Considerations on the circulation of the blood : with special reference to counter-iritation [i.e. irritation], and to the effect of increased atmospheric pressure / by Andrew H. Smith.
- Smith, Andrew H. (Andrew Heermance), 1837-1910.
- Date:
- 1872
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Considerations on the circulation of the blood : with special reference to counter-iritation [i.e. irritation], and to the effect of increased atmospheric pressure / by Andrew H. Smith. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![Such a condition involves a double departure from the normal state, as the excess in one system necessitates a corres])onding deficiency in the other. Let us suppose, then, that the cuta- neous capillaries are by any means increased in diameter to a considerable degree, as they may be, for instance, by the hot bath : we shall find as a result that, the resistance to the flov/ of the blood through them being diminished, a much larger proportipn will seek that channel to reach the venous system than will pass through the capillaries in other portions of the body. As a consequence, the remainder of the body will be left with an insufficient supply. We may sometimes observe the results of this in phenomena appreciable to the individual. Thus, the lassitude felt after the warm bath maybe attributed to imperfect nutrition of the n^uscles from the insufficient sup- ply of blood to them resulting from this action. The tendency to syncope produced by the protracted use of the warm bath is probably owing to the diminished supply of blood to the brain, caused by the increased facility for its passage through the capillaries of the skin. On the same principle, the wake- fulness of insanity may sometimes be overcome by hot appli- cations to the chest and abdomen. The converse of this is observed in the vigor which results from the use of the cold bath, or from exposure to a cold and bracing atmosphere. Here we have the vessels of the skin reduced in calibre, and as a consequence a greater proportion of the blood sent out by each contraction of the heart is com- pelled to find its way to the veins through the capillaries of the muscular and nervous systems. But, under certain conditions not well understood, an im- pression of cold upon the surface leads to such a diminution in the cutaneous circulation, and consequently to such a dis- tention of the visceral capillaries, as to induce a lesion of some one or more of the viscera. The pneumonia, bronchitis, ne- phritis, or diarrhoea, as the case may be, is then said to be the result of taking cold. If in the very earliest stage tlie warm bath or some internal sudorific be resorted t^, and a free chan- nel thus opened iii the skin for the passage of blood, the inter- nal organ may be relieved, and the threatened disease averted. But an impression of cold upon the surface may, under some circumstances, prove' salutary. Thus, in syncope, we](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22300600_0012.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
