Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/786

 782 DELIRIUM TREMENS DEL NORTE that a disease so well marked and so easily recog- nized as delirium tremens should up to the early part of the present century have been confound- ed with inflammation of the membranes of the brain, and that, thus misled by a name, most physicians bled, blistered, and mercurialized then- patients, thus adding vastly to the mortality of a complaint already sufficiently fatal. De- lirium tremens sometimes makes its appearance in consequence of a single debauch ; commonly it is the result of protracted or long continued intemperance. Occasionally, where the indul- gence is very excessive, the attack occurs while the patient still continues his potations ; more generally it is the result of some cause by which they are temporarily interrupted; the patient's stomach gives out, and refuses the accustomed draught, he receives a hurt, or he is affected by some of the ordinary causes of illness. He is now nervous, uneasy, and rest- less ; he is startled by any sudden noise, as the opening of a door or the entrance of a visitor ; the hands and tongue are tremulous ; he com- plains of inability to sleep, and if he dozes for a moment he is awakened by frightful dreams ; with all this, his skin is commonly cool and soft, his pulse slow, and his tongue moist. Soon delirium manifests itself; if questioned the patient often answers rightly enough, but if left to himself he begins to talk or mutter ; he imagines himself surrounded by frightful or loathsome animals ; he is pursued by some one who has a design upon his life ; he has terri- ble and ghastly visions. Though most com- monly of a frightful or terrifying character, the delirium is not invariably so ; occasionally the appearances are droll or ludicrous, and the pa- tient seems amused by them. He is rarely dangerous ; his predominant emotion is fear ; but in the effort to escape an imaginary ene- my, he may commit a murderous assault, or more probably take his own life. The deli- rium continues until he dies exhausted, or sinks into a sleep from which he awakes com- paratively rational. When the strength of the patient has not been seriously impaired by long continued excesses, delirium tremens is rarely fatal; but those whose constitutions have been thus broken down frequently suc- cumb. In such cases death is often sudden; the patient rises for some trivial purpose, and falls into a faint from which he never recov- ers. At other times, after passing many nights without sleep, he sinks into a state of coma, which terminates in death. The same habits which cause repeated attacks of delirium cause likewise organic affection's of the viscera, more particularly of the liver and kidneys, and these seriously influence the result of each new at- tack. Treatment. In severe cases, opium is the article which has been mainly relied on by practitioners, and in most instances it will not disappoint their expectations; still there is a class of cases rebellious to its influence, what- ever dose may be given, and in these the inha- lation of chloroform has sometimes been effec- tively employed. Lately the hydrate of chloral has been used to keep the patient quiet while his system is being built up by the administra- tion of nourishing and easily digested food, which should be held in view as the main point in the treatment, the medicine being used more to keep the patient within control than for any certain effect. Alcoholic stim- ulants, in the form of wine, ale, and some- times distilled liquors, are also generally of service, and are sometimes indispensable. Dr. Daw in the "British Medical Journal" for May, 1873, recommends the use of hydrocyanic acid in place of opium and other narcotics. His method is to combine it with bicarbonate of potash, chloric ether, and camphor, in doses of two or three minims of the officinal solution every two, three, or four hours. DELISLE. See LISLE. BELITZSCH, a town of Prussia, in the prov- ince of Saxony, on the Lober, 17 m. N. E. of Merseburg and 12 m. N. by W. of Leipsic ; pop. in 1871, 8,112. It contains a castle, three churches, a hospital, and manufactories of ho- siery, gloves, shoes, and tobacco. The town is old, and has several annual fairs. DELITZSCH, Franz, a German theologian, born in Leipsic, Feb. 23, 1813. He studied at the university of his native city, and in 1846 was appointed professor of theology at Rostock. He removed in 1850 to Erlangen, where he became one of the strongest representatives of the so- called Erlangen school, which is an exponent of the strictest orthodox theology. His earliest publications were mostly studies in oriental philology, including OescTiichte der judiscJien Poesie (Leipsic, 1836), and Jesurun (1838). He devoted himself subsequently to exegesis, and published Habakuk (Leipsic, 1843), Das Hohe- lied (1851), Die Genesis (1852), Die Brief e an die Hebraer (1857), and Hiob (1864). His dog- matical work Das SaTcrament des waJiren Leibes und Blutes Jesu Christi (1844), and his System der ftiblischen PsycJiologie (1855), have passed through numerous editions. His HandscJirift- liche Funde (1861-'2) contains valuable criti- cal remarks on the text of the Apocalypse. Since 1863 he has been engaged with Keil in preparing a complete commentary on the Old Testament; several volumes have appeared, and, like most of his works, have been trans- lated and republished in Edinburgh. His latest production is Studien uber indo-germanisch- semitiscJie Wurzelverwandschaft (1873). DELIUS, Nikolans, a German scholar, born in Bremen in September, 1813. He graduated at Bonn, qualified himself for a professorship in Berlin, and has been since 1855 professor of Sanskrit and of Provencal and English litera- ture at Bonn. He has published a critical edition of Shakespeare's works (7 vols. and supplements, Elberfeld, 1854-' 65), and other works relating to the English dramatists and to Provencal poetry. DEL NORTE, the N". W. county of Califor- nia, bordering on Oregon and the Pacific