First principles of medicine / By Archibald Billing.

  • Archibald Billing
Date:
1831
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: First principles of medicine / By Archibald Billing. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    31/142 (page 23)
    Some will allow that the capillary arteries where the blush of inflammation is are weak, as they visibly have given way, but they still talk of ¢ncreased arterial action, and say that the arteries around or leading to the in- flamed part are in increased activity, as a part of the condition or what keeps up the inflammation; not con- sidering that an increase in their action would be con- traction, and so a diminution of the flow of blood to the inflamed part; wherefore an increased action in the arteries both in and leading to the inflamed part is just what is required to diminish the inflammation. The more the heart acts the more of course it forces the arteries of the inflamed part and the pulse shewing the degree of power of action of the heart is erroneously by some considered as an evidence of arterial action, as the throbbing of the carotid arteries for instance; the heart then acting against the capillaries, if we cannot get them to act strongly enough to resist its force we are obliged to diminish the force of the circulation, either by taking away blood which diminishes both the quantity of blood sent to the arteries and the action of the heart itself, and in this way we leave less for the arteries of the inflamed part to do; or, we can lower the force of the heart by medicines, such as digitalis, &c.; here for illustration the simplest cases of inflam- mation have been taken, where the heart is acting natu- rally the inflammation being from injury. Sometimes parts are loaded with blood ‘when _we cannot find evidence of inflammation, and which state is called congestion; inflammation or congestion are but varieties of distended vessels, which, if they cannot unload themselves we assist, by applications or medi-