.Class I. 3. 1. 3. OF IRRITATION. 133 







mentation, and opening them again accelerates it ; hence where 

 the digeftion is impaired, and the Ilomach fomewhat diiiended 

 with air, it is better to rettrain than to encourage eruc"lations t 

 except the quantity makes it neceiiarv. When wine is confined 

 in bottles, the fermentation flill proceeds {lowly even for years, 

 till all the ffcgar is converted into ipirit ; but in the procefs of 

 digeftion, the faccharine part is abforbed in the form of chyle 

 by the bibulous mouths of the numerous lacleals, before it has 

 time to run into the vinous fermentation. 



3. Apepfia. Indigeilion. Water-qualm. A few mouthfuls 

 of the aliment are rejected at a time for fome hours after meals. 

 When the aliment has had time to ferment, and become acid, it 

 produces cardialgia, or heart-burn. This difeafe is perhaps gen- 

 erally left after a flight inflammation of the ftomach, called a fur- 

 feit, occafioned by drinking cold liquors, or eating cold vegeta- 

 bles, when heated v/ith exercife. This inflammation of the 

 ilomach is frequently, I believe, at its commencement removed 

 by a critical eruption on the face, which differs in its appearance 

 as well as in its caufe from the gutta rofea of drunkards, as the 

 fkin round thebafe of each eruption is lefs inflamed. See Oafs 

 II. 1. 4. 6. This difeafe differs from Cardialgia, Clafs I. 2. 4. 

 5. in its being not uniformly attended with pain of the cardia 

 ventriculi, and from its retrograde morions of a part of the ftom- 

 ach about the upper orifice of it. In the fame manner as hyite- 

 ria differs from hypechondriafis ? the one confiding in the weak- 

 ;nefs and indigeftion of the fame portions of the alimentary canal, 

 and the other in the inverted motions of fome parts of it. This 

 apepfia or water-qualm continues many years, even to old age ; 

 Mr. G = of Litchfield fuffered under this difeafe from his in- 

 fancy •, and, as he grew old, found relief only from repeated dofes 

 of opium. 



M. M. A blider, rhubarb, a grain of opium twice a day. 

 Soap, iron-powder. Tin-powder. 



4. Vomitus. An inverted order of the motions of the ftom- 

 ach and cefophagus with their abforbent vefTeis, by which their 

 contents are evacuated. In the act of vomiting Ief> fenibriai 



o 



power is employed than in the ufual periftaltic motion of the 

 ilomach, as explained in Seel. XXXV. 1. 3. Whence after 

 the operation of an emetic the digeftion becomes flronger by an 

 accumulation of fenforial power during its decreafed action. 

 This decreafed action of the flomach may be eicher induced by 

 want of ftimulus, as in the ficknefs which attends hunger $ or it 

 may be induced by temporary want of irritability, as in cold fits 

 of fever ; or from habitual want of irritability, as the vomiting 



of 



