410 DISEASES CLASS IV. 4. 1. 17. 



without opening them ; for he will for a time feem to be ftill 

 going forwards ; which is difficult to explain. See Sect. XX. 6. 

 In the beginning of fome fevers, along with inceflant vomit- 

 ing, the patients complain of difagreeable taftes in their mouth, 

 and difagreeable odours *, which are to be afcribed to the gen- 

 eral debility of the great trains, and tribes of affbciated and irrita- 

 tive motions, and to be explained from their direct fympathy 

 with the decreafed action of a fick ftomach ; or from the lefs 

 fecretion of fenforial power in the brain. Thefe organs of fenfe 

 are conftantly ftimulated into action by the faliva or by the air ; 

 hence, like the fenfe of hunger, when they are torpid from want 

 of ftimulus, or from want of fenforial power, pain or difagreea- 

 ble fenfation enfues, as of hunger, or faintneis, or ficknefs in 

 one cafe ; and the ideas of bad taftes or odours in the other. 

 This accords with the laws of caufation, Sect. IV. 5. 



17. Pulfus mollis in vomitione. The foftnefs of the pulfe in 

 the act of vomiting is caufed by direct affociation between the 

 heart and the ftomach ; as explained in Sect. XXV. 17. A great 

 flownefs of the pulfation of the heart fometimes attends ficknefs, 

 and even with intermifiions of it, as in the exhibition of too great 

 a dofe of digitalis. 



1 8. Pulfus intermittent a ventricule. When the pulfe firft be- 

 gins to intermit, it is common for the patient to bring up a lit- 

 tle air from his ftomach ; which if he accomplifhes before the 

 intermiffion occurs, always prevents it 5 whence that this debil- 

 ity of the heart is owing to the direct aflbciation of its motions 

 with thofe of the ftomach is well evinced. See Sect. XXV. 17. 



I this morning faw Mr. , who has long had at times an 



unequal pulfe, with indigeftion and flatulency, and occafional 

 afthma ; he was feized two days ago with diarrhoea, and this 

 morning with ficknefs, and his pulfe was every way unequal. 

 After an emetic his pulfe ftill continued very intermittent and 

 unequal. He then took fome breakfaft of toaft and butter, and 

 tea, and to my great furprife his pulfe became immediately per- 

 fectly regular, about 100 in a minute, and not weak, by this 

 ftimulus on his ftomach. 



A perfon, who for many years had had a frequent intermif- 

 fion of his pulfe, and occaiional palpitation of his heart, was re- 

 lieved from them both for a time by taking about four drops of 

 a faturated folution of arfenic three or four times a day for three 

 or four days. As this intermiflion of the pulfe is occafioned by 

 the direct affbciation of the motions of the heart with thofe of 

 the ftomach, the indication of cure muft be to ftrengthen the ac- 

 tion of the ftomach by the bark. Spice. Moderate quantities 



of 



