ABSCESSIOX 



21 



ABSTRACTION 



P :mia. A., Milk, or A., Mammary, one in the 

 female breast. A., Multiple. See Pyemia. A., 

 Ossifluent. See Ossifluent. A., Perforating, one 

 perforating the cornea, the lung, or other containing 

 wall. A., Phlegmonous, an acute A. A., Point- 

 ing of, the point where the abscess tends to break 

 through its external confining wall. A., Psoas, one 

 arising from disease of the lumbar, or lower dorsal 

 vertebrae, the pus descending in the sheath of the psoas 

 muscle, and usually pointing beneath Poupart's liga- 

 ment. A., Pyemic. See Pyemia. A., Residual, 

 about the products of some old result of inflammation. 

 A. Root, the root of Polemonium Reptans. Alterative, 

 astringent and expectorant. Dose of fld. ex. 3 ss-ij. 

 Unof. A., Shirt Stud, retro-mammary abscess concur- 

 rent with a subintegumentary abscess, the two sacs 

 communicating by means of a sinus. A., Stercora- 

 ceous. See Fecal A. A., Symptomatic, one 

 indicative of some other affection. A., Thecal, in the 

 sheaths of tendons. A., Tropical, acute hepatitis 

 terminating in suppuration and abscess formation. A., 

 Tubercular. Same as A., Cold. 



Abscession (ab-sesh'-un) [abscessio, -departure]. I. An 

 abscess ; a critical discharge. 2. Metastasis. 



Abscissae (ab-sis'-se) [ab, away; scindere, to cut]. 

 The transverse lines cutting vertical ones at right 

 angles, to show by a diagram the relations of two 

 series of facts, as, e. g., the number of pulse-beats, or 

 the temperature record in given periods of time. 



Abscission (ab-sish'-un) [ab, from; scindere, to cut]. 

 Removal of a part, as the prepuce, or a fractured bone, 

 by cutting. Applied particularly to a surgical opera- 

 tion upon a staphylomatous cornea, in which the 

 bulging portion is excised, the parts brought together 

 so that the posterior and chief part of the globe forms 

 a "stump" for an artificial eye. In biology, a term 

 applied to that mode of detachment of spores in fungi 

 which consists in the disorganization of the zone con- 

 necting the spores with the hypha. 



Absconsio (ab-skon'-se-o) [abscondere, to hide]. A 

 sinus or cavity whether normal or pathological. 



Absence (of mind) {ah* -sens) [absentia, absence]. 

 Inattention to surroundings ; in marked instances it 

 may be a result of central lesions. It is often seen in 

 epileptics and melancholiacs. 



Absentia epileptica (ab-sen' '-she-ah ep-il-ep' -tik-ak) . 

 Brief losses of consciousness occurring in the mild 

 form of epilepsy. 



Absinthe \ab' '-sinth or ab-sanl') . See Absinthium. 



Absinthin (ab-sin'-thin) [absinthium]. A bitter and 

 crystalline principle obtainable from wormwood. See 

 Absinthium. 



Absinthism (ab-sinth' '-iznt) . A disease similar to alco- 

 holism, the result of the excessive use of absinthe. It 

 is characterized by general muscular debility- and men- 

 tal disturbances, which may proceed to convulsions, 

 acute mania, general softening of the brain, or general 

 paralysis. 



Absinthium (ab-sinth' -e-um) [L.]. Wormwood. The 

 leaves and tops of Artemisia absinthium. Contains a 

 volatile oil and an intensely bitter principle, Absinthin, 

 C 20 H., s O 4 , which is a narcotic poison. A. increases 

 cardiac action, produces tremor and epileptiform con- 

 vulsions. Dose gr. xx-xl, in infusion. Used as a 

 stomachic tonic. Absinthe, a French liquor, is an 

 alcoholic solution of the oil exhibited with oils of 

 anise, marjoram, and other aromatic oils. 



Absinthol {ab-sinth' -ol), C^H^O. The principal con- 

 stituent of oil of wormwood ; it is isomeric with ordin- 

 ary camphor. 



Absolute Alcohol (ab'-so-lftt al'-ko-kol). See Alcohol. 



Absorb (absorb') [ab, from; sorbere, to suck up]. In 



physiology, to suck up or imbibe, as the imbibition 

 performed by the lacteals in the body. 



Absorbent (ab-sor'-bent) [absorbere, to suck in]. In 

 physiology, an organ or part that absorbs", withdraws, 

 or takes up. A term applied to the Lacteals and 

 Lymphatics, q. v. In materia medica, a drug or medi- 

 cine that produces absorption or exudation of 

 diseased tissue. In surgery, a substance that 

 mechanically takes up excreted matter, as A. Cotton, 

 A. Sponge, etc. A. Glands. See Lymphatics. A. 

 System, the lacteals and lymphatics, with their 

 associated glands. 



Absorptiometer (ab-sorp-te-om'-et-er) [absorption; 

 m;ter\ . A device for measuring the thickness of the 

 layer of liquid that is taken up between two glass 

 plates by capillary attraction. Used in conjunction 

 with a spectro- photometer, it serves as a hematoscope. 



Absorption (ab-sorp/ -shun) [absorbere, to suck in]. 

 The permeation or imbibition of one body by another. 

 The process whereby nourishment, medicines, morbid 

 products of tissue metamorphosis, etc., are taken up by 

 the lymphatic and venous systems. In ophthalmology 

 the process by which the lens is disintegrated and 

 carried off after the capsule has been ruptured. A. 

 Lines or Bands, the lines of the spectrum, called 

 Fraunhofers lines ; they are dark lines caused by the 

 arrestation or absorption of the ethereal waves of 

 certain lengths and rapidities, mainly by vapors of the 

 sun's atmosphere. A. of Composition, or External 

 Absorption, the taking up of material by the skin or 

 mucous surfaces. A., Cutaneous, absorption by the 

 skin. A., Disjunctive, the removal of living tissue 

 around a necrosed mass, and its consequent separation 

 from its surroundings. A., Interstitial, the removal 

 by the absorbent system of effete matters. A. Method, 

 to determine whether or not hematuria is due to lesion of 

 the bladder. It is based on the fact that the undenuded 

 surface of the bladder will not absorb foreign sub- 

 stances. Fifteen grains of potassium iodid are injected 

 into the bladder, and fifteen minutes later the saliva is 

 examined for iodin. If found, it is an indication of 

 an unhealthy state of the bladder. A., Progressive, 

 atrophy of a part due to pressure. A., Pulmonary, 

 the taking up of oxygen, or of vapors (as of ether), 

 by the lungs. A., Venous, absorption by the veins. 



Absorptive (ab-sorp* '-frv) [absorbere, to suck in]. 

 Having the power or function of absorbing. 



Absorptivity (ab-sorp-tiv'-i-te) [absorbere, to suck in]. 

 The power or quality of being absorbent. 



Abstemiousness (ab-ste' -me-us-nes) [abs, from ; teme~ 

 turn, wine]. Abstinence from wine. Temperance 

 or moderation in matters of diet. 



Abstention (ab-sten' -shun) [abstentio, retention]. An 

 act of abstinence, or of abstaining ; retention ; consti- 

 pation. 



Abstergent (ab-ster'-jent) [abs, from; tergere, to 

 cleanse]. Cleansing, detergent. See Detergent. 



Abstersive (ab-ster' -siv) [abstersizms]. Abstergent. 



Abstinence (ab'-stin-ens) [abs, from ; tenere, to hold or 

 keep]. Privation or self-denial in regard to food, 

 liquors, etc. See Pasting. 



Abstract (ab'-strakt) [abstrahere, to draw away; Ab- 

 stractum; gen., Abstracts: pi., Abstracta], In phar- 

 macy, a solid preparation in which two parts of the 

 drug are represented by one part of the abstract 

 (which is compounded with milk-sugar). Ab- 

 stracts are double the strength of fluid extracts. 

 They are permanent, but should be kept in a cool 

 place. 



Abstraction (ab-strak' -shun) [abstractio, a drawing 

 away]. Blood-letting. Also, attention to one idea 

 to the exclusion of others. Generalization or classi- 



