£ B8 DISEASES Sect. XXXII. 3. 3, 



lation of blood in the lungs, occafioned by the preflure as well 

 as bv the boldnefs of the water. This is not a fatisfa&ory ac- 

 count of this curious phenomenon, fince at this time the 

 whole circulation is lefs, as appears from the fmallnefs of the 

 pulfe and coldnefs of the breath ; which {hew that lefs blood 

 palles through the lungs in a given time ; the fame laborious 

 breathing immediately occurs when the palencfs of the fkin is 

 produced by fear, where no external cold or preflure are applied. 



The minute veffels of the bronchia, through which the blood 

 paffes from the arterial to the venal fyftem, and which corref- 

 pond with the cutaneous capillaries, have frequently been ex- 

 pofed to coid air, and become quiefcenl along with thofe of the 

 ikin j and hence their motions are fo affociated together, that 

 when one is affected either with quiefcence or exertion, the 

 other fympathizes with it, according to the laws of irritative 

 aflbciation. See Seel:. XXVII. I. on haemorrhages. 



Betides the quiefcence of the minute veffels of the lungs, 

 there are many other fyftems of veffels which become torpid 

 from their irritative affociations with thofe of the fkin, as the 

 abforbents of the bladder and interlines ; whence an evacuation 

 of pale urine occurs, when the naked fkin is expofed only to 

 the coldnefs of the atmofphere j and fpr inkling the naked body 

 with cold water is known to remove even pertinacious confti- 

 pation of the bowels. From the quiefcence of fuch extenfive 

 fyftems of veffels as the glands and capillaries of the fkin, and' 

 the minute veffels of the lungs, with their various abforbent fe- 

 ries of veffels, a great accumulation of fenforial powers is occa- 

 fioned ; part of which is again expended in the increafed ex- 

 ertion of all thefe veffels, with an univerfal glow of heat in con- 

 fequence of this exertion, and the remainder of it adds vigour 

 to both the vital and voluntary exertions of the whole day. 



If the activity of the fubcutaneous veffels, and of thofe with 

 which their actions are affociated, was too great before cold im- 

 merfion, as in the hot days of fummer, and by that means the 

 fenforial power was previoufiy diminifhed, we fee the caufe 

 why the cold bath gives fuch prefent ftrength •, namely, by flop- 

 ping the .unneceffary activity of the fubcutaneous veffels, and 

 thus preventing the too great exhaultion of fenforial power ; 

 which, in metaphorical language, has been called bracing the 

 fyflem : which is, however, a mechanical term, only applicable 

 drums, or mufical ftrings : as on the contrary the word re- 

 taxatiotiy when applied to living animal bodies, can only mean 

 too iiii ail a quantity of ftimulus, or too fmall a quantity of 

 fenforial power ; as explained in Sect. XII. I. 



3, This experiment of cold bathing prefents us with a fimple 



fever- fit ; 



