First lines of the practice of physic (Volume 2).

  • Cullen, William, 1710-1790.
Date:
1806
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: First lines of the practice of physic (Volume 2). Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    cases of suppression, and have appeared to me of ambi- guous effect.* 1011.] It commonly happens in the cases of suppression, that though the menses do not flow at their usual periods, there are often at those periods some marks of an effort having a tendency to produce the discharge. It is there- fore at those times especially when the efforts of the sys- tem are concurring, that we ought to employ the remedies for curing a suppression ; and it is commonly fruitless to employ them at other times, unless they be suchf as re- quire some continuance in their use to produce their effects. 1012.] Nearly similar to the cases of suppression, are those cases in which the menses flow after long intervals, and in lesser quantity than usual ; and when these cases are attended with the disorders in the system (1009.) they are to be cured by the same remedies as the cases of entire suppression. 1013.] It may be proper in this place to take notice of the desmenorrhea, or cases of menstruation in which the menses seem to flow with difficulty, and are accompanied with much pain in the back, loins, and lower belly. We impute this disorder partly to some weaker action of the vessels of the uterus, and partly, perhaps more especially, to a spasm of its extreme vessels. We have commonly found the disease relieved by employing some of the reme- dies of suppression immediately before the approach of the period, and at the same time employing opiates. CHAPTER IX. OF SYMPTOMATIC HEMORRHAGIES. 101 4.] T HAVE thought it very improper, in this work, JL to treat of those morbid affections that are al- most always symptomatic of other more primary diseases ; and this for several reasons, particularly because it intro- duces a great deal of confusion in directing practice, and leads physicians to employ palliative measures only. I « The F.menagogues enumerated in the note on article 100% are more efficacious in these ca- ses than the tonics and chalybeates mentioned in the note on article 1003. fortius reason, that the suppression of the menses depends more on the constriction, than on a laxity of the extreme ves- sels. Somecases, irdeed, occur, where a lax habit is the cau<=e of suppression, but they are Tire : The physician ought to b: attentive in discriminating such cases, because a liberal use of forcing emenaijogucs is alwa; they can only be relieved by tonics, and e*ue- cially bv chalybeates + Viz. tonics or alterants.