4 o6 PARALYSIS OF THE LIVER. SECT. XXX a. 



of corifular dignity, or M. Seftius, a Roman knight, 

 was the great difcoverec of this excellent dim." A 

 modern traveller, I believe Mr. Brydone, afferts 

 that the art of enlarging the livers of geefe dill 

 exilis in Sicily ; and it is to be lamented that hedi^i 

 not import it into his native country, as fome me- 

 thod of affecting the human liver might perhaps 

 have been collected from it ; befides the honour he 

 might have acquired in improving our giblet pies. 



Our wifer caupones, I am told, know how to fat- 

 ten their fowls, as well as their geefe, for the London 

 markets, by mixing gin inftead of figs and fat with 

 their food ; by which they are faid to become fleepy, 

 and to fatten apace, and probably acquire enlarged 

 livers ; as the fwine are arjerted to do, which are 

 fed on the fediments of barrels in the diftilleries ; 

 and which fo frequently obtains in thofe, who in- 

 gurgitate much, ale, or wine, or drams. 



II. The irritative difeafes of the kidneys, pancreas, 

 fpleen, and other glands., are analogous to thofe of 

 the liver above defcribed, differing only in the con- 

 fequences attending their inability to action. For 

 inltance, when the' fecretpry veffels of the kidneys 

 become difobedient to the ftimulus of the palling 

 current of blood, no urine is feparated or produced 

 by them ; their excretory mouths become filled with 

 concreted mucus, or calculus matter, and in eight or 

 ten days, iluporand death intervenes in confequence 

 of the retention of the feculent part of the blood. 



This difeafe in a fiighter degree., or when only a 

 part of the kidney is affected, is fucceeded by par- 

 tial inflammation of the kidney in confequence of 

 previous torpor. In that cafe greater actions of the 

 Decretory veffels occur, and the nucleus of gravel is. 

 formed by the inflamed muc6us membranes of the 

 tubuli uriniferi, as farther explained in its place. 



This torpor or paralyfis of the fecretory vefTels 

 of the kidneys, like that of the liver, owes its origin 



to 



