Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/741

ANUBIS. ANU'BIS (Gk. Ἄνουβις, Anoubis, hieroglyphic Anúpu). An Egyptian deity. His original seat of worship is not known with certainty, but there is some reason to believe that it was near Memphis. As his sacred animal, the jackal, haunts the desert valleys used as burial places, Anubis became the god of the necropolis, and was supposed to conduct the souls of the dead down to the lower world, Amenthes, like the Greek Hermes Psychopompos. Hence the late Greek combination Hermanubis. Anubis was also the assistant of Osiris at the final judgment, and weighed in the scales the heart of the deceased against the feather, symbolic of truth and right. As the balance was found level or the reverse the fate of the deceased was determined. When a more elaborate mythological system was formed, Anubis was made the son of Osiris by his sister Nephthys. The god is usually represented in human form, with the head of a jackal, which the Greeks changed into that of a dog and called the cities sacred to Anubis, Kynospolis (Dog City). Of these cities, the best known is that in Middle Egypt. In Roman times, when the Egyptian worship had spread to Italy, Hermes, who was identified with Anubis, sometimes had the dog's head among his insignia. For illustration see.

ANU'KIS (Egyptian A nūget). An Egyptian goddess worshiped in the district around the first cataract of the Nile. She usually accompanies the god Chnum and is represented in human form, with a red crown of feathers on her head. For some reason now unknown she was identified by the Greeks with Hestia (Latin Vesta). For illustration see.

'ANU'RA (Gk. dv. an, priv. + ovpd, oura, tail), or (Lat., from salire,'' to hop, jump). An order of Amphibia including those that have no tail when adult. It is subdivided by Cope into three sul)-orders: Agliissa, African and tropical American (Pipa) toads, and fossil forms; Firmisternia, frogs; Arcifera, toads.

A'NUS (Lat.). The external termination of the rectum. The anus is kept firmly closed by the external and internal sphincter muscles, the former of which contracts the integument around the opening, and, by its attachment to the coccyx behind and to a tendinous cen- tre in front, helps the levator ani muscle in supporting the aperture during the expulsive efforts that are made in the passage of the fæces or intestinal evacuations; while the latter, or internal sphincter, is an aggregation of the circular muscular fibres of the lowest part of the rectum, and acts in contracting the extremity of the tube. The main function of the levator-ani muscle is expressed in its name. It supports the rectum and pelvic structures, and during the act of defecation lifts the lower end of the gut up from the mass of extruded fæces. The integu- ment around the anus lies in radiating folds, which allow of its stretching without pain dur- ing the passage of the fæces; and the margin is provided with a number of sebaceous glands, which, in some of the lower animals, secrete strongly odorous matters. (See .) Infants are occasionally born with an imperfo- rate anus, or congenital closure of the rectum. In the simplest form of this affection, the anus is merely closed by thin skin, which soon becomes distended with the meconium (q.v.). More com- plicated cases are those (1) in which the gut ter-

minates some distance above the seat of the anus in a blind sac or pouch, (2) where the rectum terminates in the bladder, etc. Fortunately, the closure by a layer of skin is far the most common form of imperforate anus, and the condition is readily relieved by a simple surgical operation. The complicated cases require opening of the abdominal cavity and the insertion of an artificial anus through the lower part of the abdominal wall. If the condition of imperforate anus is neglected, the child dies in a few days as a result of intestinal obstruction.

Spasm of the sphincter ani is by no means a rare affection; it is characterized by violent pain of the anus, with difficulty in passing the fæces. On attempting an examination, the muscle feels hard, and resists the introduction of the finger. It usually occurs in sudden paroxysms, which soon subside, but sometimes it is of a more per- sistent character. Spasm of the sphincter may be regarded as a symptom of fissure, ulcer, or some other form of anal or rectal irritation. Suppositories containing opium or belladonna, introduced during the period of relaxation, are sometimes of use, and if there are ulcers or fis- sures they must be specially treated. Ulceration occurring as a breach of surface at one or more points around the anus, but not extending within the orifice, is by no means uncommon in persons who are not attentive to cleanliness, and espe- cially in women with vaginal discharges. The treatment consists in strict attention to cleanli- ness, and perhaps one or two applications of the silver nitrate stick or of pure carbolic acid. If the ulcer is seated partly without the anus and partly within the rectum, the distress is much more severe, and the treatment often requires excision, where local applications have failed to give relief. Fissure of the anus is a term applied to an affection consisting in one or more cracks, excoriations, or superficial ulcerations, situated between the folds of the skin and mucous mem- brane at the verge of the anus, and only slightly involving the rectum. They give rise to intense pain during the passage of the evacuations, and for some hours afterward to great discomfort, smarting, and itching. The treatment to be adopted is to endeavor to procure regular and somewhat soft evacuations, and to sponge with warm water immediately afterward, the parts being dried with a soft cloth. One or two appli- cations of solid nitrate of silver will sometimes cure the disease, and an ointment of oxide of

zinc, or one containing cocaine, will sometimes serve to allay the irritation and heal the parts. If these measures do not afford relief, the sphincter muscle must be dilated, the base of the fissure incised, and its surface scraped with a sharp spoon. Pruritus ani, which simply means intense itching and irritation of this part, is to be regarded as a symptom of certain morbid changes rather than as a special disorder; but as it is a very common affection, and is productive of much suffering, it must not be passed over. It is often associated with an unhealthy state of the intestinal secretions, or with simple constipation; with a congested state of the mucous membrane; with uterine and ovarian diseases; kidney disease: diabetes; neurasthenia; tea, alcohol, tobacco, and opium habits; the presence of thread-worms in the rectum; eczema, etc.; and it is peculiarly common in persons whose occupations are sedentarv. The affection is often much