TREATMENT OF INFLAMMATION. 177 



elsewhere, advances views precisely identical with 

 those which I had been led to entertain, both from 

 the results of my experiments and from a general 

 review of the circumstances connected with the 

 pathology of granular disease of that organ. Thus, 

 after remarking that the cause producing effusion is 

 " distension of the vessels," and alluding to the in- 

 fluence of the " condition " or composition of the 

 blood in modifying the nature of the effused matters, 

 he proceeds to observe*, --" The same circum- 

 stances determine the character of the effused fluid. 

 Where the blood is poor, the watery parts easily 

 pass from congested vessels even without much dis- 

 tension, and contain but little albumen. But if the 

 blood abounds in the protein compounds, more pres- 

 sure is required before much effusion takes place; 

 and then, when the pressure is great, the fluid 

 effused often contains not only albumen in large pro- 

 portion, but self-coagulating fibrin also.f" 



" Fluxes arising from congestion of high tension 



t O O 



exhibit an unusual amount of animal matter of an 

 albuminous or mucous kind, as instanced in a bron- 

 chorrhcea, mucous diarrhoea, and leucorrhoea. I have 

 been almost induced to suppose that the polypous 

 concretions and pseudo-membranous films occasion- 

 ally effused on mucous surfaces may result from 

 long-continued congestion. I have seen these eva- 

 cuated from the air-tubes in one case, and in another 



* Principles of Medicine, pp. 143, 149. London, 1843. 

 f Ihid p. 1.38. 



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