A manual of the practice of medicine / by George Hilaro Barlow.

  • George Hilaro Barlow
Date:
1861
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A manual of the practice of medicine / by George Hilaro Barlow. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    1. Mechanical and chemical injury; which, however, fall mostly within the province of the surgeon. 2. Violent muscular exertions, hurrying the movements of the Mood ; and thus, by disordering the circulation, favouring local congestions, and, sometimes, injuring some portion of the circulatory apparatus. 3. Mental emotions, and intense sensations ; which sometimes disturb the action of the heart, or the circulation through the brain, and at others derange the secretions. 4. Excesses of all kinds, which injure the secretions, and induce chronic diseases of the secretory organs ; and, by disor- dering the circulation, produce disease of the vascular system. 5. Suppressed evacuations, which induce plethora in any part of the system that may be predisposed to it: whilst excessive evacuations, by weakening the action of the heart, will sometimes produce the same result, and sometimes greatly derange the functions of the nervous and vascular system. 6. External heat; which may either irritate the part exposed to it, indirectly affect the nervous system, or disorder the general circulation. 7. External cold—which often powerfully affects the nervous system, and greatly deranges the circulation, producing active congestions and inflammations ; and, by repressing the action of the skin, induces disease of those secretory organs to which the former is auxiliary—is one of the most frequent, perhaps the most frequent, of all the causes of disease. The effect of cold upon the part to winch it is immediately applied, is rather to render it susceptible of, diseased action, than directly to excite it; this action evidently arising when the temperature is subsequently restored. It appears also, that the effect of heat or cold in producing intense sensation, or disturbance of the healthy action, is proportionate, not so much to the actual temperature, as to the rapidity with which change of temperature is induced. Thus, the application, of the natural temperature of the body, to a frost-bitten limb, will produce the same effect as a heat of 212° F. under ordinary circumstances; and the effect of cold in producing internal disease is increased by previously heating the body ; and for a similar reason, it is greater when applied by drafts or currents of air, or by wet clothes (and the subsequent evaporation from them), which lapidly carry off the heat of the body. Though, as Dr. Alison adds, in the circumstance of moisture, and, perhaps, other occasional qualities of cold air, there seems to be a peculiarity not yet understood, as to the power of exciting inflammation.' _ A languid state of the circulation, and the consequent dimi- nished power of generating heat, increase and prolong the
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