96 ANALYTIC _, SECT. X. 
ccxxu. Inflammation may again* be brought 
on from decreased vital force of an organ. If the 
hand be exposed to severe cold, the collapse of 
the capillaries and extreme arteries of the fingers, 
obstruct the passage of the blood into the veins; 
but the brachial artery still continuing to receive 
its ordinary quantity of blood, becomes more 
turgid, and contracts with additional force, which, 
by degrees, mechanically distends the extreme 
arteries of the fingers. ‘The stoppage of the 
blood speedily acts on the nerves of the part; the 
capillaries, in their turn, dilate to a morbid ex- 
tent, and the blood rushes into them from the 
turgid arteries, and throbbing pain, redness, swel- 
ling, and increased heat, are the consequences. 
ccxx1u. Stimulating causes produce inflamma- 
tion, from accumulating the blood in the part, 
from morbid expansion of the extreme arteries; 
sedative causes do the same, by stopping the pro- 
gress of the blood through the capillaries: This 
is the mechanism of acute inflammation, so far 
as Iam able to judge; and upon these principles 
may be explained the manner in which heat and 
cold produce the same ultimate effects on the ex- 
treme vessels. When the blood accumulates to an 
excessive degree in the dilated arteries, it is apt to 
annihilate the functions of the nerves, and when- 
ever this is the case, mortification certainly follows. 
