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effects, for which it is now deservedly received in the Materia 
Medica, were wholly overlooked; >that ‘to this discovery Dr. 
Withering has an undoubted claim, and the num@rous- cases of 
dropsy, related by him and_ other practitioners of established repu- 
tation, afford incontestible evidence of its diuretic powers, and of 
its practical importance in the cure of those diseases. From Dr. 
Withering’s extensive experience of the use of the Digitalis-in 
dropsies, he has been enabled to judge of its success by the follow- 
ing circumstances :—‘ It seldom succeeds in men of great natural 
strength, of tense fibre, of warm skin, of florid complexion, or in 
those with a tight and cordy pulse. . If the belly in ascites be tense, 
hard, and circumscribed, or the limbs in anasarca solid and resisting, 
we have but little hope. On the contrary, if the pulse be feeble, 
or intermitting, the countenance pale, the lips livid, the skin cold, 
the swollen belly soft and fluctuating, the anasarcous limbs readily 
pitting under the pressure of the finger, we may expect the diuretic 
effects to follow ina kindly manner.’* Of the inferences which he 
deduces, the fourth is, “ that if it (Digitalis) fails, there is but little 
dance tt any other medicine succeeding.” Thus we are to infer, 
that men of great natural strength, and under the other circum- 
stances just mentioned, when affected with dropsy, have little to 
hope for from the use of this diuretic, and still less from any other 
medicine.‘ As this observation is the result of experience, and of 
considerable practical consequence, we wish particularly to press it 
on the attention of the medical reader. Although the Digitalis is 
‘now generally admitted to be a very powerful diuretic, and many 
cases may be adduced of its successful use* in addition to those 
4 See his account of the Fox-glove, published 1785; a book, which, in the opinion 
of Dr. Cullen, ‘‘ should be in the hands of every practitioner of physic.” (M.M.) 
~ * hve, p. 189. & seq. ‘In such cases Dr. W. attempts to induce a change in the 
constitution, and thereby to fit it for the action of the Digitalis. Would not repeated 
purging, according to Sydenham’s plan, succeed best in these cases? 
The author could bring many instances were it necessary, of the good effects of 
the Digitalis: a clinical patient at Guy’s Hospital, treated by Dr. Relph last winter, 
afforded a striking proof of the efficacy of this medicine in hydrothorax. 
