Esdras, Books of, two apocryphal books, which, in the Vulgate and other editions, are incorporated with the canonical books of Scripture. In the Vulgate the canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah are called the first and second, and the apocryphal books the third and fourth books of Esdras. The Geneva Bible (1560) first adopted the present nomenclature, calling the two apocryphal books first and second Esdras. The subject of the first book of Esdras is the same as that of Ezra and Nehemiah, and in general it appears to be copied from the canonical Scriptures. The second book of Esdras is supposed to have been either of much later date or to have been interpolated by Christian writers.
E´serin, or Physostigmin, a drug obtained from Calabar-bean, the active principle of this plant, used as a remedy in cases of tetanus (lockjaw). A solution of eserin dropped in the eye causes contraction of the pupil, and hence its use in some eye ailments, as, for instance, glaucoma.
Esher, a village and parish of England, north-west Surrey. Here is Claremont, built by Sir John Vanbrugh, in 1816 settled upon Princess Charlotte and her husband, afterwards the residence of the Orleans family when expelled from France. The so-called 'Wolsey's Tower' is the gatehouse of a palace built by William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester. Pop. 2609.
Esk (Celtic for water), the name of two small rivers in England—one in Cumberland and the other in Yorkshire; and of several in Scotland, the chief being the Esk in Dumfriesshire, the North Esk and South Esk in Forfarshire, and the North Esk and South Esk in Edinburghshire.
Eski-jumna, a town of Bulgaria, on the northern slope of the Binar-Dagh. Pop. 10,000.
Eskilstu´na, a town of Sweden, on a river of the same name connecting Lake Maelar with Lake Hjelmar, with ironworks and manufactures of steel goods and weapons. It is named after St. Eskil, the English apostle of Christianity in Södermanland. Pop. 28,500.
Es´kimos. See Esquimaux.
Eski-Sagra, or Stara-Zagora, a town of Bulgaria, on the south slope of the Balkans, 50 miles N.E. of Philippopolis. In its vicinity are extensive rose-gardens, orchards, and mineral springs. Pop. 28,480.
Eski-Shehr, a town of Asia Minor, 90 miles S.E. of the Sea of Marmora, with warm baths and manufactures of meerschaum pipes. Fighting took place near the town in 1921, between the Greeks and Turks. Pop. 20,000.
Esmarch (es´märh), Johannes Friedrich August von, German surgeon, born in 1823, died in 1908. He held high official positions during the Schleswig-Holstein and Franco-German Wars, and was a great authority on gunshot wounds. He also originated valuable improvements in barrack-hospitals and ambulances, introduced the antiseptic treatment into Germany, and was the author of several surgical works.