Sect. XXIX. 4. o. ABSORBENTS. ift 



* 



Urinary branch, and pours it into the bladder. Hence tins mu- 

 cilaginous diabetes is a cure, or the confequence of a cure, of a 

 worfe difeafe, rather than a difeafe itfelf. 



Dr. Cotunnius gave half an ounce of cream of tartar, every 

 morning, to a patient, who had the anafarca \ and he voided a 

 great quantity of urine *, a part of which, put over the fire, co- 

 agulated, on the evaporation of half of it, to as' to look like the 

 white of an egg. De Ifchiade Nervos. 



This kind of diabetes frequently precedes a dropfy; and has 

 this remarkable circumftance attending it, that it generally hap- 

 pens in the night \ as during the recumbent (late of the body, 

 the fluid, that was accumulated in the cellular membrane, or in 

 the lungs, is more readily abforbed, as it is lefs impeded by its 

 gravity. I have feen more than one inftance of this difeafe. 

 Mr. D. a man in the decline of life, who had long; ace u domed 

 himfelf to fpirituous liquor, had fvvelled legs, and ether fymp- 

 toms of approaching anafarca : about once in a week or ten days, 

 for feveral months, he was feized, on going to bed, with great 

 general uneafinefs, which his attendants refembled to an hyiteric 

 lit ; and which terminated in a great difcharge of vifcid urine ; 

 his legs became lefs fvvelled, and he continued in better health 

 for feme days afterwards. I had not the opportunity to try it 

 this urine would coagulate over the fire, when part of it was 

 evaporated, which I imagine would be the criterion of this kind 

 of diabetes 5 as the mucilaginous fluid depofited in the' ceils and 

 cyfts of the body, which have no communication with the exter- 

 nal air, feejms to acquire, by ftagnation, this property of coagula- 

 tion by heat, which the fecreted mucus of the interlines and bla ■!■• 

 der do not appear to pofTefs ; as I have found by experiment : 

 and if any one (hould fuppofe this coagulable urine was fepa- 

 rated from the blood by the kidneys, lie may recoiled, thai in the 

 rnoft inflammatory difeafes, in which the blood is mod replete 

 pr mod ready to part with the coagulable lymph, none of this 

 appears in the urine. 



9. Different kinds of diabetes require different methods of 

 cure. For the fir ft kind, or chyliferous diabetes, after clearing 

 the flomach and interlines, by ipecacuanha and rhubarb, to 

 evacuate any acid material, which may too powerfully ftimuiate 

 the mouths of the lacteals, repeated and large dofes of tincture 

 of cantharides have been much recommended. The fpeeitic 

 ftimulus of this medicine, on the neck of the bladder, is likely 

 to excite the numerous abforbent veCcls, which are fpread cii 

 that part, into ftronger natural actions, and by that means pre- 

 vent their retrograde ones ; till, by perfitting in the ufe of the 

 medicine, their natural habit: of motions might again be eftab- 

 Vol. I. li Hfhed, 



