Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/872

* LAEYNX. 788 liA SALLE. by numerous foramina. Each perforation admits some fasciculi of yellow, clastic, ligamentous tissue, which expands on its anterior aspect and secures the return of the epiglottis to its vertical position, independently of any muscular action. The cornicuht lanjnijis are two small librocar- tilages which articulate with the apices of the arytenoids. The cvniciform cartilages lie on either side in the fold of mucois membrane ex- tending from the epiglottis to the arytenoids. Such is the skeleton of the larynx which hangs fr(jm the hyoid bone, with which it is connected by the tliyrohyoid ligament and certain muscles. The various cartilages are connected one to another by ligaments, the chief of which are those known as the true and false vocal cords. In their quiescent state the true vocal cords do not lie paraUcl to each other, but converge from behind forward. The length of the vocal cords is greater in the adult male than in the adult female, in the ratio of three to two. In infancy they are very short, and increase regularly from that jH'riod to the age of puberty. The mucous membrane of the larynx is part of the great res- piratory tract (see ilucovs ^Memhraxe), and is remarkable for its great sensil)ility. The length of the chink or aperture of the glottis, which is directed horizontally from be- fore backward, varies, like the vocal cords, until the period of puberty, when its length in the male undergoes a /iudden development, while in the female it remains stationary. In the adult male it is about 11 lines in length. The larynx is provided with two sets of mus- cles: viz. the rxirinsk-. by which the whole organ is elevated or depressed, and the iiifriiixic, which regulate the movements of the various segments of the organ in relation to one another. By the action of these latter muscles, aided in some cases by the extrinsic muscles, the tension of the vocal cords may be increased or diminished, and the size of the opening of the glottis regu- lated at will. The nerves of the larynx are derived from the superior and inferior larjTigeal branches of the pneumogastric or vagns nerve. The superior branch is for the most part sensory (being main- ly distributed to the mucous membrane), while the inferior branch communicates motor power to all the intrinsic muscles except the crico- thyroid. LABYNX, Diseases of the. The most seri- ous of the discuses of the larynx is lari/ngitis (q.v.). (Edona, or siiX'lUiip of thr fflottiii, al- though of common ocoirrence in laryngitis, may be developed independently of inflammation, from obstruction of the veins leading from that part, or from other causes. The symptoms are hoarse- ness and dyspnoea. Tracheotomy (the operation of making an opening into the windpipe, into which a tube is passed) below the seat of the disease, or intubation, affords relief. Chronic inflammation and ulceration of the larynx may occur in tuberculosis and in secondary syphilis. In these eases the laryngeal afTection is merely a local manifestation of a general disease. LA SALE, hi'sal'. AXTOINE »e (1398-1401?). The most important satirist and prose narrator in the fifteenth century. He wrote Lc petit Jehan de t:>uintrc (dated 14;)0), a romantic story of chivalrous love, yet with an undercurrent of sa- tiric irony such as finds frank expression in Les quinze joiea de mariage. He was a tutor of Jean of Anjou, the eldest son of Rent, and to this yoiitli he dedicated La saladc (written between 14.37 and 1442). Several of the sketches arc live- ly and dramatic; the characters are clearly de- fined, and the whole is a good specimen of early renascent literature and wit, though less impor- tant than La Sale's last work, the comjiilation of the (V»( nDuvcllm nouicllcs, galhcrcd ])crna])s from the. lips of I'rincc Louis (afterwards King Louis XI. of France) and his courtiers while they were refugees in Hurgundy, though La Sale also drew on I'oggio and Sacchetti. The tales arc in part from old fabliaux, in ])art from Italian and Latin collections. La Sale's merit is in the treat- ment. There had been good French narrative prose before ( Villehardouin. .loinville, Frois- sart ), but La Sale took <'onscious delight in his art, and grew, as his work ])roceeded, in artistic sense and power. Most of the Cent nourrlles nouvelhs have a frankness of speech that does not accord with the conventions of modern liter- ary projjriety, the lunnor is often cynical, the ethical tone low; but there is no snickering, as there is in the Decamcrone, and though La Sale is far inferior as a stylist to Boccaccio, some of the Cent nourellcs are really polished. LA SALETTE, la sd'let'. A famous place of pilgiii)i:igc in Smilhcrn France, 21''(! miles south- east of (ircnohlc. Here, on September 19, 1840, the Virgin Mary is said to have a])pcarcd to a girl of liflccn and a boy of eleven. The place now has a reputation second only to that of Lourdes (q.v.). Consult: Rousselot, Le rcriti- sur I'et^cne- mcnl de La Halette (Grenoble. 1848) ; De Toytot, Voijagc dc Crcnoble d La Salette (ib., 1803). LA SALLE, la sal'. A city in La Salle Coun- ty, 111., 99 miles southwest of Chicago; on the Illinois River, at the head of navigation, on the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and on the Chicago, Burlingtim and (,>uincy. the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, and the Illinois Central railroads (Map: Illinois. D 2), It is surrounded by pro- duct ivi- bituminous coal fields, and is the centre of a large trade. There are several coal-mines in operation in the city and (lie immediate vicin- ity, and the industries include also zinc-smelt- ing and (he manufacture of ornamental pressed brick, conunon brick, hydraulic cement. Portland cement, sulplniric acid, bottles, and clocks. The city has a jiiibiic lilirarv, and a fine bridge of the Illinois Central Railroad. The government is vested in a city council and in a mayor, who appoints all subordinate olllcials excepting the clerk. att(U'ney. and treasurer, who are chosen by popular vote. There are munici])al water- works and an electric-light plant. Population, in 1890, 9S.")."); in 1990, 10,440. La Salle was set- tled in 1830, and named in honor of La Salle, the great explorer. It was chartered in 1852. Consult Ilixton/ of La Halle County, III. (2 vols., Chicago, 1880). LA SALLE, .Teax P..ptiste oe (10.51-1719). A Frcncli priest, the founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (q.v.). He was born at Pvheims. April 30, 10:")!. In 1078, soon after his ordination to the priesthood, he was placed in charge of a congregation of teaching sisters, and a year later gathered around him the nucleus of a body of men devoted, as he was, to the cause of Christian education. In 1083 he resigned his canonry. and in 1084. with twelve others, took vows "of obedience and of perseverance, at