178 



THE VASCULAR SYSTEM 



d> S 



fc-e 



s a 



nerve then becomes depressor. By increasing the cardiac power, 

 and the action of the skeletal muscles, those of respiration in 



particular, strychnine may act 

 favourably. 



Those who, like Crile, main- 

 tain that strychnine is useless 

 as a drug in shock can argue 

 that the constrictor synapses are 

 easily paralysed in this condition 

 by the drug, and thus it may 

 accentuate rather than alleviate 

 the fall of arterial pressure, for 

 it will then excite the vaso- 

 dilators which supply all parts, 

 and the limbs in particular. The 

 cutaneous dilatation will favour 

 the loss of body heat. Bandaging 

 the limbs and particularly the 

 abdomen partly restores the 

 arterial pressure and cerebral 

 circulation in a rabbit, which 

 has been fixed in the vertical 

 position, as it does in the dog 

 chloroformed or collapsed from 

 loss of blood. Crile has intro- 

 duced a rubber pneumatic suit 

 for confining the body in states 

 of shock. An equable air pres- 

 sure is kept up so that the 

 arterial pressure measured with 

 the sphygmometer is restored. 

 ^1=^ Flaps are arranged in the dress 



1 1 



o 





.2 > 



1^ 



-S fe-ffl" 



s 



which can be removed for the 

 surgeon to operate. The pres- 

 sure of the air can be reduced 

 gradually as the patient shows 

 signs of recovery. This seems a 

 sound and rational method of treatment. The objects in view 

 are to fill the heart, increase the resistance in the arterioles, 

 and compress the capillary-venous areas of the limbs and trunk 



11 



cL - 



