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are the omifllon of habitual bleedings, or the fuppreffion of the natural difcharges of the mcnfes or hemorrhoids ; and the occafional accidents that immediately bring on the dif- eafe in this ftate of the blood are, violent commotions of the mind, fudden chilling of the body when very hot, as by drinking cold water immediately after violent excrcife, the taking violently aftringent medicines in fever?, and an im- proper ufe of cooling external remedies in di (orders of the fpleen, as the infarctions of it, and the like. Junker's Confp. Med. p. 292.
Prognojiics in it. It is always a very dangerous difeafe, though not fo fatal as the hepatitis, or a like inflammatory ftate of the liver; but it is remarkable, that as the vomiting a black matter in the hepatitis is always a fatal fymptom, fo in this difeafe the fame matter is frequently voided, but it is here falutary, and frequently carries off the difeafe. The ap- pearance of the hemorrhoids has alio been frequently ob- served to have the fame good effect. When the inflamma- tion lies deep, it is moft frequently fatal ; when it is fuper- ficial, it is often carried off : but when it feems cured, it fometimes is found afterwards to have degenerated into an incurable fcirrhus of the part.
Method of cure. The firft thing to be done, is to open the bowels by a clyfter, and they are afterwards to be kept from becoming coftive, by a repetition of the fame means. Bleeding is ufually neceflary, and may be performed once or more in the beginning of the difeafe ; then gentle dia- phoretics are to be given with juleps flightly acidulated. Thefe are the proper medicines for the morning ; and in the afternoon powders of nitre, vitriolated tartar, and crabs eyes, fated with lemon juice, are to be given with the cool- ing emulfions ; and if the pains be very violent, they may be mitigated, by giving fmall dofes of a gentle anodyne, fuch as the ftorax pill-, with the beforementtoned powders. If the fuppreffion of the habitual hamorroidal evacuations are fufpected to be the caufe of the difeafe, leeches muft be applied to the parts, and no wine, or any other ftrong li- quor, muft be allowed, till the decline of the difeafe. Junker 's Confp. Med. p. 293.
Splenitis is alfo ufed by fome authors to exprefs a tumor or inflammation of the fpleen.
Splenitis is alfo ufed as the name of a vein in the left hand, the fame as the fahatelia. The vein of this kind in the right hand is called jecoraria.
SPLENIUS, called alfo majloidxus pojlerkr, in anatomy, a flat, broad, oblong mufcle, fituated obliquely between the back part of the ear, and the pofterior and lower part of the neck.
It is partly tingle, and partly made up of two portions, one fuperior, the other inferior. Thefe two portions are clofely united backward, making only one plain, but they are divided above.
The fuperior portion is fixed to the extremities of the three or four loweft fpinal apophyfes of the neck, and of the flrft, and fometimes the firft and fecond of the back. It is not fixed immediately to the apophyfes of the neck, which are above the laft, but only by the intervention of the pofterior cervical ligament. It is likewife fixed to the edge of the interspinal ligaments of the other vertebras ; from thence it runs obliquely toward the maftoide apophyfis, and is in- ferted in its upper part, and along the neighbouring curve portion of the tranfverfe ridge of the os occipitis. The inferior portion of the fplenius is fixed to three or four fpinal apophyfes of the back, beginning by the fecond or third, and afterwards running up till it reaches the fuperior and lateral part of the neck. It is inferted in the tranfverfe apophyfes of the three or four fuperior vertebrae of the neck, by the fame number of extremities a little tendinous; thefe, however, are fometimes only two in number. The two fplenii reprefent a great Roman V, and the fplenius, and fter- no-maftoidaeus of the fame fide, form a figure like a Roman A, or the legs of a pair of compaffes, the points of which are in an horizontal plane. lyinflow's Anatomy, p. 239.
Splenius capitis, in anatomy, a name given by Albinus to a mufcle, called by Window, and others, the majloidaus fu- perior, or upper portion of the jplenius. Riolanus, and others, call it the triangularis fplenii.
Splenius colli, in anatomy, a name given by Albinus to a mufcle, called by Winflow, and others, majloidaus pojlerior, or the lower portion of the fplenius ; and by Cowper the mufadus inferior fplenii. See Splenius, fupra.
SPLICE (Cyc!.)— Cwr-SpLiCE, in a fhip, is when a rope is let into another with as much diftance as one pleafes, fo as to have it undone at any time, and yet be ftrong enough.
./coW-Splice, is when a rope's end is fo let into another, that they ihall be as firm as if they were but one rope.
SPLINTERS of bone, in fractures. In cafes of fractures the furgeon is frequently troubled with fplinters of the hone in the way, which vellicate and prick the neighbouring parts, and render the proper execution of his office very difficult. If thefe fplinters are loofe, and have no connection with the bone, they muft be carefully lifted out of the wound ; if they hang to the bone in fome part by the periofteum, that muft: be cut off with the fciflors ; but if they adhere pretty
firmly to the neighbouring pairs, and do not hinder the re- duction of the bone, it is beft to replace the bone, and leave them either to Ioofen, and come out of thcmfelves by the fuppuration of the parts, or to grow again, as they fome- times will fafely and firmly do, to the reft of the bone. When they adhere pretty firmly to the principal parts of the bone, they fhould never be extracted by force, but replaced with the greateft exaitnefs : for when this is properly perform- ed, they will frequently unite to the reft of the bone. When the points of fplinters of bone ftick fo far out, that they are a great hindrance to the reduction of the bone, you are diligently to confider whether you can, by any means, contrive their reunion to the bone, which may be determined, by obferving at what diffance they are from the large bone, and what quantity of flefh there is intervening : when they cannot be reduced, or reunited to the bone, they muft be removed with a pair of ftrong forceps, or, if they ftick very firmly, with a fine faw. If the fplinters are bu- ried under the fkin, and cannot be got at with hands, it is proper firft to try if they can be reduced to their natural fituation ; and if they cannot, an incifion muft be made through the fkin, that they may be taken out. Heijhr'% Surg. p. 109.
SPLIT, in botany, a name given by fome authors to the great fumaria bulbofa, or hollow root. Rupp. Flor. Sen. p. 216.
Split, at fca. When a fail is blown to pieces, the feamen fay it is fplit.
SPLITTING. To fplit a thin piece of metal, as an old filver groat, place the metal on the heads of three pins ftuck up triangularly, and let a heap of flower of brimftone burn out upon it ; then throwing it hard againft the floor, the upper part will feparate from the lower. Boyle's Works Abr. Vol. I. p. 134.
SPOLIARIUM, among the antient Romans, the third pait of the bath, ufed for undrefling and^ dreffing in. Pitifc, Lex. Ant. in voc.
Spoliarium was likewife a part of the gladiatorial fchools, where their cloths and ornaments were laid, and where the wounded and killed were carried. Pitifc. 1. c.
SPONDIAS, in botany, the name given by Linnaeus to the genus of plants, called by Plumier monbin \ the characters are thefe. The perianthium is plain and permanent, and confifts of one leaf, divided into five fegments at the edge. The flower is compofed of five oval and expanded petals. The ftamina are nine filaments, five of which are placed in a circle, the others are of the fame length with thefe, which is that of the cup. The anthers are fimple. The germen of the piftil is oval. . The ftyle is very fmall, and is ter- minated by three obtufe and permanent ftigmata. The fruit is an oval berry in every cell, of which there are con- tained four nuts. Linnai Gen. Plant, p. 175. Plunder, Gen. 12.
SPONDYLI, £?n;v3v*oi, in antiquity, pellets of brafs ufed in giving fentence, before the Ku«f&<n, or beans, came into ufe. Potter, ArchseoL Graec. Tom. I. p. 119.
SPONDYLOLITHOS, a name given by authors to a ftone found in the country of Tyrol, and elfewhcre, refcmbling the vertebra? of an animal. It is in reality no other than the vertebra; of fome fea-fifh petrified, as is common with us.
SPONDYLUS, in natural hiftory, a name given by authors to a kind of oifter of an oblong and umbonated form, of which there are fcveral fpecies. See Ostrea.
SPONGIA, fpunge, in botany, the name of a genus of plants, the characters of which are thefe : that it is foft and claftic, naturally growing under water, and pervious by multitudes. of holes.
The fpecies of fpunge, enumerated by Mr. Tournefort, are thefe. 1. The tmeftjpunge with very fmall cavities. 2. The great flatted fpunge. 3. The globular, or round fpunge. 4. The funnel-fafhioned fpunge. 5. The cup-like fpunge, divided into fegments at the edges. 6. The branched fpunge. 7. The conic-fhaped branched fpunge. 8. The fhrubby- branched fpunge. 9. The branched river-fpunge. 10. The hairy fpunge. u. The fail fpunge. 12. The tubular long American fpunge. 13. The very long-branched rope-like American fpunge. 14. The headed and fingered American fpunge. 15. The American honeycomb fpunge. 16. The flatted and elegantly punctuated American fp^ge. Tourn. Lift. p. 575.
Burnt fpunge is much recommended as a fweetner of the blood, and a diuretic. Some have pretended to cure the leprofy with it, and others extol it againft the bite of a mad-dog ; but thefe are virtues not univerfally received.
SPONGIOLI, a word ufed by fome authors to exprefs the fmall button mufhrooms, which are gathered before they expand or open their heads.
SPONSUS, one of the ma.iy names given by the chemifts to mercury.
SPORADIC difeafs, diftempers which feize particular perfons at any time or teafon, or in any place. They are thus called, in contra-diftinction to the epidemic difeafes, which are pe- culiar to certain times and feafons, or to peculiar places.
3 SPORTS,
