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ASCITES (Gr. aaKLTl7s, dropsical, fro...

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Originally appearing in Volume V02, Page 722 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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ASCITES (Gr. aaKLTl7s, dropsical, from a.QKOS, bag; sc. v6aos, disease)

ASCITES (Gr. aaKLTl7s, dropsical, from a.QKOS, bag; sc. v6aos, disease) , the See also:

TERM

term in See also:

MEDICINE

medicine applied to an effusion of non-inflammatory fluid within the peritoneum. It is not a disease in itself, but is one of the manifestations of disease elsewhere—usually in the kidneys, See also:

heart, or in connexion with the See also:

LIVER (O. Eng. lifer; cf. cognate forms, Dutch lever, Ger. Leber, Swed. lefver, &c.; the O. H. Ger. forms are libara, lipora, &c.; the Teut. word has been connected with Gr. i'prap and Lat. jecur)

liver (portal obstruction). Portal obstruction is the commonest cause of well-marked ascites. It is produced by (1) diseases within the liver, as cirrhosis (usually alcoholic) and See also:

cancer; (2) diseases outside the liver, as cancer of See also:

STOMACH (Gr. vrbsaxos from arbga, a mouth)

stomach, duodenum or See also:

PANCREAS (Gr. rag, all; 1cpks, flesh)

pancreas, causing pressure on the portal vein, or enlarged glands in the fissure of the liver producing the same effect. Ascites is one of the See also:

LATE

late symptoms in the disease, and precedes See also:

DROPSY (contracted from the old word hydropisy, derived from the Gr. 154w¢; i Swp, water, and appearance)

dropsy of the See also:

leg, which may come on later, due to pressure on the large See also:

VEINS

veins in the abdominal cavity by the ascitic fluid. In ascites due to heart disease, the dropsy of the feet and legs precedes the ascites, and there will be a See also:

HISTORY

history of palpitation, shortness of breath, and perhaps cough. In the ascites of See also:

KIDNEY

kidney troubles there will be a history of See also:

general oedema—puffiness of See also:

FACE (from Lat. fades, derived either from facere, to make, or from a root fa-, meaning " appear "; cf. Gr. cbatvstv)

face and eyes on rising in the See also:

MORNING

morning probably having attracted the See also:

ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

attention of the patient or his See also:

friends previously. Other less See also:

COMMON

common causes of ascites are chronic See also:

PERITONITIS

peritonitis, either tuberculous in the See also:

young, or due to cancer in the aged, and more rarely still pernicious See also:

ANAEMIA (from Gr. ay-, privative, and aiµa, blood)

anaemia.

End of Article: ASCITES (Gr. aaKLTl7s, dropsical, from a.QKOS, bag; sc. v6aos, disease)

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