102 DISEASES Class II. x. 3. f, 



ham into diftincl: and confluent. The former confifts of diftin£t 

 puftules, which appear on the fourth day of the fever, are cir- 

 cumfcribed and turgid ; the fever ceafing when the eruption is 

 complete. Head-ach, pain in the loins, vomiting frequently, 

 and convulfive fits fometimes, precede the eruption. 



The diftincl: fmall-pox is attended with fenfitive fever only, 

 when very mild, as in moft inoculated patients ; or with fenfi- 

 tive irritated fever, when the difeafe is greater : the danger in 

 this kind of fmall-pox is owing either to the tumor and forenefs 

 of the throat about the height, or eighth day of the eruption \ 

 or to the violence of the fecondary fever. For, firft, as the nat- 

 ural difeafe is generally taken by particles of the duft of the con- 

 tagious matter dried and floating in the air, thefe are liable to be 

 arrefted by the mucus about the throat and tonfils in their paflage 

 to the lungs, or to the ftomach, when they are previoufly mixed 

 with faliva in the mouth. Hence the throat inflames like the 

 arm in inoculated patients ; and this increaiing, as the difeafe 

 advances, de (troys the patient about the height. 



Secondly, all thofe upon the face and head come out about 

 the fame time, namely, about one day before thofe on the hands, 

 and two before thofe in the trunk ; and thence, when the head 

 is very full, a danger arifes from the fecondary fever, which is a 

 purulent not a variolous fever ; for at; the matter from all thefe 

 of the face and head is reabforbed at the fame time, the patient 

 is deftroyed by the violence of this purulent fever ; which in the 

 diftincl: fmall-pox can only be abated by venefeclion and cathar- 

 tics •, but in the confluent fmall-pox requires cordials and opi- 

 ates, as it is attended with arterial debility. See Seel;. XXXV. 

 I. and 2Q£XIII. 2. 10. 



Wheff the puftules on the face recede, the face f wells ; and 

 when thofe of the hands recede, the hands fwell ; and the fame 

 of the feet in fuccefhon. Thefe fwellings feem to be owing to 

 the abforption of variolous matter, which by its ftimulus excites 

 the cutaneous veffels to fecrete more lymph, or ferum, or mucus, 

 exactly as happens by the ftimulus of a blifter. Now, as a blif- 

 ter fometimes produces ftrangury many hours after it has rifen, 

 it is plain, that a part of the cantharides is abforbed, and carri- 

 ed to the neck ox the bladder 5 whether it enters the circulation, 

 or is carried thither by retrograde movements of the urinary 

 branch of lymphatics : and by parity of realbning the variolous 

 matter is abforbed, and fwells t * face and hands by its ftimulus. 



Variola confjicns. The confmeut fmall-pox confifts of numer- 

 ous puftules, which appear on the third day of the fever, flow 

 together, are irregularly civcumfcribed, flaccid, and little eleva- 

 ted j the fever continuing after the eruption is complete ; con- 



vulfions 



