THE MOUTH, AND ITS TEEATMENT. 283 



I therefore dropped the use of iodine, and sub- 

 stituted quinine and iron, the citrates of these 

 remedies, and, as a local application, a wash com- 

 posed of the tincture of pellitory, four drachms to 

 the eight ounces* In four days the symptoms 

 had greatly abated, the pain had much diminished, 

 and the general appearance improved ; but as the 

 pus was still formed in considerable quantities, I 

 substituted for the pellitory a chloride of zinc 

 wash, as recommended by Mr. Tomes in his 

 " Manual." In four days from this the secretion 

 of pus ceased, the gums were of a natural colour, 

 the red band having entirely disappeared, and the 

 teeth were firm. In this case there was no local 

 exciting cause. It was one, the cause of which 

 was purely constitutional, and which could only 

 be properly treated by constitutional remedies. 

 The extracting of teeth might have been of tem- 

 porary service, but the pain must inevitably have 

 returned when the cause was deeper than the root, 

 and not to be withdrawn with it. 



I will bring my remarks on the treatment of 

 periostitis to a close, by giving one case in which 

 local and constitutional causes combined to bring 

 about, or to speak more correctly, as I saw nothing 

 of the case in its earliest stages, to keep up the 

 evil. In such cases it is, as I have already said, 

 clearly our duty to remove all local causes of 

 irritation, while we assail the constitutional. In 

 the following case, however, I postponed all local 



