History and medical treatment of cholera, as it appeared in Sunderland in 1831. Illustrated by numerous cases and dissections / By W. Haslewood and W. Mordey.

  • Haslewood, W. (William), 1802?-1866
Date:
1832
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: History and medical treatment of cholera, as it appeared in Sunderland in 1831. Illustrated by numerous cases and dissections / By W. Haslewood and W. Mordey. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    if they had been dipped in a solution of indigo ; and the skin on the fingers and toes is sodden and shrivelled: the tongue is moist, cold, and flabby ; respiration is oppressed and difficult; and the breath feels cold to the finger introduced into the mouth. One of the most striking changes is that produced in the voice, which is reduced to a husky whisper. ‘The pulse sinks rapidly, sometimes be- coming instantaneously imperceptible at the wrist : when perceptible it is but as a thread, and its fre- quency is increased. Such are the symptoms which have ordinarily been witnessed in severe cases of the disease as it occurred in Sunderland; but the individual cases have presented considerable variations in the gene- ral severity of the disease, in that of particular symptoms, and in the order of their succession. In some of the worst cases the vomiting and purg- ing were extremely trifling; a state of complete collapse was formed almost in a moment, and pre- ceded only by a single attack of cramp, with the discharge from the mouth of a few ounces of clear fluid: in some instances, especially of children, the cramps were not observed to occur at all. The patient lying deadly cold, yet sensible in an ex- traordinary degree to the stimulus of heat, so as to express great annoyance at the use of external warmth, he complains of a burning pain at the stomach, with great thirst, calling urgently for cold water. The intellect continues unaffected, though sensation is depraved or blunted; for the arm does not shrink when the lancet is introduced. The skin loses its natural tension and elasticity, and the orifice made by the lancet is sometimes quite
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