DYSENTERY 



1643, had been made Lord Hunt- 

 ingtower and earl of Dysart. 

 Murray had no sons, and his daugh- 

 ter succeeded to the earldom, ob- 

 taining from Charles II, in 1670, 

 the right to name her own heir. 

 She became later the wife of the 

 duke of Lauderdale, but had no 

 children by her second marriage. 



Her son Lionel became the 3rd 

 earl, and the title continued with his 

 descendants until the 6th earl died 

 in 1821, when it passed again to a 

 female, his sister Louisa Manners. 

 She became countess of Dysart, 

 and her grandson became the 8th 

 earl in 1840. In 1878, William John 

 Manners Tollemache became the 

 9th earl. The earl's seats are Buck- 

 minster Park, Grantham, and Ham 

 House, Petersham, and his eldest 

 son is known as Viscount Hunting- 

 tower. 



Dysentery (Gr. dys, implying 

 badness ; entera, intestines). Medi- 

 cal term applied somewhat loosely 

 to several distinct affections. 

 These resemble each other in 

 having irritation of the bowel as a 

 prominent symptom, often asso- 

 ciated with diarrhoea and blood in 

 the motions. 



Amoebic dysentery is caused by a 

 minute organism (amoeba) which 

 enters the body with food or drink- 

 ing water. The disease is wide- 

 spread throughout the tropics, and 

 is also met with in the U.S.A., 

 Germany, Russia, and Italy. In the 

 acute form the onset is abrupt, 

 with pain, diarrhoea, and passage 

 of blood. The patient rapidly loses 

 flesh, and death may occur in a 

 week or ten days from exhaustion 

 and enfeeblement of the heart. 

 The chronic form may follow an 

 acute attack, or may develop in- 

 sidiously. The condition may per- 

 sist for years, with alternating 

 periods of constipation and diar- 

 rhoea. Ultimately emaciation may 

 be very marked. Abscess of the 

 liver is a frequent and serious com- 

 plication ; gangrene of the bowel 

 and peritonitis sometimes occur. 

 The treatment consists in keeping 

 the patient in bed, with skilled 

 nursing and very careful dieting. 

 Ipecacuanha, or its active prin- 

 ciple emetine, has proved of great 

 value. Intestinal irrigation may 

 be useful, and in some cases sur- 

 gical methods afford the only hope 

 of saving life. 



Bacillary dysentery is caused by 

 infection with a bacillus of which 

 there appear to be several forms. 

 This variety of dysentery occurs 

 all over the world, though it is 

 more frequent in hot than in 

 temperate climates. The disease 

 is very infectious, the bacilli being 

 conveyed into the system by food 

 and drinking water. Flies take an 



2754 



active part in its spread. In the 

 acute form the symptoms are pain, 

 rapid rise of temperature, and 

 diarrhoea with passage of blood. 

 Death may occur within a few days. 

 In cases which improve, the patient 

 is convalescent in two or three 

 weeks. After an acute attack, 

 chronic dysentery may persist for 

 vears, with intermissions of varying 

 length. 



Dysidrosis (Gr. dys; hidros, 

 sweat), POMPHOLYX (Gr., bubble, 

 vesicle) OB CHELRO-POMPHOLYX. 

 Acute eruption of vesicles on the 

 skin of the hands and feet with 

 excessive sweating. It sometimes 

 follows local irritation, as in 

 medical men after the use of anti- 

 septic solutions. Burning and ex- 

 treme itching are the most marked 

 symptoms. The condition is worse 

 in spring and summer and often 

 tends to recur at the same period 

 of the year. Scratching may lead 

 to secondary infection and severe 

 eruptions. Treatment consists in 

 building up the general health, 

 while local applications of zinc 

 ointment, salicylic acid, and other 

 drugs are useful. Exposure to X 

 rays has proved beneficial in in- 

 tractable cases. 



Dyson, SIR FRANK WATSON (b. 

 1868). British astronomer. The 

 son of a Baptist minister, he was 

 born at Ash by, 

 Jan. 8, 1868, 

 and went from 

 Bradford 

 Grammar 

 School to 

 Trinity College, 

 Cambridge, of 

 which society 

 he became a 

 fellow. In 1894 

 he entered the 

 Royal Observa- 

 tory, Greenwich, as chief assistant. 

 Five years later he became secre- 

 tary of the Royal Astronomical 

 Society, and in 1901 F.R.S. In 

 1905 Dyson was made astronomer- 

 royal for Scotland, and in 1910 was 

 transferred to the corresponding 

 position in England In 1915 he 

 was knighted. 



Dyson, WILL (b. 1883). British 

 cartoonist. Born at Ballarat, Aus- 

 tralia, and educated at Melbourne, 

 he first attract- 

 e d attention 

 with his car- 

 toons for The 

 Daily Herald. 

 As a pictorial 

 satirist of un- 

 usual imagina- 

 tive and dra- 

 matic power, 

 he championed 

 not only th 

 rights of La- 



Sir Frank Dyson. 

 British astronomer 



Russell 



DYTISCUS 



hour, but also the larger cause of 

 political freedom. His cartoons 

 of the Great War were specially 

 incisive. 



Dyspepsia OR INDIGESTION (Gr. 

 dy* ; pesse.in, peptein, to cook, 

 digest). Acute dyspepsia or acute 

 gastric catarrh is most frequently 

 due to errors in diet. It may be 

 caused by eating too large an 

 amount of food or unsuitable food, 

 such as unripe fruit, or food which 

 has begun to decompose. Alcoholic 

 excess is another cause, and acute 

 dyspepsia is sometimes an early 

 symptom of many of the infectious 

 fevers. The symptoms are pain in 

 the stomach, nausea, vomiting, 

 bringing up of wind, headache, and 

 depression. Sometimes, particu- 

 larly with children, there may be a 

 rise of temperature. Diarrhoea or 

 constipation may follow. The 

 tongue is furred. Treatment con- 

 sists in withholding food for the 

 first 24 hours, and subsequently 

 giving a light and easily digested 

 diet. In children, a dose of cantor 

 oil is often helpful, and for adults 

 a dose of calomel, followed next 

 morning by a saline purge. 



Chronic 'dyspepsia results from 

 chronic gastritis, which may follow 

 the long-continued habit of taking 

 unsuitable food, or excess of 

 alcohol, or may be a symptom of 

 many diseases, such as gout, 

 diabetes, Bright's disease, tubercu- 

 losis, anaemia, and cancer of the 

 stomach. The symptoms are a sense 

 of fullness or distress after eating, 

 with pain apparently in the regicn 

 of the heart, known as heartburn, 

 nausea, sometimes vomiting, flatu- 

 lence, headache, depression, and 

 usually constipation, though some- 

 times diarrhoea. In simple chronic 

 dyspepsia the treatment consists 

 in taking a light and easily digested 

 diet. Meals should be eaten slowly 

 and well masticated. Pepsin, pan- 

 creatin, and other digestive fer- 

 ments may be administered. Bitter 

 tonics, such as quassia and gentian, 

 are often useful. 



Where the dyspepsia is a symp- 

 tom of a general disease, that con- 

 dition also must receive the appro- 

 priate treatment. Some persons 

 suffer from chronic dyspepsia for 

 which there is no apparent cause, 

 and in whom all the organs appear 

 to be healthy. See Diet ; Food. 



Dytiscus (Gr. dyies, diver). 

 Generic name for the larger car- 

 nivorous water beetles common in 

 ponds throughout Great Britain. 

 They swim with considerable speed, 

 but 'have to come to the surface 

 to obtain a fresh supply of air, 

 which is stored under the wing- 

 cases for breathing when under 

 water. These beetles prey on tad- 

 poles and the fry of fish. See Beetle, 



