia, called 

 Herba Sardonica, or Sardoa, which is said to produce this affection in 

 those who eat it. 



Risus Sardonicus is observed as an effect of certain vegetable 

 poisons, such as the Ranunculus iccleratiu of Linmeus, but is more 

 frequently met with as one of the symptoms of tetanus, or locked-jaw, 

 or as an attendant on other convulsive affections. 



The term is employed figuratively to denote that forced laugh by 

 which persons sometimes endeavour-to conceal their real feelings. 



SAROS, NEROS, SOSOS. These names are from the fragments 

 left of Berosus, who says that the Chaldscans had three astronomical 

 periods so called, the saros of 8600 years, the^neros of 600 years, and 

 the soson of 60 years. Of the two latter we know nothing more, and 

 as to the saros, the duration given by Berosus is either entirely wrong, 

 or else subsequent writers have taken another ChaliUvan period, which 

 is neither of the three above, and applied the term saros to it. Geminus 

 (ch. 15) mentions that the Chaldicans had found a period of 669 

 months, or 19,756 days (so the text stands after an emendation by 

 Bouillaud). Ptolemy mentions the same period, and Pliny (lib. ii., 

 c. 13) remarks relative to it, that eclipses return again after a period of 

 223 (the third of 669) months ; but the text here again was corrupt, 

 until Halley ('Phil. Trans.,' No. 194) restored the true reading, which 

 was afterwards confirmed by manuscripts. To complete the mis- 

 fortunes of this period, Suidas has the word Saros, but it was omitted 

 from his Lexicon either by mistake or faultiness of manuscripts, until 

 Dr.'Pearson restored it (' Exp. of the Creed,' 1683, fol. 59, according to 

 Weidler), and even then it gives 222 months instead of 223, which 

 was again corrected by Halley. In the time of Riccioli, Geminus and 

 Ptolemy were the authorities cited on this period, and the name Saros 



