Spinach
or SPINAGE, a wholesome though somewhat insipid vegetable, consisting of the leaves of Spinacia oleracea, a diœcious annual belonging to the natural order Chenopodiaceæ. It is a native of Siberia, whence it passed W., reaching England more than three centuries ago.
Three varieties are in cultivation-the round-seeded, the Flanders, and the prickly-seeded, which unitedly yield a continued supply from April to November, and to a moderate extent through winter and spring. The plant is of rapid growth, but that the leaves may be succulent and properly flavored the soil should be rich and the situation open and airy. S. tetrandra, from the Caucasus, an annual and unisexual herb, is of equal value to the preceding, though less known. The name has also been given to several plants not belonging to Spinacia. New Zealand spinach is Tetragonia expansa, a trailing plant with thick succulent leaves, natives of Australasia, South America, and Japan. Patience spinach (Rumex patientia) was formerly common in gardens. The beet spinach (Beta cicla), a native of the seashores in southern Europe, has long been grown for its leaves, which are dressed in the same manner as spinach.
SPINAL ANÆSTHESIA, insensibility to pain produced by injecting an anæsthetic into the spinal fluid. It was first used by Dr. Leonard Corning, of New York, in the year 1885, and in Europe by August Bier, of Berlin. It is chiefly of value where the health of the patient renders general anæsthesia inadvisable, as, for instance, in diseases of the respiratory organs, in alcoholism or diabetes. It is generally employed for operations on the lower part of the body, the injection being made through the fourth lumbar interspace while the patient is sitting in an upright position. Jonnesco, of Bucharest, however, injected the anæsthetic into the dorsal region of the spinal canal, and was thus able to anæsthetize and operate on the upper SPINAL ANÆSTHESIA SPINAL MENINGITIS part of the body. Cocaine was used in impressions may pass to the brain, and the earlier experiments, but eucaine, novocaine and stovaine were later substituted as being less toxic. Jonnesco used a mixture of stovaine and strychnine. When only the lower part of the body is to be operated on, it is possible to anæsthetize that part only, the patient retaining consciousness throughout the operation. Generally speaking, spinal anæsthesia is more common on the European continent than in the United States or in England. In the latter countries it is looked upon only as a substitute for general anæsthesia. It frequently produces undesirable after effects, including general weakness, nausea, and even partial temporary paralysis. Jonnesco's method of application is looked upon _as dangerous, although it is claimed in Europe that it is no more dangerous than general anæsthesia and that the percentage of deaths is even less. It is possible that its use may develop as improvements in methods of application are worked out.