CHAPTER XXIII. 



DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



Inflammation. 



Inflammation is an increased action of the blood-vessels. The 

 consequence is an increased amount of blood to the part. 



1. The Heat. This is an invariable symptom, being always 

 present to a greater or less degree. It is produced by the more 

 rapid oxidation going on, consequent on the increased quantity of 

 blood circulating in the parts immediately surrounding. 



2. Redness is due to the increased determination of the blood 

 to the part, the distention of the hitherto invisible capillaries with 

 red blood, and sometimes, when extensive, to the extravasation of 

 blood from the bursting of the thin walls of the vessels. 



3. Pain. The pain in an inflamed part is almost the first and 

 most characteristic symptom. It is due to the tension of the 

 tissues and implication of the nerves and nerve centers. The 

 degree of pain varies according to the seat of the inflammation 

 and the degree of its intensity. The more sensitive the part, the 

 more painful will it be under inflammation. Thus, it is sharp 

 and cutting in inflammation of serous membranes, dull and gnaw- 

 ing in diseases of bones, and burning in inflammation of the skin. 

 When matter is forming, the pain becomes throbbing and intense. 



4. The swelling is due to the vascular engorgement and the 

 exudation of serum in the first place, and afterward the formation 

 of fibrine, and in the the latter stages to the development of matter. 

 The other concomitant symptoms of inflammation will be noticed 

 when we come to treat of local inflammatioxis, or inflammation of 

 particular organs. 



Inflammation, though regarded as a disease, is the principal 



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