Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/597

(EDEMA gravity. Obliteration of any of the large ve- nous trunks by adhesive inflammation is fol- lowed by oedema of the parts whose blood was returned by the obliterated trunk ; thus phleg- masia dolens is caused by inflammation and plugging up of the femoral or iliac veins. The pressure of an aneurism or other tumor within the chest, upon the vena cava or vena innoini- nata, may produce oedema of one half or the whole of the upper part of the body. Para- lyzed limbs frequently become oedematous from the venous circulation no longer being aided by the contraction of the muscles of the part. Certain conditions of the blood, such as exist in chlorosis and scurvy, are favorable to the occurrence of oedema. In all these instances the oedema is of a passive kind ; but the same symptom occurs as an attendant on some forms of inflammation, particularly a variety of ery- sipelas, hence termed oedematous erysipelas. In all instances oedema is simply a symptom produced by different causes, and is to be treat- ed according to the cause by which it is pro- duced. Two varieties of oedema, that of the glottis and that of the lungs, from their im- portance arising from the nature of the organs affected, deserve special mention. (Edema of the glottis may occur from exposure to cold and moisture, as a consequence of tonsillitis and other affections, the inflammation extend- ing to the larynx, or in the course of various diseases, as erysipelas, typhoid fever, &c. The patient is conscious of an increasing impedi- ment in his respiration, and of a sense of stric- ture about the larynx. There is a dry hoarse cough coming on in paroxysms, with fits of suffocation, while the voice is hoarse, whisper- ing, and finally extinct. Inspiration is pro- longed and difficult, while expiration is com- paratively unaffected. Sometimes, but not in- variably, there is soreness of the throat and difficulty of swallowing. The pulse, at first unaffected, as the difficulty of breathing in- creases becomes small and frequent, and the body is bathed in perspiration. Death from suffocation sometimes takes place a few hours after the commencement of the attack. On post-mortem examination the cellular tissue underneath the mucous membrane lining the glottis is found infiltrated by serum, narrowing the opening of the glottis and causing a sort of valvular action in inspiration. When violent the disease rarely leaves much time for treat- ment. Schonlein of Berlin first suggested the operation, but Dr. Gurdon Buck of New York was the first to carry it into effect, and has re- lieved numerous cases of this affection by nick- ing the oedematous mucous membrane, and thus giving exit to the effused serum which is the cause of the difficulty. When Dr. Buck's op- eration does not succeed, recourse must be had to tracheotomy. (Edema of the lungs occurs in heart disease as a consequence of the embar- rassed condition of the circulation through the lungs, in albuminuria (see ALBUMINURIA), in typhus and typhoid fevers, in anaemia, and in (EDIPUS 583 pneumonia and bronchitis. Its symptoms are difficulty of breathing, in some cases extreme, and a sensation of weight or constriction in the chest. There is teasing cough with a watery and sometimes viscid expectoration. On phys- ical examination the percussion note is but slightly affected ; auscultation gives a smooth, moist, fine, sub-crepitant rhonchus. The treat- ment is that of dropsy. OEDENBURG (Hung. Soprony}. I. A county of W. Hungary, bordering on Lower Austria and the counties of Wieselburg, Eaab, Vesz- pre"m, and Eisenburg; area, 1,277 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 230,158. The western and northern districts are mountainous and wooded, while the southern and eastern are level and fertile. It is watered by the rivers Eaab, Eabnitz, and Leitha. One of the largest lakes of Hungary, the Neusiedler lake, is in this county. The chief products are wheat, fruit, wine, tobacco, and coal. lit A town, capital of the county, near the Neusiedler lake, on a branch of the Vienna and Cilli railway, 37 m. S. S. E. of Vienna; pop. in 1870, 21,108, chiefly Germans. It is neatly built, and has several fine churches, both Catholic and Lutheran, colleges of both creeds, convents, hospitals, barracks, a mili- tary academy, a theatre, and a curious watch tower which anciently formed part of its forti- fications. It has manufactures of cotton, wool- len, &c., and an active trade in wine. (EDIPUS, a mythological king of Thebes, son of Laius and Jocasta. An oracle having in- formed Laius that he should be killed by his son, the infant was exposed on Mt. Cithseron with his feet pierced and bound together. He was found by a shepherd and brought to King Polybus of Corinth, who being childless adopt- ed him and called him (Edipus from his swollen feet. He grew up in ignorance of his birth, and once being taunted with not being the'son of the king, he consulted the oracle at Delphi, which answered : " Avoid the soil of thy coun- try, or thou wilt be the murderer of thy father and the husband of thy mother." Supposing Corinth was meant, he determined not to re- turn. On the road between Delphi and Daulis he met Laius, and was ordered by the chari- oteer to make way ; an affray ensued, in which he killed both his father and the charioteer. At this time the sphinx was laying waste the ter- ritory of Thebes, proposing a riddle to every passer-by, and devouring all who were unable to solve it. The Thebans offered the crown and the hand of Queen Jocasta in marriage to him who should free the country from the monster. (Edipus undertook the task, and the following riddle was given him: "A being with four feet has two feet and three feet, and only one voice ; but its feet vary, and when it has most it is weakest." (Edipus answered that it was man, who in infancy crawls upon all- fours, in manhood walks erect, and in old age supports himself by a staff. The sphinx here- upon destroyed herself, and (Edipus obtained the crown and married his mother, who bore