372 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. [May, 



and spasms. With some difficulty I prevailed on him to submit to bleeding, and 

 took from him at least 24 ounces. During the bleeding, the pain in the atidcmen 

 entirely ceased; and what is a little singular, on his arm being tied tip, he lay down 

 on his left side, which the people of the house said lie had not been able to do 

 before, (hough hi; did not complain of any uneasiness in (he region of the liver. A» 

 slight spasms still continued, I ordered him to be put into tite warm bath. By these 

 means, and the e.vhlbition afterwards of a dose of castor oil, he entirely rccoveied. 



From this time, bleeding was very generally adopted in the cases which I had an 

 opportunity" of seeing: latterly also it was had recourse to by such of the assist- 

 ants as i'ad learned to bleed, and was sometimes even urged by the patients them- 

 selvesand their frier.ds. In almost every case it relieved the pain in the abdomea 

 and the spasms, and when the principal symptoms were great oppression at the 

 breast, laboriiuis bre;ithing, and a sense of sufl'ocation, or when the patient had 

 trismus, or general treuiors with giddiness, bleeding was the only remedy which 

 afforded ell'ectual relief. 



When it could be obtained, the usual quantity of blood taken away was 24 

 onnces, and no case occurred to me of the disease after such copious bleeding (for 

 in a native it may be called copious) proving fatal. In two or three instances, 

 however, it was found expedient to repeat the bleeding. 



But while bleeding in an eaily stage of (he disease, and under certain circum- 

 stances, almost uniformly produced the most decided and salutary effects, it wa« 

 in general unavailing in the latter stages, or in the worst forms of (he disease, when 

 the extremities were cold, the jmlse could not be felt, and the eyes fixed and sunk. 

 In such cases indeed it was impossible, as has been already observed, to procure a 

 proper discharge of blood, which merely trickled down in small drops; and open- 

 ing the temporal artery was attended with no advantage, for by this means I never 

 obtained more than two or three ounces of blood. Under such circumstances, no 

 pulsation could be felt in the artery, and, except in one or two instances, the blood 

 flowed out of it without any pulsatory motion. Almost the whole of these cases 

 proved fatal. A few, however, in which the discharge of blood, though smalt, 

 was followed by faintness and profuse perspiration, terminated favourably. 



Article XII. 



Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. 



ROYAL SOCIETY. 



March 23. — A paper, by Mr. J. Hood, was reatj, entitled, 

 " Oil the Means of" supplying Muscles in a State of Paralysis 

 with nervous Power." The author having remarked the effects 

 of nitrate of silver in removing the spasmodic action of the 

 urethra, when applied to a stricture near its orifice, concluded 

 that this salt has the property of influencing the action of the 

 nerves at a considerable distance from the place where applied. 

 Observing likewise the shght discharge produced by an eschar 

 made by the nitrate of silver, he was induced to ascribe to 

 it the power of exciting the absorbents to vigorous action by 

 nervous communication, and in this manner he explained the 

 good effects of the remedy in question in a case of diseased knee 

 joint, when applied so as to produce an eschar. Other cases 

 were related in which the external application of nitrate of silver 

 proved stimulating to the nervous system without proportionally 

 increasing the action of the vascular system. Hence the author 

 concluded that muscular spasm and paralysis are caused by 



