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.

    47/142 (page 39)
    DUR NS Ose Gg . 5. Artificial discharge with counter irritation as by issues, blisters, the tartaric emetic and iodine oint- ments, &c. fe 6 By medicines which have an effect on the arteries themselves directly or through their nerves, so as to make the inflamed capillaries contract, (independant of the vis a tergo or state of hearts action or quantity of circulating fluid,) for this may be necessary even when the circulation is very weak, as in some cases inflam- weak pulse, it is only the debility approaching to a dying state that will prevent a blister from rising when the poison of cantharides has relaxed the vessels, hence it is plain that it must be an enormous loss of blood which could prevent a blister from rising, shewing that the proximate cause of the inflammation is in the vessels of the part and not in the injecting force, and this will explain to the pupil who has seen how much venesec- tion has relieved inflammation from fractured ribs, that he cannot always “knock down” inflammation by vene- section alone, though free venesection in the beginning is of the utmost consequence, and again we are by no means to draw the conclusion that an affection is not inflammatory merely because it does not yield to de- pletion, what degree of depletion would remove a node, or syphilitic iritis, without mercurial medicine, what would venesection do for rheumatic pains without antimony, colchicum, bark, mercury, and other medi- cines; I believe that mercury removes morbid growths by starving them by contracting the capillaries, and not by increasing absorption as is a commonly received opi- nion; it may be said that the swelling of the gums