Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/915

* UTEBUS. 779 UTICA. plete the surgical repairs necessary, and to pre- vent infection through bleeding surfaces. A very fruitful source of uterine disorder lies in the prevention of conception and the proeurenient of abortion. The resort to drugs locally applied has resulted often in chronic endometritis, and abortions leave a patulous uterine mouth inviting infection, even if hemorrhage has not proved de- bilitating, or peritonitis has not supervened, or retained shreds of fcetal or placental tissue have not started a fatal septic.Tmia. Gonorrha?a (q.v. ) is a frequent and dangerous cause of uterine disease. Constipation, so often a result of sheer neglect in yovuig women, contributes to <lisplacement of the uterus by the mass of fa-cal matter retained in the rectum with resulting dysmenorrluva, sterility, and endometritis. Eitdonutritis is an inflammatory affection oi the mucous lining of the uterus, and may be confined to either the neck or the l)ody of the viscus, or may afl'eet both. It is caused by ex- posure during menstruation, direct injury, in- fection from the vagina (notably gonorrha?al), excessive se.xual intercourse, or suppressed men- struation. Its symptoms are pain, weight, and oppression in the pelvic cavity and in the back, frequent griping in the urinary bladder and rec- tum, burning in the vagina, and a leucorrhoeal discharge of an irritating and suppurating char- acter. It may be complicated by similar disease in adjoining structures. It may last but a few weeks or continue for years. Chronic metritis, or hi/pcrplasia, gives rise to similar symptoms, with dyspepsia, headache, and languor added, besides nausea and vomiting in some cases. The pathological condition present is an enlargement of the nteriis through increase of its connective tissue. Laceration of the cervix of the uterus consists of a tearing in the wall of the neck of -the organ during labor. It gives rise to all the symptoms noted under endometritis, and also to neuralgic pains in the uterus and discomfort in walking. It may be unavoidable during delivery, and most frequently occurs as a result of precipitate labor, or manual or instrumental delivery. It is a frequent cause of lifelong suffering and distress, which operative interference, in the vas£ majority of cases, relieves at once. Fistula: are common affections of the uterus, which give great discomfort. A fistula may be an unnatural opening from the bladder into the uterus, from the bladder into the vagina, from the bladder into the rectum, or from the uterus into the rectum. In each case the passage of urine or fivcal matter through an improper chan- nel is a symptom, as well as pain, pruritus, erup- tions, and excessive irritation. The operation devised and improved by James Sims (q.v.), after unsuccessful suggestions had been made in France, England, and Germany, has revolution- ized the topic and rendered these distressing con- ditions susceptible to cure. Displacements of the uterus, while not dis- eases, give rise to diseased conditions of much moment, by preventing the escape of menstrual hlood. by interfering with the uterine circulation, by causing pressure and friction, and by [u-oiluc- ing .sterility. The varieties are antotlexinn. in ^^hich the uterus is bent forward upon itself; anteversion, in which the whole uterus is tilted forward: retroversion, in which the uterus is Vol,. XIX.— 60. tilted backward ; retroflexion, in which the uterus is bent liackward upon it.self; latcrovcr- sion and laterollexion, in which the uterus is tilted or bent U|ion itself sidewaj's; inversion, in which the fundus of the uterus is turned partly or entirely inside out; and ])rolapsus, or ilescent. in which the uterine body slips downward into the pelvis to a lower depth than normal, and even, in the worst degree, causes a protrusion of the cervix at the vulvar orifice. Menorrhagia is a condition in which menstrua- tion is prufu.^e, and an actiial hemorrhage occurs at the menstrual period. Metrorrhagia is the oc- currence of profuse menstruation or of a hemor- rhage from the uterus in the interval between menstrual periods. Cancer of the uterus is fairly frequent. The symptoms are pain through the pelvis; tender- ness upon walking or moving, or during coition; menorrhagia and metrorrhagia ; discharge of a very ofl'ensive fluid from the uterus; pallor and loss of strength and llcsh ; and fistula?. Septi- ciTmia may result from it, as well as cellulitis, peritonitis, phlebitis, and embolism, and meta- static deposits elsewhere. The treatment is am- putation of the organ or its complete removal by knife or electro-cautery. All uterine diseases demand treatment at the hands of an intelligent and skillful practitioner. There can be no sug- gestions for domestic practice in these cases, be- yond copious vaginal injections of fairly hot water, thrown against the cervi.x. Consult Kelly, An American Text-book of Gynaicolofjy, Medical and Surgical (Philadelphia, 1000). TT'THER. King of Britain and father, by Igerna, of Arthur (q.v.). U'TICA. The county-seat of Oneida County, N. Y., 95 miles west by north of Albany ; on the soiitli bank of the Mohawk River, on the Erie Canal, and on the New York Central and Hudson River, the New York, Ontario and Western, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, the West Shore, the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg, and the ilohawk and Malone railroads (.Map: New York, E 2). It is finely situated at an elevation of about 430 feet, and is regularly laid out. Noteworthy are the city hall, the United States Government building, the State Armory, the Young Jlen's Christian Association building, the L'tica Free Academy, and the Masonic Home. The Public Library has 30.000 volumes. Other collections include the Oneida Historical Society Library with more than 7200 volumes, the L'tica Law Library, the Utica State Hospital Medical Library, the Young Men's Christian Association Library, the Deutscher Leserverein, and the Faxton Hall Library. Utica has been termed 'the city of charities' because of the num- ber of its charitable institutions, the value of their property, and the large amount annually expended for their maintenance. The more im- portant of these institutions include the Home for the Homeless, Home for the Aged, L'tica Cirphan Asyhun, Saint Vincent's Protectory, and the City, Homoeopathic, Faxton's, and Saint Luke's hospitals. A State lunatic asylum also is here. Utica is of considerable prominence as a com- mercial and industrial centre. It is in a rich dairy-farming country and is widely known for its large output of cheese. Hop-growing and the