Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 07.djvu/228

* EBYNGO. 196 which is common in the British Isles and is fre- quent on sandy seashores, is a very stirt", rigid, and glaucous plant. Eryngium campestre has also been found in England and Ireland, but is very rare. Its root was formerly much employed in some parts of Europe as a tonic. The root of Eryngium ERYTHEMA. tard, because it was employed as an ingredient in the famous Venice treacle. Erj -imam perforatum, or Conryngia orientalis, is cultivated in Japan for the fixed oils contained in its seed. This plant has been introduced into parts of Canada and the United States, where it threatens to become a mariUmum Is' used' in the same way, possesses the troublesome weed. Some of the plants formerly referred to as Erysimum are now included in other genera, as Sisymbrium and Alliaria (q.v.). ERYSIPELAS (Lat., from Gk. (pwiirca<;, from ipvai-, erysi-, variant of 4pv6pi>s, erythrox, red. Lat. ruber, rufus, Eng. red, Ger. rot, Ir. ruad, OChurch Slav, rudru, Skt. rudhira, red + xAXij, p< lie, skin, Lat. pellis, Eng. fell, Ger. Fell, Lith. /./. i -. >kin), or Saint Anthony's Eire. An in- flammatory disease of the skin and subcutane- ous tissues, attended by diffused redness and swelling of the part affected, and in the end either by desquamation or by vesication of the cuticle, or scarf-skin, in the milder forms, and by suppuration of the deeper parts in the severer varieties of the disease (phlegmonous erysipelas). Erysipelas affects, in a large proportion of in- stances, the face and head : it is apt to be at- tended with fever, and often with delirium and meningitis. Severe or phlegmonous erysipelas is apt to be succeeded by protracted and exhaust- ing suppurations, and sometimes by diseases of the bones or inflammations of the internal or- gans. Erysipelas is frequently an epidemic dis- ease in surgical hospitals, especially on the field of battle. (See Epidemic.) It is dangerously infectious. The treatment is supportive; tonics, such as iron, strychnine, and quinine ; easily digested diet, principally of milk; aseptic dress- ings, and occasionally incisions in deep erysipelas same properties, and is sweet and aromatic. It is sold in a candied state, and was formerly re- puted to be a stimulant, restorative, and aphro- disiac. Eryngo-root has also been used as an aperient and diuretic. Linna?us recommends the blanched shoots of Eryngium maritimum as a substitute for asparagus. Eryngium faetidum, a native of the warm parts of America, is called fit- weed in the West Indies, a decoction of it being much used as a remedy in hysterical cases. Eryngium yuccsfolium, a native of low. wet places in North and South America, is called rattlesnake-master and button-snakeroot. The root is diaphoretic and expectorant, and has a spurious reputation as a cure for the bite of a rattlesnake. A number of species are cultivated as ornamentals on account of their curious habit of growth and the steel-blue color of their stems and bracts. ER'YON ( Neo-Lat., from Gk. ipiuv, pres. part, of ipfciv, eryein, to draw out i . A fossil macru- ran crustacean found in the Mesozoie rocks of Europe. The quadrate carapace is thin and flat, with deeply denticulate lateral margins, a straight or dented front margin, and a broadly truncated posterior margin. The thoracic legs are slender and bear pincers, the first pair being much longer than the others. The abdomen is shorter than the carapace, and the caudal swim- ming-plates are small. About six species are with tension or suppuration. It was at one time known, ranging from the Liassic of England, thought that a special coccus, called by Fehleisen through the Jurassic, into the lower Cretaceous the Streptococcus erysipelatis, was always asso- ni Silesia. Tin- best-known spei ies i- Kryon pro- ciated with the disease. It is now believed that pinquus, with a body five inches long, of which the Streptococcus pyogenes is the causative germ, finely preserved specimens have been found in the The presence of the bacteria in the subcutaneous Jurassic lithographic li -tones ,,f Solenhoten, tissues causes redness of the overlying skin and Bavaria. Eryon has a modern ally in the blind genua Willemoesia, which inhabits the deepesl portions i f the ocean. For illustration, see Plate of Cki stacea, Fossil. ERYSICHTHON. 6rT-Slk'th5n (Lat.. from Gk. 'Epwlxftw, earth-render). Son of the Thessa- lian King Triopas, punished by Demeter with un- appeasable hungi I because be cul down trees in a grove sacred to the goddess. Hi- daughtei Mnestra, who had received from Poseidon thegift of transforming herself into differenl shapes, was repeatedly sol. I by her father under the forms of a bird, a cow, and a horse, and each time re- turned 1" him. Bui his hunger remained un- satisfied, and be finally devoured hifi own limbs and died. ERYSIMUM: (Lat., from Gk. Ip&rtftov, erysi- in',, i. hedge-mustard). A genus of plants of the natural order < 'rueifera', with four aided Beed pods. Erj eiranthoides, a branching annual. ,t is inches high, with lai late scarcely
 * 11 yellow flowers, i- found

in many pan I • ;. and ■ '! -" in North America, I' i- no! uncommon in waste place- and cultivated grounds in the British Isles, bill may [hi! l n originally introduced for iis med ere formerly much i an ant helminl ic, from « hicfi it has the • of wormsecd. It i- also called treacle mus- more or less infiltration of the tissues with serum, or with serum and pus. See Iciithyol. ER YTHE'MA i Neo-Lat., from Gk. epiB-mm, redness, from epv6aivca>, erythainein, to redden, from ipvt)p6s, erythros, red i . A term which has been loosely applied to many different diseases. In its correct usage it denotes not a disease, but a symptom: viz. a local congestion (or hyper- emia) accompanied with superficial redness, which di-appears under slight pressure (White- bouse I. Simple erythema consists of patches of rose, scarlet, or deep purplish red. in spots, rings, or irregular pattern.-, or in areas with faint mar- gins. There are beat and tingling, randy tender- ness. Ibat. cold, friction, and pressure, bites and stings, irritant substances and chemicals, com- prise the external causes; while rheumatism, li ■'-., toxin produced during fever or indiges- tion, ami reflex nerve action, are the principal internal causes. In inflammatory erythema there i- an exudation, with elevation of the red surface, aid sometimes an extravasation of blood. (See Chilblain; Frostbite.) There may be pap- ule-, vesicles, or irregular markings, nodules nr M I blisters [erythema i cudaiivum multiforme, licinai. There may be fever, gastric symptoms, coaled tongue, followed by pain and swelling about tin- joints, especially in the lower extremi- ties, with the formation of nodes along the shins