Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 02.djvu/84

LEFT BLEEDING happen to an animal, and constitutes the most anxious complication in surgical operations. As there is but a limited quantity of blood in the body (corre- sponding to about one-tenth of its weight), the sudden escape of a large portion of it is sufficient to cause death. Arterial bleeding is recognized by the florid redness of the blood, and by its is- suing from the cut vessel by jerks. There are exceptions to this, however. _ When an artery has been tied, and bleeding oc- curs from belov; the ligature, the flow of blood is continuous, and of a dai'k color. The principal means of relief are : Im- mediate pressure, which may be applied by pressing the finger tip on the place whence the blood is seen to flow. This may be kept up by pads of lint, or a coin of convenient size wrapped in cloth, and secured with a bandage to the part. Pressure on the artery above, or as it comes to the cut part. Pressure on the inside of the upper arm, about midway between its front and back, will press the brachial artery against the bone, and ar- rest any bleeding from wounds of the forearm and hand. Pressure on the mid- dle of the groin with a thumb placed crosswise will control the stream of blood in the femoral artery, so that none can escape from any wound of the lower limb below where the pressure is made. This pressure with the finger or thumb is very difficult to maintain with an ade- quate amount of firmness and continuity : hence it is well to substitute the handle of a door key wrapped in cloth. Pres- sure on the course of the vessel may be very efficiently effected by tying a hand- kerchief round the limb above where it is injured, and then inserting a stick, and twisting it sufficiently tight. Pressure on the main vessel leading to a limb is only a temporary method of stopping bleeding, since it is not only very painful to the patient, but fraught with danger to the limb, which may mortify if it be too long continued. Actual cautery, or hot iron, is occasionally useful in bleed- ing from a bone, or at some points where pressure cannot be efficiently applied. Venous bleeding is recognized by the dark color of the blood, and its continu- ous flow. Pressure is generally found sufficient to arrest it, and it should be ap- plied directly over the wounded part. In this case, pressure higher up the limb only does harm, by retarding the return flow of the circulation. Oozing from cut surfaces partakes more of the characters of venous than of arterial bleeding, as there is no vessel sufficiently large to de- mand the application of a ligature. The 62 i*LENDE actual cautery or cold may be used, or one of the many styptics — e. g., per- chloride of iron — may be especially rec- ommended; it may be applied on lint or a sponge; or local astringents, such as alum and tannin, may be employed; there are also the puff ball, mushroom, agaric, and matico leaves, cobwebs, felt, etc. In bleeding, of whatever kind, the posture of the patient is a matter of great importance. The recumbent posi- tion is associated with a diminished force of the circulation, and should, therefore, be adopted in all serious cases. If the bleeding occur in one of the limbs, the raising of the injured part is in itself often sufficient to cut short the loss of blood, and this postural treatment should in all cases be employed in addition to the special local remedies above de- scribed. Bleeding from internal organs, as the stomach or the lungs, is a very serious symptom, and must be imme- diately and carefully treated whenever it occurs. BLEIBTREXJ, KARL AUGUST (bllV- troi), a German poet and novelist, born at Berlin, Jan. 13, 1859. He is one of the foremost representatives of the youngest German school in literature, and a pronounced realist. All his views are radical, as shown by the very titles of his works, e. g., "Revolution in Litera- ture" (1885) ; "Literature's Struggle for Life." He also wrote "Dies Irae," "Na- poleon at Leipsic," "Cromwell at Mars- ton Moor." His dramas are "Lord Byron" (1888) ; "The Day of Judgment," "The Queen's Necklace," etc. BLENDE, a native sulphide of zinc (ZnS). Composition: Sulphur, 32.12- 33.82; zinc, 44.67-67.46; sometimes with small amounts of iron and cadmium. It occurs in regular tetrahedra, dodeca- hedra, and other monometric forms; it is found also fibrous, columnar, radiated, plumose, massive, foliated, granular, etc. Its color is either white, yellow, or brown black. Varieties of it exist in many places in this country; in Derbyshire, Cumberland, and Cornwall, England; as well as on the continent of Europe, etc. One variety is called by the miners black- jack. Blende is called also sphalerite. Dana divides it into (1) ordinary (con- taining blende or sphalerite, little or no iron) ; (2) ferriferous (containing 10 or more per cent, of iron) ; (3) cadmiferous (containing cadmium). In mining, the word is applied to the above mentioned blackjack, treated by roasting and destructive distillation in combination with charcoal in a vessel from which the air is excluded. By ac-