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the adjacent parts nro deprived of their fiipport and nourifli- 

 ment. 



Sixthly, by clogging the vcdiL^s with their excrements, their eggs 

 or fpawn, and the bodies of fuch of the animalcules themfelves as die, 

 wliereby the motion of thofe parts being impeded, the moft fatal con- 

 Icquences follow. 



There are many otlier ways in which thefe creatures may prove 

 noxious to animals, but thofe wliich I have here enumerated may be 

 fufficicnt to give an idea of the reR. 



He, then, who can find out and pra6tife a method whereby, with- 

 out injury to the parts of the body where thefe vermin harbour, can 

 prevent their gnawing the parts, their creeping abovit in tlie inteftines, 

 and, what is worfe, their dying there ; or rather, can difcover how to 

 expel them, while alive, out ofthebodj', will in this refpe6t bid fair to 

 eff"c6t a cure. It is laid down as a truth, that a diltemperaturc of the 

 blood and juices, whether proceeding from an ill conftitution thereof, 

 or from an interruption in the circulation, can caufe many difeafes 

 and their ill confequences : but muit it therefore be deemed unrea- 

 fonable to attempt proving, that animalcules being found in tlie 

 juices, or even in the more I'olid parts of the body, may alfo produce 

 difeafes ? The firft of thefe points is mere matter of theory or argu- 

 ment ; of the fecond, more certain proofs can be brought ; confe- 

 quently, it feems more rational, that thofe perfons, who altogether 

 rely upon their experience, fhould, in their enquiries, diligently in- 

 veftigate the reafons on which they found their opinions. 



I forbear to fay any more on this fubjeft, forafmuch as what I have 

 written is only for the improvement of medical knowledge, and as 

 an incentive to the laborious enquirers after new difcoveries in fci- 

 ence, the field of which, is indeed indefinite. 



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