Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/410

* NEPHOSCOPE. 360 NEPOS. on top of the oniiiiaiv ship's tuiiipass; it there- fore lephices the nearly horizontal circle of the apparatus ordinarily used by the navigator to sight upon the sun when measuring azimuths. The bronze circle is graduated, and at its zero point carries a hinge and an adjustable arm, ha^•■ ing at its end a knob which serves to define the line of sight. The circle also carries a glass mirror from which the quicksilver backing has been removed, leaving a transparent circle, through which the graduation of the compass nwdle can be read. As this marine nepho.scope enables one to locate a stiirm centre by the mo- tions of the lower clouds better than can be done by the wind, and as it gives the direction of the pennant at masthead much more accurately tlian it can be observed by the unaided eye, it is strongly recommended for use by navigators at sea. To ordinary meteorological observers it has the special advantage of being the only instru- ment by means of which observers at sea can easily determine the absolute altitude and move- ments of clouds. BiBLioGR.i»nv. A full account of various forms of nephoscopes is gien in .bbe. Treatise on Me- leoroloyical Appurotus and Methods (Washing- ington, 1888), published as part 2 of the Annual Kvpfnl, Chief Signal Offieer for 1887. The ilar- viii nephoscope is described in the Monthly Weather Uevieir, vol. x.iv. (Washington. ISOli), and also in separate pami)hlets. The description of Abbe's marine nephoscope was first published in 1893 in the h'eporl of the International Mcteo. riiUiffieal Congress held in Chicago ( Weather liurenu Bulletin it.). A general description of work (lone with it is contained in the American Meteorolofiieal .Inurnal for October, 1891. NEPHRECTOMY (from Gk. vf<t,pbs. neph- ros, kidney + ^kto/h), elctome, excision, from iK, ek + To^iJ, tome, a cutting, from rfuveiv, tern- tiein, to cut). The total removal of a kidney in rare cases of acute or chronic infection, either be- cause the kidney is useless or because it is a source of infection owing to abscesses in its sub- stance. The ol)li(|ne extraperitoneal lumbar in- cision is the operative procedure of choice. Cut- ting through the luMd):ir MMiscles obliquely from the outer border of the sacrolumbalis muscles, an inch below and parallel to the twelfth rib, making his incision downward and forward, the surgeon reaches the kidney. IJlunt dissection frees it from its site and ilivests it of its capsule. Its pedicle is then tied .and it is separated and re- moved. There is considerable danger from hcmcu"- rhage of the vessels of the pep6t. nephron, kid- ney). . variety of aniphihole that varies from white to dark preen in color, according to the amount of ferrous oxide that it contains. It is known chiefly through the carved ornaments and utensils that are found among the remains of primitive man in various parts of the world, es- pecially in China and .Mexico, and known under the collective name of jade (q.v.). Many imagi- nary virtues were ascribed to it, and it was especially sought after as a cure for epilepsy and diseases of the kidneys. NEPHRI'TIS. See Bright's Disease; Cik- RUOSI.S. NEPHROT'OMY (from Gk. «0p4j, nephros, kidney + TOfn^, tuniC, a cutting), 'i'he operation of cutting open a kidney for the purpose of re- moving a stone or evacuating pus. An incision is made in the lumbar region, obliquely, from the outer border of the sacrolumbalis muscle, an inch below the twelfth rib, parallel to the rib and forward and downward. The kidnej- is reached by the finger, and then the incision is modified as the nature of the case demands. The organ be- ing grasped and drawn into reach, after blunt dis.section, the surgeon bisects it through its convex edge, removes the calculi, and evacuates the pus. I'he viscus is then sutured together and rci)laccd. Tullier gives the results of the ojjcra- tion in these figures: In 43 cases there were 3 deaths, 2 fistuhe, and 38 recoveries. Consult W'arren-liould, Interniilional Text-Book of Sur- (jenj (Philadelphia and London, 1902). NEPH'THYS (Lat., from Gk. X^^flus, Egyp- tian Xeht-hat). An Egj'ptian goddess, the daughter of Seb and Xrtt, and the sister and wife of Set (q.v.). By her brother Osiris, she was the mother of Anubis (q.v.). In the leg. nd she joins with her sister Isis in mourning over and guarding the body of Osiris, and therefore in funerary scenes the two goddesses are often de- l>ictcd protecting tlie mummy of the decea.sed. The lamentations of Isis and Nephthys over til.' body of Osiris form the subject of a poem of which several cojiics have been preserved. Neph- thys is usually represented as a woman wearing upon her head the ideogram of her name. As a ])rotector of the dead from evil inP.ueiiccs she was worshiped throughout Kgj-pt. Consult: Wiedemann, Ifelif/ion of the .ineieni Egyptians (New York, 1897) ; Horrack, Lamentationx d'l.tis el ,lr yrphthys (Paris. 1866). NEPI, na'pe. An episcopal city in the Prov- ince of Rome, Italy., 17 miles southeast of Viterho (Map: Italy, G .5). It is the Etruscan Nepete and the Roman Colonia Xcpensis. The town is encircled by its ancient walls and towers, and has an eleventh-century cathedral, a ruined castle, the residence of I.ucretia Borgia in 1500, and a handsome Renaissance municipal palace. I'upulafinn. in 1901. .30.36. NEPIGON, Lake. A lake of Canada. See XlrlcON. I.AKK. NEP'ISSING, Lakk. A lake of Canada. See Xn'issT(i. Lakk. NEPOMTJK, na'pA-muk, .Tonx of. See Joiix oi' N'ki'omik. NETPOS, CoRNEi.irs. . Roman historian, who flourished abcuit the middle of the first cen- tury B.C. The place and precise time of his birth are unknown. lie was fhe friend of Cicero and (';itullus. The only work of his which has sur- vived (if indeed it be his) is n series of twenty- five generjiUy f>rief bioi^raphies of ';irriors and statesmen, mostly Greeks. Thcsp biographies are distinguished by the purity of tlieir Latinity. the conciseness of their style, and their admirable delineation of character, but suflicicnt care has