CONTAGIUM 



320 



CONTROL 



disease engendered by a specific agency, which, 

 once present, may multiply and renew itself in- 

 definitely, and which always gives rise to the same 

 disease, (a) Miasmatic — applied to an infectious dis- 

 ease of which the specific cause exists only in certain 

 localities,^. g., malaria, pneumonia, acute rheumatism, 

 (b) Contagious — applied to a disease of which the 

 cause is transmitted from person to person, through 

 houses, villages, cities, and countries, e.g., variola, 

 morbilli, scarlatina, diphtheria, etc. (c) Miasmatic- 

 contagious — applied to an infectious disease of which 

 the specific cause is carried by persons, or their 

 emanations, to a locality, and in the soil, water or 

 houses of which it multiplies and thence generates 

 the disease, e.g., cholera, enteric fever, yellow fever. 

 C. Typhus. Synonym of Typhus Fever, q. v. 



Contagium [kon-ta' -je-um) [L.]. Any virus or mor- 

 bific matter by means of which a communicable dis- 

 ease is transmitted from the sick to the well. C. ani- 

 matum, same as C. vivutn. C. vivum ("living 

 contagium"), any living vegetable or animal organism 

 that causes the spread of an infectious disease. 



Contest [kon'-test) [contestari, to call to witness]. To 

 dispute ; to strive for. C. Theory, the doctrine of 

 chemiotaxis. 



Contiguity (koti-tig-u' '-it-e) [contiguitas, a touching]. 

 Proximity. C, Amputation in the, is performed at 

 a joint, without section of a bone. 



Continued [kon-tin' '-ud) [continuare , to make continu- 

 ous]. Persisted in. C. Fever, a fever that is neither 

 intermittent nor typically remittent. See Fever. 



Continuity [kon-tin-u' '-it-e) [continuitas, uninterrupted- 

 ness]. In anatomy, the portion lying between two 

 ends, as the shaft of a bone. C, Solution of. See 

 Solution. C, Amputation in the, amputation in 

 which a bone is divided. 



Continuous [kon-tin' '-u-us) [continuus, joined ; uninter- 

 rupted]. Unbroken. C. -gum Work, a method of 

 constructing artificial dentures. 



Contortion [kon-tor' -shun) [contorquere, to twist]. A 

 twisting or writhing, as of the body. 



Contour [kon-toor') [Fr., contour, circuit]. I. The line 

 that bounds, defines, or terminates a figure. 2. In 

 operative dentistry, to effect the restoration of lost parts 

 of teeth by building them up with gold, etc. C- 

 feather-hair, one of those outer and longer hairs or 

 feathers that go to determine the contour of a bird or 

 mammal, as distinguished from a soft down-feather or 

 a hair of the under-fur. C. -fillings, in dentistry 

 fillings in which the material is so built out as to 

 restore the lost portion of the crown of the tooth ; 

 distinguished from plane or flush-fillings. 



Contracted Heels. See Hooftwund. 



Contractility [kon-trak-til' -it-e) [contrahere, to draw 

 together]. The peculiar property of muscular tissue 

 manifested by shortening and concomitant thicken- 

 ing. 



Contraction [kon-trak' -shun) \_contrahere, to draw to- 

 gether]. Approximation of the elements of a tissue or 

 organ, thus diminishing its volume or contents. C, 

 Carpo-pedal, a variety of tetany occurring in infants, 

 and generally associated with dentition or seat-worms. 

 There is a flexing of the fingers, toes, elbows, and 

 knees, and a general tendency to convulsions. C, 

 Closing, muscular contractions produced at the 

 instant that the electric current is closed. C, Front- 

 tap, Gowers' term for a phenomenon often observed 

 in cases with exaggerated knee-jerk. It is a delicate 

 test of increased spinal irritability. The foot is placed 

 at a right angle to the leg, and the muscles of the front 

 of the leg are tapped, the result being extension of the 

 foot from contraction of the gastrocnemius. See Re- 



flexes, Table of. C. -furrows, a number of concentric 

 curved lines near the ciliary margin of the iris. They 

 are produced in the living iris by a folding of the iris 

 upon itself during dilatation of the pupil. C, Hour- 

 Glass. See Uterus. C, Opening, the muscular 

 contraction produced by opening or breaking the cir- 

 cuit. C, Paradoxic, Westphal's term for a phe- 

 nomenon that consists in the contraction of a muscle, 

 caused by the passive approximation of its extremities. 

 C.-remainder, the stage of elastic after-vibration or 

 residual contraction persisting in a muscle after with- 

 drawal of the stimulus. C.-ring, the boundary line 

 between the upper and lower uterine segments, often 

 marked by a perceptible ridge. That portion of the uter- 

 ine canal that must be dilated to allow the escape of the 

 fetus is called the lower uterine segment ; that portion 

 above the point at which the dilatation ceases, i. e., the 

 contracting portion of the muscle, is called the upper 

 uterine segment. 



Contractions. See Contracture and also Abbreviations, 

 in Introductory Tables. 



Contracture [kon-trak' '-chur) [contractus, a drawing to- 

 gether] . Contraction ; permanent shortening, as of a 

 muscle ; distortion or deformity due to the shortening 

 of a muscle or of various muscles. In electro-thera- 

 peutics, muscular spasms, clonic or tonic, the variety 

 determined in regard to time, by the method of appli- 

 cation of the current. 



Contra-extensio [kon-trah-ek-slen / -se-o)[L,.']. Counter- 

 extension. 



Contra-fissura [kon' ' -trah-fis-su' '-rah) [contra, opposite 

 to ; flssura , a. fissure]. Cranial fissure or fracture pro- 

 duced by a blow upon the skull at a point distant from 

 or opposite to the seat of the fracture. 



Contra-indicant [kon-trah-in' '-dik-ant) [contra, op- 

 posed to ; indicare, to indicate]. I. Having the effect 

 of a contra- indication. 2. A symptom, indication, or 

 condition that forbids the use of a particular remedial 

 measure or set of measures. 



Contra-indication [kon-trah-in-dik-a' '-shun) [contra, 

 against; indicare, to point out]. That pathologic or 

 modifying condition in which a remedy or a method 

 of treatment is forbidden that under ordinary cases 

 might be proper. 



Contra-stimulant [kon-trah-stim' '-u-lant) [< 

 against ; stimulare, to stimulate]. I. Counteracting the 

 effect of a stimulus ; depressing ; sedative, 

 sedative remedy. 



Contra-stimulism [kon-trah-stim'-u-lizm) [• 

 against; stimulare, to stimulate]. The doctrine of 

 contrastrimulus ; Rasorianism. 



Contra-stimulus, or Contro-stimulus(/&w-/Vv7//-f/'//» / - 

 u-liis, or kon-tro-stim' ' -u-lus)[contra, against ; stimulus, 

 a stimulus] . An influence that is opposed, or acts in 

 opposition, to a stimulus. 



Contrayerva [kon-trah-yer'-vah) [contra, against; 

 herba, an herb]. The root of Dorstcnia contra 

 a stimulant, tonic, and diaphoretic. Its decoction i< 

 mucilaginous, and is serviceable in low fevei 

 malignant eruptive diseases. Dosegss. Unof. 



Contrecoup [kon'-tr-koo) [Fr.]. Counter-stroke, a 

 variety of injury by indirect violence, as by a blow on 

 a remote part. See Contra-fissura. 



Contrectation [kon-trek-ta'-shun) [contrectai 



tare, to touch]. Digital examination; palpation; 

 touch-; manipulation, as in massage. 



Control [kon-troF) [contra, against ; rotula, a roll]. 

 An experiment performed to test the con 

 the results of another experiment; a standard bj 

 which to check observations and insure the validity 

 of their results. Also, a synonym for Control An 

 C. Animal. See C. Experiment. C. Experiment, an 



