Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/678

CHEST. 596 CHESTER. the chest are at the same time a powerful pro- tection against external injury. The structures forming the walls of the chest are: (1) The backbone or spinal column, divided into twenty-four true vertebra-, twelve of which, called the dorsal vertebr.-v, form the thoracic jior- tion. (2) Twelve ribs on either side, attached behind the dorsal vertebr;c, and ending in front in the costal cartilages. (3) The sternum, or breast-bone, which occupies the middle line in front, and to which the costal cartilages are at- tached on either side. (4) The diaphragm (q.v.). See also Skki.eto.. The contents of the chest are the heart, the great arteries and veins, the lungs, the trachea or windpipe, the bronclii or branches of the trachea, leading to the lungs, the cesophagus or gullet, certain important nerve-trunks, and the thoracic duct (q.v.) or general terminus of the Ivmphatic system of vessels, by which the chyle and lymph "are discharged into the blood. The very great importance of these parts to life, and their great liability to deranged action, renders the chest the seat "of a large proportion of the diseases which afflict humanity, and especially of those which end in death. Indeed, of the three organs which the great physiologist Biehat railed the 'tripod of life'— viz. the brain, heart, and lungs — the chest contains two: hence its condition in almost all diseases, and especially in fatal diseases, is an object of the utmost solicitude to the physician. The diseases of the chest depend in some cases •on alterations in its form, as by rickets (q.v.) i)nd other conditions affecting the bones in early childhood or in youth, or by too tight lacing in girls. The lungs and air-tubes are subject to a great variety of diseases, among which the prin- cipal are consumption, or pulmonary tubercu- losis (q.v.), pneumonia (q.v.), pleurisy (q.v.), and bronchitis q.v.). The heart is subject to pericarditis, endocarditis, enlargement (hyper- trophy), dilatation, and degeneration of its muscular texture. The aorta, or great artery, is often affected with degeneration of its walls, and occasionally with aneurism. The great veins are liable to over-distension, and to ob- struction by tumors or by coagulation of the contained blood. The thoracic duct is also sometimes obstnicted by external pressure, and the cesophagus has a number of diseases usually described in connection with the alimentary •canal. Most of the diseases here referred to are described either in special articles, or under Heart, Diseases of. See also the articles Aus- cultation, and Percussiox. CHEST, Naval. The name of Chest has been given to certain funds maintained for the benefit of seamen belonging to the English Na')'. A fund, called the Chest at Chalham. was sug- gested so long ago as the days of Drake and Hawkins, for the relief of superannuated and wounded seamen. In 1590 all seafaring men in Queen Elizabeth's service consented to a stop- page out of their pay of two shillings to six shillings per month to support this fund. The monev was not in those days, as it would be now, put out to interest : it was kept in a chest, and hence the name given to the fund itself. During the Eighteenth Centuri' the system be- came organized in a better manner; but still the fund retained the name of chest; insonuich that •when the office was removed from Chatham to Grecnwieli, in 1803, it became the Chest at (freoncich. The chest is managed ex officio, and the accomits are annually laid before Par- liament. Handsome gifts are occasionally made to the fund by individuals. Disabled sailors re- ceive a present sum of money, if not deprived of the power of earning a living; but if their in- juries are more jiermanent they receive a pen- sion from the Chest for one year, or for several years, or for life, paid half-yearly. CHES'TEE (AS. ceasliT, from Lat. castra, camp). An ancient episcopal city, municipal and Parliamentary borough, and river port, the capital of Cheshire. England, on the right bank of the Dee, 22 miles from its estuary, and Ifi miles southeast of Liverpool (ilap; England, D 3). It stands on a rocky sandstone height, the greater part being inclosed l)y ancient walls seven or eight feet thick, nearly two miles in circuit, pierced by four gates, and now forming a promenade from which excellent views of the city and vicinity are obtained. The two main streets cross each other at right angles, and were cut out of the rock by the R(mians four to ten feet below the level of the houses. The houses in these streets are curiously arranged; the front parts of their sectmd stories, as far hack as 16 feet, form a continuous paved promenade or covered gallery, open in front, anil reached by flights of steps from the street below, with ])rivate houses above, inferior shops and ware- liouses below, and the chief shops of the town within. These arcades, called the 'Rows.' to- gether with the ancient walls and tlie half-tim- bered construction of many of the houses, with quaintly carved ornamental gables of the Six- teenth Century, render Chester perhaps the most picturesque city in England. The cathedral is an irregular massive structure of crumbling sandstone, with a tower of 127 feet. It was for- merly the Church of the Abbey of Saint Wer- burgii, which for six hundred and fifty years was one of the richest in England. The cathedra! grammar school was founded by Henry '11I. Saint John's Church, long in ruins, but partially restored since 18G8, is supposed to have been of early Saxon origin. Among other noted buildings are the castle built by William the Conqueror, now used as barracks, the town hall, linen hall, and music hall. There are also many quaint private houses, such as Ood's Provi- dence House, so called from the inscription on it ; Bishop Lloyd's House, and Stanley House. The Dee is crossed by three bridges — an old stone one, a suspension bridge, and Grosvenor Bridge, consisting of one superb stone arch of 200 feet span. Chester sends one member to Par- liament. Although Chester can boast of great antiquity, it has not fallen l)eliind in carrying out modern improvements, and this has been done with due regard to the ipiaint architectural fea- tures of the city. Electric lighting has been in- stalled; a modern sewerage system, including precipitation works, has been introduced ; public baths, markets, a free library, a museum, and a hospital are maintained by the municipality. There are two public parks, and on the Koodee, outside the walls, there is a large race-track, from which the city derives a considerable profit. Chester has manufactures of lead, iron-foundries, chemical works, and a ship-building yard. It manufactures boots and shoes for export. Its principal trade, however, is in cheese, for which