271 



COMPRESSION OF THE BRAIN. 



SYMPTOMS Loss of sense and motion ; slow, noisy and 

 laborious breathing; pulse slow and irregular; the muscles 

 relaxed, as in a person just dead ; the pupil of the eye 

 enlarged, and will not contract even by a strong light ; the 

 patient lies like one in an apoplectic fit, and cannot be 

 roused. 



TREATMENT. Open a vein and draw off sixteen or twen- 

 ty ounces of blood ; shave the head, and, if possible, pro- 

 cure surgical assistance without delay, as there is nothing 

 but an operation that can be of any avail. 



OF WOUNDS. 



Wounds are of three kinds, viz : incised, punctured, and 

 contused ; among the latter are included gunshot wounds. 

 The first step in all wounds, is 



TO STOP THE BLEEDING. 



If the flow of blood is but trifling, draw the edges of the 

 wound together with your hand, and hold them in that 

 position some time, when it will frequently stop. If, on 

 the contrary, it is large, of a bright red color, flowing in 

 spirts or with a jerk, clap your finger on the spot it springs 

 from, and hold it there with a firm pressure, while you 

 direct some one to pass a handkerchief round the limb 

 (supposing the wound to be in one,) above the cut, and 

 to tie its two ends together in a hard knot. A cane, whip, 

 handle, or stick of any kind, must now be passed under 

 the knot, (between the upper surface of the limb and the 

 handkerchief,) and turned round and round until the stick 

 is brought down to the thigh, so as to make the handker- 

 chief encircle it with considerable tightness. You may 

 then take off your finger, if the blood still flows, and tight- 



