Jargon is a vocabulary used by a special group or occupational class, usually only partially understood by outsiders. The special vocabularies of medicine, law, banking, science and technology, education, military affairs, sports, and the entertainment world all fall under the heading of jargon. Examples of occupational jargon include such formal technical expressions as perorbital haematoma (black eye, to the layperson), in medicine, and escrow and discount rate, in finance, and informal terms such as liquorice stick (clarinet, among jazz musicians).
Cant, sometimes defined as false or insincere language, also (like argot) refers to the jargon and slang used by thieves and beggars and the underworld. Colourful terms and phrases such as mug (either a police photograph or to attack a victim), payola (graft or blackmail), hooker (prostitute), and to rub out or to blow away (to kill) are examples of cant that eventually became commonly known to, and adopted as slang by, society in general. Some writers reserve the term jargon for technical language. Applied to colourful occupational expressions such as liquorice stick, the concepts of jargon and slang overlap greatly. In general, however, slang is more casual and acceptable to outsiders than jargon.
Slang and cant are more vivid than jargon, with a greater turnover in vocabulary. The special in-group speech of young people and of members of distinct ethnic groups is generally called slang, especially when it is understood by outsiders. Some writers use the term argot in a generalized way that covers cant, in-group slang, and occupational jargon- no uniform terminology has been adopted for these common ways of using language. The term jargon, however, also pertains in general to gibberish and unintelligible language and to over inflated, needlessly technical language. In addition, it can refer to specific dialects resulting from a mix of several languages (as in Chinook Jargon, used by American Indian traders). Research Jargon
Haematoma is an accumulation of blood in the tissues, causing a solid swelling. It may be due to injury, disease or a blood clotting disorder such as haemophilia. Research Haematoma
Haemophilia is several inherited diseases in which normal blood clotting is impaired. Haemophilia is an hereditary condition passed on by the mother who is not herself affected although all her male children are afflicted, and her daughters carry the same latent fault which they pass on to their own children. It used to be thought that no female could be affected but this is not so. Girls may in fact suffer from haemophilia. Trivial injuries produce gross haemorrhage and even the normal wear and tear on the joints is sometimes accompanied by tremendous haemarthrosis (blood in the joint).
Haemophilia is known to be due to an absence of certain clotting factors and is incurable. 'Closed' haemorrhage - that is haemorrhage under the skin or into an internal organ or joint - is usually self-limiting. A large haematoma results and in the case of a joint the haemarthrosis leads to stiffening and deformity. Surgical operation for any condition in a haemophiliac is extremely hazardous but blood transfusion improves the clotting power of the blood for a few days. Sooner or later almost every sufferer from haemophilia requires blood transfusion which has the dual effect of replacing lost blood and adding factors which produce clotting at the site of bleeding. In haemophilia, the usual methods of blood control by pressure, heat or chemicals are completely ineffective and the only local application which is of value is the venom from a particular species of adder, Russell's viper. This substance is supplied as a dry powder in glass ampoules and is useful for controlling the bleeding from small areas such as a tooth socket. A solution is made with water and applied on a small cotton wool swab. Research Haemophilia
The rectum is the lowest portion of the large intestine, terminating at the anus. The rectum is S- shaped, about 22 cm long, and is formed of muscle layers similar to those elsewhere in the intestinal tract. The lower end of the rectum is funnel-shaped and terminates in the analcanal which is lined with a special form of skin. The rectum is 'slung' in the bottom of the pelvis between the levator animuscles. Below this level and around the analcanal is a strong sphincter of voluntary muscle - the external sphincter. The internal sphincter is the thickened lower end of the involuntary rectal muscle. Stretching or weakness of the levator ani muscle, or nervous conditions causing paralysis of this or the external sphincter allow the rectum to drop. The lining mucousmembrane is then 'prolapsed'. On either side of the analcanal below the levator ani muscle is a space containing fat - the ischio-rectal fossa. This is sometimes the seat of infection and abscessformation.
The analcanal has arteries and veins from the systemic circulation coming from the perineum and buttocks. The arteries join with the branches of the inferior mesenteric artery while the veins join with the tributaries of the portalvein which drain the rectum. If the portal veins are blocked or compressed (as in extreme constipation or in more serious disorders which affect the liver, such as cirrhosis) the haemorrhoidal veins become dilated or 'varicose'. These varicosities around and inside the analcanal immediately underneath the lining membrane are called ' piles' or haemorrhoids. Sometimes during strain at stool the veins are temporarily distended and one of them bursts, producing either brisk haemorrhage or a perianal haematoma (a form of external ' pile'). The rectum is normally empty except immediately before defaecation. The passage of the faecal mass from the colon into the rectum produces the desire to evacuate. If the rectum is insensitive, no such desire occurs, and extreme constipation arises. Research Rectum
When any portion of body tissue has been destroyed by disease or violence, the adjacent tissues at once set to work to repair the gap. Clearly their task will depend on the extent of the gap and the presence of any factors which hinder normal tissue activity. When a clean surgical incision has been made and the edges sewn closely together the gap to be bridged is very thin. On the other hand, if there has been an abscess and a large area of tissue has been dissolved away, the problem is very much greater. There are many factors which infuence the rate of the body's power of healing. Where a gap has been left in the tissues, the 'raw' surfaces are covered with blood clot and any intervening cavity may in fact be filled with blood. From the ends of the capillaries which have been cut on either side, cells grow rapidly into this haematoma (a collecion of blood in the tissues) and form granulation tissue, which is thus a mass of tiny little capillary buds with fibrous tissue cells.
As the days go by, the very rich blood supply enables fibrous tissue to grow rapidly and become more dense, and finally to cement the gap. Weeks later the blood vessels die off and firm fibrous tissue (scartissue) remains. This becomes slowly tighter and tighter. This process we know as contraction, so that what may appear to be quite a large scar shrinks down over a period of months to become sometimes invisible. Perhaps the best example of this is the cavity left by the removal of the slough from a large carbuncle; in a very few months there is a small white, irregular scar marking the centre of the great cavity where the carbuncle existed. If the wound has involved other tissues than connective tissue - for instance, the mucousmembrane of the cheek, or the skin - then the very specialised epithelial lining also grows across as a sheet of cells and covers up the granulation tissue. The same process occurs in the intestinal tract; when an anastomosis (artificial opening between two hollow organs or vessels) has been performed, the cut edges of the mucousmembrane are stuck together temporarily by fibrin, and over a period of days the cells lining the stomach or intestine grow rapidly across the gap. When a bone is broken, repair takes place in a similar way: calcium substances from the blood are deposited in the granulation tissue forming callus. Into this callus the specialised cells which form true bone, migrate from the surrounding damaged bone: over a period of weeks or even months the minute structure is rebuilt to join up exactly with the bone on either side of the break.
The healing power of the body is influenced by many factors. An adequate supply of oxygen is necessary for these tissue repairs, and as oxygen is carried to the tissues by the blood, anaemia results in a very poor healing rate. Vitamins, especially vitamin C, are necessary for the repair of tissues, so that patients whose reserve of vitamin C has been depleted heal more slowly and may in fact not heal at all. Patients who are ill use more vitamin C than the normal healthy individuals and sometimes, unless their requirement is met, a wound may come apart even a week or more after operation, showing no sign of healing whatever. Infection always delays healing as it interferes with the activities of the cells at the edges of the wound. Similarly, if the patient' s general health has been impaired by longstanding disease or bad nourishment his powers of healing are poor, as the substances required for the repair are in short supply. The presence of foreign bodies or a poor blood supply (such as occurs in arteriosclerosis, or if the stitches have been tied too tight) will also delay sound healing. In addition, there are many personal and undetermined factors which must be responsible for the fact that some people heal quickly and others heal very poorly. Age is important; babies and children repair their tissues very much more rapidly than old people. This is because the growing child has much more vitality in all his cells. For example, a fracture of the humerus in a new-born baby may be soundly united in ten days; in an adult the same fracture requires about eight weeks to heal. Research Tissue Repair and Replacement
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Jargon
