It is not possible to establish the age of the first sewer systems on earth. The oldest cesspools of Ancient Rome are Cloaca Maxima, the first mention of which dates back either to the IIV or the IV century BC, researchers are referred to Etruscan masters, to an even earlier civilization. That is, man is not an animal, and along with the construction of houses he immediately began to erect latrines.
Cesspool as part of the sewer system
With such antiquity of the first structures, their Latin names are not surprising. Cloaca - what is it? If you translate the verb "cloacare" into Russian, it turns out - get dirty, dirty. From here cloaca is a canal with something dirty, with sewage or a place of their accumulation, or a construction for getting rid of them. There are old European cities where these stone ditches are located directly along the streets, but, as a rule, sewer branches were underground, and sometimes they were entire cities. The bowels of Paris, described in many novels, are even shrouded in robber romance. Justice was administered here (though very peculiar), the persecuted found refuge. So cesspool - what is it? In modern Rome - a very popular tourist attraction.
Cesspool as a metaphor
A special role belongs to this word in the literature. From time immemorial, they called everything unclean, dirty, unworthy, disgusting, both purely in the physical sense (neglected latrine) and in the spiritual sense - unworthy thoughts and desires. Everything that literally and figuratively smells more than badly is imprinted with this name. And next to this, it is necessary to put fences.
Term in biology
But this is not only an engineering and literary term. It is found in ornithology, a science that studies birds. Cesspool in birds, as in some fish and cyclostomes (lower vertebrates), in all reptiles and amphibians (echidna, platypus, etc.) is a certain cavity, which is an expanded part of the end of the digestive tract. In birds, the urethra and oviduct exit into it. Therefore, the surface of the eggs of birds on sale must be processed. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this organ in birds, since insemination (and, naturally, reproduction) is carried out in birds thanks to a process called “kiss of the cloaca”.
Medical interpretation
In medicine, this term is also present. Cesspool in humans exists at the level of the embryo, then in the process of development it transforms into two parts, separated from each other - the urogenital and rectal. Both the first (urogenital) and the second (rectal) parts have an independent exit to the surface of the human body. They are separated by a crotch. This, so to speak, is a physiological given. But in medicine, this term is also found in the name of a disease that occurs as a result of a rare intrauterine malformation. In this case, cesspool - what
is it? This is a rare and complex anomaly of the development of the
rectal zone
. It is called "congenital cesspool" and is found only in girls. The essence of the disease is that the urethra, vagina and rectum are connected into one common channel, while the anus is completely absent. This is detected immediately after the birth of the baby. The treatment of the disease occurs only with the help of a very complex surgical operation.
The place of the term in the modern world
Recently, the word "cesspool" has become very common. This happened because it went from the sphere of narrow specialization to the worldwide expanse of computer games and modern prose (“Cesspool” by Edgar Doctorow). And if it is not found in the name of the game, then it occupies a considerable part of it. An example is the cesspool of Dalaren from the incredibly popular game "World of Warcraft". Cesspool - what is it in WOW? This is a whole city with its heroes and quests. The political arena also contributed to the promotion of this term.