Diphtheria : its nature, history, causes, prevention, and treatment on hygienic principles; with a resumé of the various theories and practices of the medical profession / By R.T. Trall.
- Russell Trall
- Date:
- 1862
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Diphtheria : its nature, history, causes, prevention, and treatment on hygienic principles; with a resumé of the various theories and practices of the medical profession / By R.T. Trall. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Gerstein Science Information Centre at the University of Toronto, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Gerstein Science Information Centre, University of Toronto.
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![we get the resemblance to it, more or less, in all minor cases. We must not expect to meet with all the symp- toms in every case, but the condition of the throat is inv^ariable. Whether that condition goes on to the second stage, depends on the severity [quantity ?] of the poison or the success of the treatment adopted. In all cases where there is either nausea or vomiting, followed by drowsiness, the throat ought to be examined, and if the redness and the ' glassy curtain' appear, the im- mediate use of the proper appliances may, I am quite certain, save many valuable lives. In the same journal is an article from the pen of Thomas Heckstall Smith, Esq., surgeon to St. Mary Cray, Kent, who distinguishes three forms of dipthe- ria; There are three forms in which the disease pre- sents itself, viz., simple ash-colored diptheria membrane in patches, with very slight congestion of the surround- ing parts, and without fetor. Secondly, a deeper color, and more widely-spread membranous exudation, with fetid breath and intense engorgement of dark hue. Thirdly, the membrane with much tonsillitis, in a few cases resulting in quinsy. But there has been a fourth and more formidable state of things to contend with, namely, an extension of the membrane in either of the above forms, to the larynx and trachea, the symptoms of which I need not describe. In a paper read before the ISTew York Academy of Medicine, January, 1861, by David Winne, M.D., of the University Medical School, the symptoms are thus described : Diptheria is frequently attended with very slight constitutional disturbance at the commencement of the attack, even where the disease is destined to a fatal termination. The patient is often so little af- fected, that, with the exception of some slight difficulty](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b20995192_0021.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
