CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



direct the current of blood in its proper course. 

 The valves are composed of two or three seg- i 

 merits, which, in health, have smooth surfaces and 

 edo-es, and serve accurately to close the orifices 

 round which they are placed. But inflamma- 

 tion of the lining of the heart causes thickening 

 and contraction of one or more of the segments, 

 and there is often a deposition of lymph on the 

 edge of the segment. The consequence is that 

 the valvular apparatus is seriously injured. The 

 aperture between the cavities may become much 

 smaller than natural, and the valves may be so 

 destroyed as to allow the blood to flow back from 

 one cavity into another, when the heart contracts. 

 This leads to further organic disease. The wall 

 of the heart may become preternaturally thickened, 

 or the cavity may be unusually dilated ; the blood 

 may be so arrested in its course through the left 

 side of the heart as to lead to congestion of the 

 lungs, fulness of the right cavities of the heart, 

 and congestion of all the veins returning the 

 blood from the body. This state is followed by 

 the effusion of serum into the cavities of the body, 

 or into the loose cellular tissue under the skin, 

 constituting dropsy. It is evident that disease of 

 the valves can rarely be cured. The patient 

 should be counselled to avoid either mental or 

 bodily excitement. By doing so, in many cases, 

 life may be prolonged for many years. The 

 symptoms associated with an advanced state of 

 the disease can be treated only by a medical man. 

 The term Angina pectoris is given to a disease 

 characterised by great and agonising pain in the 

 heart, coming on in paroxysms, accompanied by 

 a feeling of suffocation, and a dreadful sense of 

 immediate death. It is usually a symptom of 

 obscure heart disease. The treatment must be 

 immediate. Give a glass of hot brandy-and-water, 

 and apply a warm poultice over the heart. A 

 doctor should be sent for at once. 



Palpitation of the heart is a distressing feeling 

 of the organ beating irregularly. It is sometimes 

 a symptom of heart disease ; but in many cases it 

 is caused by indigestion, flatulence, the excessive 

 use of tobacco, or over-study or anxiety. Many 

 people imagine they suffer from heart disease 

 because the symptoms produced by the causes 

 just mentioned may be very similar to those of 

 organic disease of the heart ; but a physician, aftei 

 listening with his stethoscope, is usually able to 

 assure them there is no disease to imperil life 

 When the causes are removed by suitable reme 

 dies, or change of habits, the symptoms quickl) 

 disappear. In these cases, a dose of 8 grams o 

 citrate of iron and quinine in half an ounce o 

 water, thrice daily after food, is beneficial. 



2 The arteries are not liable to acute inflamma 

 tion. In old people, the lining membrane anc 

 walls of these vessels undergo a slow form of fatt] 

 degeneration, by which they become weak, anc 

 are readily ruptured. This fatty change is often 

 accompanied by the appearance of a faint bluish 

 white ring round the margin of the cornea of th 

 eye, called the Arcus senilis. Many diseases o 

 aged persons, such as paralysis, caused by th 

 effusion of blood into the brain, are due to ruptur 

 of the coats of vessels which have undergone thi 

 subtle degeneration. 



3. Inflammation of the -veins is termed phlebitis 

 The symptoms are pain, swelling, and redness i 

 the course of the vessel. The swelling may sup 



772 



purate, and discharge externally ; or pus may be 

 formed within the vein, and be carried by the 

 stream of the circulation to distant parts of the 

 body, such as the lungs or liver, giving rise to 

 serious affections of these organs. The treatment 

 is complete rest, hot fomentations, and, if the 

 person be weak, nourishing food and a glass or 

 wo of port wine daily. 



II. DISEASES OF THE ORGANS OF RESPIRATION, 



1. The Air-passages. Catarrh. This affec- 

 lon is known as a cold, and consists of inflamma- 

 ion of the mucous membrane of the air-passages, 

 t may be limited to the lining of the nose and 

 f the cavities in the frontal bone over the eye- 

 brows, when it is termed a coryza; or it may ex- 

 end to the lining of the windpipe and bronchial 

 ubes in the lungs, when it receives the name of 

 Bronchitis. The symptoms of a cold are well 

 <nown. The disease runs a natural course, and 

 s not much affected by any medicines. Bathing 

 he feet in hot water, the application of a poultice 

 o the chest, if there be much irritation or tight- 

 ness in that region, and perhaps ten grains of 



Dover's powder at bedtime, is all that is necessary. 



2. The Larynx. Loss of Voice, or Aphonia 

 The voice is produced by the vibration of the 

 vocal cords of the larynx, caused by the current 

 of air passing upwards from the lungs in ex- 



jiration. The cords consist of two thin mem- 

 jranous bands passing from before backwards, 

 attached by one border to the side of the larynx, 

 and having the other border free. The two free 

 aorders have a narrow slit or chink between them, 

 termed the glottis. To produce voice, these cords 

 must be of uniform thickness, and both must be 

 at liberty to vibrate with the same rapidity. 

 Hence it is that a wart or small tumour even on 

 one cord, or paralysis of one cord, or even thick- 

 ening of one cord, always causes loss of voice. 

 In hoarseness during a cold, the cords are inflamed 

 and thickened. After protracted speaking or sing- 

 ing, or after singing high notes, the cords may 

 become dry, when partial hoarseness is the result. 

 Hoarseness from these causes is temporary ; but 

 if permanent, it is probably due to some organic 

 affection, such as a tumour, which can be dealt 

 with only by a surgeon specially skilled in the 

 treatment of diseases of the throat. In recent 

 times, a great advance has been made in t 

 detection and treatment of diseases of the cords 

 by the invention of the laryngoscope, 

 strument consists of a small mirror fixed at the 

 end of a slender handle, at such an angle that when 

 placed at the back of the throat, an image of the 

 opening of the larynx, with a view of the vocal cords, 

 is readily seen. Occasionally we meet with case; 

 of loss of voice in which no disease whatever can 

 be detected. It is then dependent on a nervous 

 disorder, and all that can be done is to improve 

 the general health. 



Croup is a disease so common among child 

 and often so fatal, if not attended to at the outse 

 with prompt skill, as to merit our careful atte 

 tion. It is an inflammatory affection of 

 lining membrane of the larynx and trachea, ac- 

 companied by the development of membranou 

 matter on the inflamed surface. It usually com- 

 mences with the symptoms of a cold, such a 

 cough, fever, restlessness, and running at the no* 



