80 SMALL- POX IN SriF.KP. 



microscopic examinations of the fluid contained in the 

 vesicles, with a view to ascertain at what date pus be- 

 came mingled with it. Mr. Ceely kindly furnished us 

 with some tubes filled with fluid obtained in different 

 states of the vesicle, and he thus writes on the subject : 

 " I am very desirous that you should notice the micro- 

 scopic appearances of the contents of the vesicles at 

 three periods; 1st, when filled with clear ichor ; 2d, 

 when opaline ; and, 3d, when turbid or straw-coloured. 

 From what I have seen, I expect you will find y;«.9 glo- 

 bules in the third, if not in the second condition." We 

 will only add, that " the milky " state of the fluid seems 

 to depend on the presence of a large number of epi- 

 thelial scales, and the yellow hue, on the mingling of 

 pus globules ; both of which were readily detected 

 with a sufficient magnifying power, and the latter 

 underwent the usual changes on the addition of acetic 

 acid and other re-agents. 



Some of the French and Italian authors, in their de- 

 scriptions of the eruption, make an erroneous use of 

 the word pustule, and speak of nodules, houtons, and 

 pustules, as if they were synonymous. This occurs in 

 the works of Hurtrel d'Arboval, Sacco, and others, 

 and is likely to mislead even the medical reader with 

 reference to the true phases which the disorder 

 presents. 



The succeeding stage to the vesicular is that which 

 produces a scab, and ends in the fall of the epidermoid 

 covering of the papulae. These changes are spoken of 

 as the processes of desiccation and desquamation. The 

 period of their completion depends on the extent of the 

 original eruption, and also on its being distinct or con- 

 fluent : it is likewise governed by the amount of in flam- 



