178 ON THE NATURE AND PRINCIPLES OF 



from the intestines, from time to time, for months, 

 ami even years, without symptoms of inflammation. 

 but under circumstances rendering it probable that 

 congestion was present.* Nevertheless, while thus 

 referring to congestion as to an adequate cause, the 

 phenomenon considered by all other pathologists as 

 essentially characteristic of inflammation, Dr. Wil- 

 liams still endeavours to establish a distinction be- 

 tween these two pathological states. And, as will 

 be seen by a glance at the subjoined definitions, this 

 distinction is founded upon a difference in the velo- 

 city or relative motion of the blood contained in the 

 minute vessels of the part. Thus, congestion is de- 

 fined as " excess of blood in a part, Avith diminished 

 motion of that blood." Inflammation, as " too much 

 blood in a part, with motion (of that blood) partly 

 increased, partly diminished." Now, even by the 

 author's own admission, the same state of the circu- 

 lation, in the vessels of the affected part, exists in lot It 

 disorders; for we have in each local hypera'niia, 

 with a retardation or tendency to stagnation of that 

 accumulated blood. The distinction is, therefore, 

 wholly based upon the state of the circulation /// tin 

 tidjiiri'nt vessels. 



And, in fact, this definition of inflammation seems 

 to me to be merely a description of the immediate 

 effects on the local circulation of the obstruction of a 

 few vessels, at. a moment when the heart's action is 

 tolerably vigorous. The phenomena described are 



therefore precisely what might have been expected 



Principles of Medicine, p. \ >'>'.>. London. 



