A treatise on diseases and injuries of the nerves / by Joseph Swan.

Date:
1834
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A treatise on diseases and injuries of the nerves / by Joseph Swan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

    23/396 page 7
    languor of the arterial circulation may favour the con- gestion of the veins of the nerves, and thus produce distension of their fibrils; and that warmth, by increas- ing the action of the arteries, and favouring the return of the blood and the cutaneous exhalation, may take off or prevent this loaded state of the veins, and relieve the nerves. That the nerves require a proper supply of blood is proved by the pain and imperfection of the functions of the parts in which they terminate, if too great heat, or too intense cold, influence them; also, if the blood be intercepted by a ligature, which may act both as preventing the accession of the arterial, and return of the venous. If a large artery be tied, the functions of the limb are some time before they perfectly recover. A gentleman, advanced in life, had a severe cold, for which a spare diet was recom- mended. Whenever he sat up, he had great pain in the extremities, and particularly the fingers, resembling that produced by intense cold; so that he was obliged to keep principally in the recumbent position, until his usual vigour was restored by stimulating medicines and a generous diet. If he were perfectly easy and got up, the pain very soon became so severe as to oblige him to lie down again ; and these symptoms were, I believe, entirely produced by the deficient circulation.
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3