Mr. G. Gulliver's Researches on Suppuration. Sect. I. 201 



of such cases, it would not be advantageous to produce sup- 

 puration as soon as possible on the surface of the body, so as 

 to establish a drain by which the blood might be deprived of 

 the offending matter. It may be asked also, whether the be- 

 nefit so often effected by blisters, setons, and issues, in certain 

 internal inflammations, — or by incisions, which cause sup- 

 puration, in inflammatory affections of the integuments, be not 

 explicable by this theory? It is well known that in cases of 

 traumatic or idiopathic inflammation, attended with great 

 swelling and febrile excitement, the establishment of suppu- 

 ration in the part is generally a favourable symptom, the se- 

 paration of the pus from the blood being a sort of crisis to the 

 symptomatic fever. In small-pox, it is a popular belief that 

 " the striking in," as it is termed, or suppression of the pus- 

 tules, is a bad symptom; and this is so far true, that the 

 worst cases of this disease are those in which there is great 

 swelling of the integuments without the due formation of pus 

 in the usual situation. In every instance in which I have ex- 

 amined it, I found pus in the blood of patients aff'ected with 

 small-pox. 



In the fourth and fifth experiments the pus which was in- 

 jected into the serous sacs would appear to have been absorbed. 

 A more careful inquiry, however, would be requisite to warrant 

 this conclusion ; for in some experiments made by Dr. Davy, 

 the quantity of matter injected seemed to be increased; and I 

 have since made an experiment with the same result. 



The absorption of pus being the cause of hectic fever is an 

 old hypothesis, which the detection of pus in the blood in 

 cases of chronic abscess and in pulmonary consumption might 

 be supposed to confirm. It does not seem necessary, how- 

 ever, to assign two causes for one effect. When pus in large 

 quantities is incessantly forming in the capillaries, it is easy 

 to imagine how it may become mixed with the blood. 



I have related instances of pus in the blood, independently 

 of suppuration out of the vessels : this fact appears to be of 

 some importance, for it must be inferred that the pus was not 

 absorbed, but formed in the blood. 



If it be objected to some of the foregoing views, that pus 

 and extravasated blood are often absorbed without any ill 

 effects, and that no constitutional disturbance may ensue after 

 inflammation and the consequent effusion of fibrine — it may 

 be remarked, first, that pus and blood are probably absorbed 

 in a modified state ; and secondly, that a small quantity of 

 pus, like other poisons, gradually added to the circulation 

 may not be productive of bad symptoms. The sixth and 

 seventh experiments may be cited in illustration. It is pro- 



