TKEATMENT OF INFLAMMATION. 221 



2. By reducing the force and frequency of the 

 heart's action. 



The quantity of the circulating fluid may be di- 

 minished 



1. By the direct abstraction of blood; 



2. By draining off its aqueo-albuminous portion ; 



3. By abstinence from nourishment. 



Now the propriety of restricting the supply of 

 food to the lowest possible amount in cases of acute 

 inflammation is unquestionable ; nor can there be 

 much difference of opinion as to the beneficial effect 

 which generally attends a diminution of the quantity 

 and impulse of the circulating fluid by means of 

 active purgatives, diaphoretics, &c. But the ab- 

 straction of any considerable quantity of blood, and 

 particularly the repetition of such a step, should 

 always be preceded by a careful examination of the 

 peculiarities of the constitution under treatment, and 

 a comparison of them with the laws regulating the 

 employment of that powerful agent. 



Blood-letting is frequently so convenient a remedy, 

 and the temporary relief which it affords from painful 

 and distressing symptoms so immediate and certain, 

 that a hasty and unreflecting practitioner may 

 insensibly contract a habit of using it where milder 

 measures would prove equally efficacious. It more- 

 over carries with it an appearance of vigour and 

 promptness in the treatment of the complaint which 

 is in general far from displeasing to the patient and 

 his friends, and, through its powerful sedative influ- 

 ence on the system, it for a time so completely 

 removes the unpleasant sensations, which in the 



