military academy. He died on March 12,
1925. Under the leadership of Chiang
Sun Yat-sen
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Sun Yat-sen 205
Kai-shek, the Nationalist Party went on
to rule China from 1928 to 1949.
#More to explore
Chiang Kai-shek • China
Superior, Lake
Lake Superior is the largest, the coldest,
and the deepest of the five Great Lakes
of North America. It is also one of the
world’s largest bodies of freshwater. The
lake got its name from the French
words lac superieur, which mean “upper
lake.”
Lake Superior lies between the United
States and Canada. It borders the Canadian
province of Ontario and the U.S.
states of Minnesota,Wisconsin, and
Michigan. It spreads over an area of
31,700 square miles (82,100 square
kilometers). The Saint Marys River connects
Lake Superior with Lake Huron in
the east.
Lake Superior has many natural
harbors. They include Thunder Bay,
Ontario; Duluth and Two Harbors in
Minnesota; and Marquette, Michigan.
Huge ships carry minerals, flour, and
grain on the lake. They pass through
the Sault Sainte Marie canals on the
Saint Marys River. Then they travel to
other Great Lakes ports or to ports
around the world.
Tourism is an important industry in the
Lake Superior region. The lake is known
for its beautiful shoreline. Hunting and
sport fishing are popular activities.
#More to explore
Great Lakes • Sault Sainte Marie Canals
Supreme Court
of the United
States
#see United States Government.
Waves wash up on the rocky shoreline of
Lake Superior on the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan.
206 Superior, Lake BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Surgery
Surgery is a medical treatment in which
doctors called surgeons use tools to work
on a patient’s body. Surgery is also
known as an operation. Surgeons perform
operations for many reasons. They
may operate to treat injuries, to remove
unhealthy tissue, or to discover the cause
of a disease.
Before Surgery
Before performing surgery, the doctors
and nurses wash their hands thoroughly.
They also put on gowns, caps, gloves,
and masks to keep germs away from the
patient. They set up machines that will
keep track of the patient’s breathing and
heart rate. They may use drugs to numb
the part of the patient’s body on which
they will operate. Or they may put the
patient to sleep with a drug called anesthesia.
Under anesthesia, the patient
feels no pain.
During Surgery
Doctors and nurses may use many different
tools during surgery. All these
tools must be sterilized, or made free of
germs, beforehand. Surgeons commonly
use a knife called a scalpel to cut into the
body. Special instruments clamp blood
vessels to stop the patient from bleeding
too much. Sponges absorb some blood,
too. Other tools hold the cut tissue open
so that the surgeon can work inside the
body easily. When finished, doctors usually
sew or staple the cut tissue back
together.
History
In ancient times people in such places as
India, China, Egypt, and Greece performed
some types of surgery. During
the Middle Ages (about AD 500 to
1500) in Europe, barbers often performed
surgery.
Until the 1800s there was no good way
to dull the extreme pain of surgery. But
in the 1840s surgeons began using ether,
an early form of anesthesia. Surgery then
became less painful. However, many
patients who had surgery still died. Later
in the 1800s scientists learned that
infections by germs caused many of
these deaths. Surgeons began washing
their hands and tools to prevent infections
during operations. Many more
patients then survived surgery.
#More to explore
Disease, Human • Medicine
Surgeons work in operating
rooms that are brightly lit,
extremely clean, and stocked
with tools and supplies.
Surgeons now
use laser
beams instead
of knives to
perform some
of their
operations.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Surgery 207
Suriname
Suriname is the only country in South
America that was a colony of The Netherlands.
The capital is Paramaribo.
Suriname is on the northern coast of
South America. Brazil is to the south.
Suriname and its other neighbors,
Guyana and French Guiana, disagree
about where their borders lie.
The land along the coast is flat and
swampy. Hills and mountains cover the
rest of the country. Tropical rain forests
grow in most of Suriname. Monkeys,
sloths, tapirs, deer, jaguars, and parrots
live in the country.
The largest groups of people in Suriname
are the Hindustanis and the Creoles.
The Hindustanis’ ancestors came
from India. The Creoles have mixed
European and African roots. The Javanese,
whose ancestors came from Indonesia,
are the next-largest group.
Maroons (people with African roots),
American Indians, Chinese, and whites
form smaller groups.
Dutch is the national language, but
most people mainly speak the language
of their group. Christianity, Hinduism,
and Islam are common religions.
The economy of Suriname depends on
the mining of bauxite (which is used to
make aluminum), gold, and oil. Farmers
grow rice, sugarcane, bananas, and coconuts.
Fishers catch shrimp and fish.
Surinen Indians and other American
Indians were the first people in the
region. The Dutch took over in 1667.
They brought in Africans to work as
