PYAeMIA. See Pathology (vol. xviii. p. 401) and Surgery.

PYATIGORSK, a district town and watering-place of Caucasus, Russia, in the government of Terek, 124 miles by rail to the north-west of Vladikavkaz. It owes its origin to its mineral waters, which had long been known to the inhabitants of Caucasus, and even at the beginning of the present century attracted many Russians, who used to stay at the Konstantinogorsk fort, 2 miles off. The first buildings at the mineral springs were erected, however, in 1812, and in 1830 the name of Pyatigorsk (“town of the five mountains”), referring to the five summits of the Beshtau, was given to the new settlement. Its subsequent rapid increase was greatly stimulated by the completion of its railway connexion with Rostoff, and it has now nearly 14,000 inhabitants (13,670 in 1882). The town is charmingly situated on a small plateau on the south-western slopes of the Mashuka mountain, by which and the Beshtau it is protected on the north. The snow-covered summits of the Elburz are seen on the south.

The sulphur springs, about fifteen in number, come from a great depth, from trachytic rocks, and vary in temperature from 72° to 115° Fahr.; they are used both for drinking and for bathing. Before the opening of the railway the summer patients already numbered thousands and have become more numerous since; but defective accommodation and high prices tend to prevent their further increase, notwithstanding the very high esteem in which these mineral waters are held by medical authorities, both Russian and West European. The industries of Pyatigorsk are insignificant, but its trade has always had some importance, and it is still visited during its fairs by a few Persian merchants.