66 Dr. Mac Culloch on Fevers, 



The chapter entitled various neuralgiae, contains exaniples 

 of the occurrence of this disease in a great number of nerves ; 

 while he concludes, that when practitioners shall have learned 

 to pay more attention to this disease under the lights which 

 he has now furnished, that list v/ill be materially aug- 

 mented. 



We believe that some suspicions have lately been enter- 

 tained that sciatica was a neuralgia ; whether or not, the 

 fact is made so clear here, that we shall pass over this 

 chapter entirely, as we must also omit that on the " ques- 

 tionable neuralgiae," for want of space. That on the neu- 

 ralgic affection of glands is a subject equally new and 

 curious, aiding also to illustrate the author's remarks on 

 neuralgic inflammation. The singular case of diabetes, which 

 is given in illustration, removes all doubt of the truth 

 of this hitherto unknown or unobserved modification of 

 neuralgia. 



That neuralgia may arise from injuries of the nerves, is 

 now fully proved, since various authorities are cited in 

 support of the author's own observations : but he has 

 deduced some valuable conclusions from this fact, a con- 

 sequence of the generalization which he has adopted as to 

 the whole disease, while hence also he derives a main argu- 

 ment in favour of his theory of toothach. 



If these entirely new views of this very vulgar, yet almost 

 universal and most vexatious disorder, which we here find, 

 are the part of this work which is most likely to meet 

 with opposition, we observe that he is fully prepared for 

 that ; having, indeed, to use a vulgar phrase, " cried out 

 before he was hurt." It is, perhaps, not the very best policy 

 to begin by throwing down the gauntlet in this manner ; 

 but we caimot deny that his remarks on the persecution of 

 all similar reformers are true. This chapter is very detailed 

 and full, containing, indeed, nearly all that is necessary to 

 an entire history of toothach : and if we consider the 

 frequency of the disease and the aggregate of pain which it 

 produces, it is, perhaps, the most important portion of the 

 whole work. That what appears so obvious, now that it is 

 stated, should not have been known or discovered before, 

 is precisely that which will render the present views unac- 

 ceptable, and the arguments unavailing to conviction ; but 

 we will here transcribe the summary of these as we find it, 

 thus saving ourselves the trouble which we have incurred in 

 other places, while we also give a specimen of the author's 

 style, as is a part of our duty as reviewers. 



