On consumption, and tuberculosis of the lungs : their diagnosis, causes, and preventive and general treatment / by E.H. Ruddock.

  • Ruddock, E. H. (Edward Harris), 1822-1875
Date:
1873
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On consumption, and tuberculosis of the lungs : their diagnosis, causes, and preventive and general treatment / by E.H. Ruddock. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    in which we should work, in order to trace out the causes of Consumption. The more general diffusion of the knowledge thus acquired is sure to be attended with a great reduction in the mortality of Phthisis. Just as Dysentery, Ague, Leprosy, and other diseases have declined in their intensity and fatality since their causes have been better nnderstood, so a correct appreciation of the causes, and the various conditions which favour the development of Consumption, will wonderfully diminish it, and the health, happiness, and longevity of the com- munity be correspondingly increased. Predisposing There are two kinds of Causes to be con- and Exciting sidered,—those which predispose to, and Causes. those which excite, Phthisis. The former of these is coeval with birth ; and when this hereditary influence is very intense, as when both parents are affected, there is great danger of the disease being brought into activity in the offspring. A person, however, mai/ hare even a strong predisposition to Consumpfion, and yet not fall a victim to it, if he can, under favour- able circumstances, steer clear of those exciting causes which determine its accession. a. Hereditary Predisposition. By this is meant the transmission, from parents to children, of a liability to the disease; this is undoubtedly a common and fruitful predisposing cause of the malady. The potency of this influence may be inferred from the .o , fact that, in its absence, thousands pass Power of ' ' ' Hereditary through the most adverse circumstances Influence, ^jj.]^ exemption, and even reach a consi- derably advanced stage of life. Yet such as are capable