FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF DISEASE. 43 



irritating it. The increased bk)od pressure tliroiip^hotit the body may 

 be diminished by lessening: the quantity of bhmd. This is ol)tained 

 in some cases witli advantagfe when the disease is but startin<j: and 

 the animal is plethoric by direct abstraction of blood, as in bleed- 

 ing: from the jugular or other veins: or by derivatives, such as mus- 

 tard, turpentine, or blisters applied to the skin: or by setons, >vhich 

 draw to the surface the fluid of the blood, thereby lessening its vol- 

 ume without having the disadvantage of impoverishing the ele- 

 ments of the blood found in bleeding. In many cases antipyretics 

 given by the mouth and cold applied to the skin are most useful. 



When the irritation which is the cause of fever is a specific one, 

 either in the form of bacteria (living organisms), as in glanders, 

 tuberculosis, influenza, septicemia, etc., or in the form of a foreign 

 element, as in rheumatism, gout, hemaglobinuria, and other so-called 

 diseases of nutrition, we employ remedies which have been found to 

 have a direct specific action on them. Among the specific remedies 

 for various diseases are counted quinin, carbolic acid, salicylic acid, 

 antipyrene. mercury, iodin, the empyreumatic oils, tars, resins, aro- 

 matics, sulphur, and a host of other drugs, some of which are of 

 known effect and others of which are theoretical in action. Certain 

 remedies, like simple aromatic teas, vegetable acids, such as vinegar, 

 lemon juice, etc., alkalines in the form of salts, sweet spirits of niter, 

 etc.. which are houseliold remedies, are always useful, because they 

 act on the excreting organs and ameliorate the effects of fever. Other 

 remedies, which arc to be used to influence the cause of fever, must 

 be selected with judgment and from a thorough knowledge of the 

 nature of the disjcuse. 



