DISEASES 



noxious property, is produced; which acts like contagion on the 

 constitution inducing fever fits, called hectic fever, which termi- 

 nate with sweats or diarrhoea; whereas the matter in the closed 

 abscess is either not absorbed, or does not so affect the circula- 

 tion as to produce diurnal or hectic fever-fits; but the stimulus 

 of the abscess excites so much sensation as to induce perpetual 

 pyrexia, or inflammatory fever, without such marked remissions. 

 Nevertheless there sometimes is no fever produced, when the 

 matter is lodged in a part of little sensibility, as in the liver; yet 

 a white pus-like sediment in those cases exists I believe general- 

 ly in the urine, with occasional wandering pains about the region 

 of the liver or chest. 



3. Vomica. An abscess in the lungs is sometimes produced 

 after peripneumony, the cough and shortness of breath continue 

 in less degree, with difficulty in lying on the well side, and with 

 sensitive irritated fever, as explained in the preceding article. 



The occasional increase of fever, with hard pulse and sizy 

 blood, in these patients, is probably owing to the inflammation 

 of the walls of the vomica; as it is attended with difficulty of 



breathing, and requires venesection. Mr. B , a child about 



seven years old, lived about seven weeks in this situation, with a 

 pulse from 150 to 170 in a minute, without sweats, or diarrhoea, 

 or sediment in his water, except mucus occasionally; and took 

 sufficient nourishment during the whole time. The blood ta- 

 ken was always covered with a strong cupped size, and on his 

 death three or four pints of matter were found in one side of the 

 chest; which had probably, but lately, been effused from a 

 vomica. This child was frequently induced to swing, both in a 

 reciprocating and in a rotatory swing, without any apparent ab- 

 sorption of matter; in both these swings he expressed pleasure^ 

 and did not appear to be vertiginous. 



M. M. Repeated emetics. Digitalis? Perseverance in rota- 

 tory swinging. See Class II. 1. 6. 7. 



Mr. I. had laboured some months under a vomica after a perip- 

 neumony, he was at length taken with a catarrh, which was in 

 some degree endemic in March, 1795, which occasioned him to 

 sneeze much, during which a copious ha)morrhage from the 

 lungs occurred, and he spit up at the same time half a pint of 

 very fetid matter, and recovered. Hence errhines may be occa- 

 sionally used with advantage. 



4. Empyema. When the matter from an abscess in the lungs 

 finds its way into the cavity of the chest, it is called an empye- 

 ma. A servant man, after a violent peripneumony, was seized 

 with symptoms of empyema, and it was determined, after some 

 time, to perform the operation; this was explained to him, and 



