Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/862

* SENESCENCE. 784 SENILITY. nftcr year for some twenty years. Certain ani- mals keep growing for a century. (See Lo.xgev- ITV.) We sec in domestic animals that as old uge creeps on they become alTeeted as in man. Tiiey lose their acuteness of hearing, become stiff in tiieir limbs, and enter into a senile state. In many forms of animal life senile character- istics become inherited in middle life. Hyatt has shown that in ammonites and other mollusks the species and type may arise as larval or imma- ture forms, become mature, more or less special- ized and ornamented, and then die out in a series of senile forms which recall those of the child- hood of the type. .See (Jrowth. Consult: Minot, "Senescence and Rejuvenes- cence,'' in Journal of Fhijsiologi/, vol. xii. { 1891) ; Hyatt, "Genesis of the Arietidic," in ^uiUhsonian Coiitrihiilions (Washington, 1889) ; "Phylogeny of an Acquired Characteristic," in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (Phila- delphia, 1894). SENESCHAIi, sen'e-shal (OF. seneschal, se»- escal, ¥r. seiit'chal, from ML. sencsculciis, sinis- calcMs, from Goth, sineigs, old ; connected with Jr., Gael, scan, Lith. scnas, Lat. senex, Gk. ?tos, hcnos, Skt. sana, old + skalks, servant : connected with OHG. scale, Ger. Schalk, AS. seen /c, obsolete Eng. shalk, servant). Originall.y probably an attendant of the servile class who had the su- perintendence of the household of the Frankish kings. In the course of time, however, the seneschalship rose to be a position of dignity, held no longer by persons of servile race, but by military commanders, who were also invested with judicial authority. The digniity of grand seneschal of France was the hereditary right of the dukes of Anjou. This office gave the right to command the armies in the absence of the King, control over the affairs of the King's household, and the exercise of supreme Judicial authority. Philip Augustus, however, in 1191, suspended the Judicial functions. The lieuten- ants of the chief feudatories of France often took the title of seneschal, and, as in the course of time the great fiefs were absorbed by the Crown, they were as a rule divided for Judicial purposes into districts under the authority of royal officers, who retained the old name, while the districts were known as senechauss^es. A similar office in England and Scotland was designated steward, but is rendered into Latin as senes^cdlciis. SENG- (or SUNG-) KO-LIN-SIN, seng'ko'- len'sen'. A famous Mongol general, a prince of the Kortchin tribe, who distinguished himself in connection with the ad-ance in 18.5.3 of the Taiping rebels, whom he defeated twice in battle. In 1800 he was chosen to oppose the advance of the Anglo-French punitive expedition to Peking, and is noted particularly in connection therewith for the great circular mud rampart with which he surrounded Tientsin at a distance of two miles, and still known to foreigners as 'Seng-ko- lin-sin's folly,' (See Tien-tsin.) In operating against the Nien-fei rebels in Central China in 1804 his army was overwhelmed by superior numbers and he was killed. SENGO'RA. A seaport on the eastern coast of the Malay Peninsula, about 475 miles south of Bangkok (Map: Siam, D 6). Its harbor is spacious and well sheltered, and there is a con- siderable trade in fish, fruit, and tin. The popu- lation is estimated at about 10,000. The Chinese founded a settlement here early in the nineteenth century. SENIGALLIA, sa'n«-gal'le-a, or SINIGA- GLIA, se'ne-gil'lya. A city in the Province of Ancona. Ital.v, at the moutli of the ilisa, l(i miles by rail west-northwest of Ancona (Map: Italy, H 4). It is modern in appearance, having broad streets and well-built houses. It has a seminary, a technical school, and a library. The industries are silk-spinning, sugar-refining, and fishing. The famous annual fairs are still well attended, Senigallia was founded by the Senonian Gauls (whence the ancient name, Sena Gallica). and colonized by the Romans in B.C. 28.5. During the Middle Ages the Guelph and Ghibelline wars left the cit.y in a ruined condi- tion. At Senigallia on December 31, 1502, Cesare Borgia treacherously put to death a number of nobles of the Papal States whom he had enticed there under a pretext of concluding peace. In 1521 the town became a Papal possession. Popu- lation (commune), in 1901, 23,156. SENILITY (from Lat. senilis, belonging to old age, from senex, old) . The period of old age. In man the decline of life and the ap- proach of old age is marked by special phys- iological conditions and pathological changes. There is no death from old age. In all cases some lesion is found which points the way to the cause of death. (See Pathology.) That is, some pathological change is always present which in- terferes with proper functionating. There are probably no cases of old age in which arterio- sclerosis (q.v. ) is not present. The senile kidney- is a source of great danger. The respiratory apparatus of the aged is always enfeebled. Bronchitis is very comiuon. with resulting em- physema (q.v.), and chronic disseminated pneumonia frequently is in evidence at autop- sies upon the aged. Fevers easily supervene upon infections from the digestive or urinary tracts. Especially during fevers do the respir- atory phenomena of tiie aged become |)a- tent. In the field of cardiac disorder there is always a tendency to asystole, or failure of com- plete contraction of the walls of the heart — a condition which occurs with considerable fre- quency at death. The nerve functions are all diminished. Sensibility, both general and special, is decreased, as are also the nerve reactions. Tlie aged person is especially liable to traumatisms, because of lessened muscular tone as well as de- cided fragility of the bones. Fractures of bones are frequent, and frequently aged broken bones fail to knit. The aged patient, also, bears very badly the immobilization necessary after fracture of the thigh. Atrophy and digestive disorders result very promptly, and the function of the kidneys is nuich altered by enforced rest. The lungs are easily invaded by hypostatic congestion. Of special diseases, gout and rheumatism are very frequent in the aged. They are also more liable to the infection of erysipelas. Epidemic influenza, or grippe, is accompanied by greater prostration, is frequently marked by general adynamia and often by cardiac atony. The pul- monary features of the disease are less evanescent than in the adult, though perhaps less acute. Typhoid fever is frequent in the aged, and begins very insidiously. Tlieir most frequent gastric affection is cancer. Apoplexy is a very common