Class I. 2. 3. 16. OT IRRITATION. 93 



brane of the lungs is ufually connected with that of the other 

 parts of the fy item. As the cells of the. whole cellular mem- 

 brane communicate with each other, the mucilaginous fluid, 

 which remains in any part of it for want of due abforption, finks 

 down to the moll depending cells ; hence the legs fwell, though 

 the caufe of the difeafe, the deficiency of abforption, may be in 

 other parts of the fyftem. The lungs however are an exception 

 to this, flrice they are fufpended in the cavity of the thorax, and 

 have in confequence a depending part of their own. 



The anafarca of the lungs is known by the difficulty of res- 

 piration accompanied with fwelled legs, and with a very irregu- 

 lar pulfe. This iaft circumftance has generally been afenbed 

 to a dropfy at the fame time exifting in the pericardium, but is 

 more probably owing to the difficult pafiage of the blood through 

 the lungs : becaufe I found on diffe£tion, in one inftance, that 

 the moft irregular pulfe, which J ever attended to, was owing to 

 very extenfiye adhefion of the lungs •, infomuch that one lobe in- 

 tirely adhered to the pleura •, and fecondly, becaufe this kind of 

 dropfy of the lungs is lb certainly removed for a time along with 

 the anafarca of the limbs by the ufe of digitalis. 



This medicine, as well as emetic tartar, or fquiii, when given 

 fo as to produce ficknefs, or naufea, or perhaps even without 

 producing either in any perceptible degree, by affecting the lym- 

 phatics of the ftomach, fo as either to invert their motion, or to 

 weaken them, increafes by reverfe fympathy the action, and con- 

 fequent abfoibent power of thefe lymphatics, which open into 

 the cellular membrane. But as thefe medicines feldom fucceed 

 in producing an abforption of thofe fluids, which flagnate in 

 the larger cavities of the body, as in the abdomen, or cheft, and 

 do generally fucceed in this difficulty of breathing with irregu- 

 lar pulfe above defcribed, I conclude that it is not owing to an 

 efrufion of lymph into the pericardium, but fimply to an anafar- 

 ca of the lungs. 



M. M. Digitalis. See Art. V. 2. 1. 2. and IV. 2. 3. 7. 

 Tobacco. Squill. Emetic tartar (antimonium tartarizatum). 

 Then Sorbentia. Chalvbeates. Opium half a grain twice a 

 day. Raifin wine and water, or other wine and water, is pre- 

 ferred to the fpirit and water, which thefe patients have general- 

 ly been accuftomed to. 



I have feen two cafes, which were efteemed to be hydrotho- 

 rax, but which I believed to be anafarca pulmonum, though they 

 were attended with irregular pulfe ; for I do not understand, 

 why an irregularity of pulfe mould be occaiioned by water in 

 the pericardium any ' more than by water in the lungs, or by 



any 



