PECULIAR SECRETIONS. 377 



feelings, and confirmed by a variety of decisive experi- 

 ments. Dr CURRIE found the temperature of a man, 

 plunged into cold salt-water at 44, to sink in the course 

 of a minute and a half, after immersion, from 98 to 87, and 

 in other experiments, it descended as low as 85, and even 

 83 *. In these experiments, the pulse sunk from 70 beats 

 in a minute, its natural state, to 68 and even 65 ; and after 

 the f^st irregular action of the diaphragm from the shock of 

 immersion had ceased, the breathing became regular, and 

 unusually slow. When the human body is exposed to a 

 higher temperature than its natural standard, a correspond- 

 ing change likewise takes place. Dr FORDYCE tried a varie- 

 ty of experiments on this subject. By exposing the body 

 to heated air in a close room to the temperature of 120, 

 and in some cases as high as 211, the heat of the body 

 rose to 100. In this situation the pulse beat 145 times in 

 a minute. No change, however, was produced on respira- 

 tion, it became neither quick nor laborious -f-. Similar ex- 

 periments have likewise been performed on other warm- 

 blooded animals. Dr HUNTER found the temperature of 

 a common mouse to be 99, when the atmosphere was 60 ; 

 but when the same animal was exposed for an hour to a 

 cold atmosphere of 15, its heat had sunk to 83 J. Dr 

 CRAWFORD exposed a dog, whose natural heat is 101 or 

 102, to water whose temperature was raised to 112, and 

 found that his temperature was raised to 108 and 109. 

 In air at 130, the temperature of the dog was 106 . 



Phil. Trans. 1792, p. 199. t Ibid - 1775, p. 114. 



Ibid. 1778, p. 21. 



Phil. Trans. 1781, p. 486. The venous blood, in such experiments, 

 appeared of a light florid colour, like the arterial, indicating the diminished 

 actipn of the capillary vessels upon the blood. 



