I5 6 DISEASES Class II. i. i. 8. 



but he has not recovered his health. I was informed, that an 

 idiot bad fwallowed a half-crown piece, and directed crude 

 duickfilver to be given him in repeated quantities, but never 

 heard the event of the cafe. 



A lady in my prefence was eating a cuftard out of a tea-cup, 

 and put 3 or 4 pins into her mouth, which were fuppofed to 

 have been carelefsly left in the cup, and fwallowed one of them : 

 now, though needles have found their way out of the body, and 

 other iharp indigeftible materials, yet pins being terminated 

 with heads are faid often to have occafioned dangerous and pain- 

 ful difeafes, and fometimes death. What then mould be done ? 

 It occurred to me, that as the head of the pin would have fo 

 much greater friction than the point, that if it was carried for- 

 wards by a ftream of mucilaginous fluid, the head muff go firft. ; 

 and I therefore immediately directed an emetic, and the pin was 

 brought up without any pain, or any (lains. of blood in the eject- 

 ed fluid. 



• 8. AJlhma httmorale. The humoral aftlirna probably confifts 

 in a temporary anafarca of the lungs, which may be owing to a 

 temporary defect of lymphatic abforption. Its caufe is never- 

 thelefs at prefent very obfcure, fince a temporary deficiency of 

 venous abforption, at the extremities of the pulmonary or bron- 

 chial veins, might occafion a fimilar difficulty of refpiration. See 

 Abortio, Oafs I. 2. I. 14. Or it might be fuppofed, that the 

 lymph effufed into the cavity of the cheff. might, by fome addi- 

 tional heat during fleep, acquire an aerial form, and thus com- 

 prefs the lungs ; and on this circumftance the relief, which thefe 

 patients receive from cold air, would be readily accounted for. 



The paroxyfms attack the patient in his firft fleep, when the 

 circulation through the lungs in weak people wants the aiTiftance 

 of the voluntary power. Clafs I. 2< 1. 3. And hence the ab- 

 ibrbents of the lungs are lefs able to fulfil the whole of their 

 duty. And part of the thin mucus, which is fecreted into the 

 air-cells, remains there unabforbed, and occafions the difficult 

 refpiration, which awakes the patient. And the violent exer- 

 tions of the mufcles of refpiration, which fucceed, are excited by 

 the pain of mrrbcation, for the purpofe of pufhing forwards the 

 blood through the comprefled capillaries, and to promote the ab- 

 forption of the effufed lymph. 



In this the humoral differs from the convulfive afthma, treat- 

 ed of in Clafs III. 1. 1. 10. as in that there is probably no ac- 

 cumulated fluid to be abforbed •, and the violent refpiration is 

 only an exertion for the purpofe of relieving pain, either in the 

 Jungs or in fome diftant part, as in other convulfions, or epilep- 

 fy j and in this refpect the fits of humoral and convulfive afthma 



efientially 



