ON THE CIRCULATION. 619 



36, his temperature soon fell to 87, when the 

 pulse became nearly extinct. So greatly is the 

 pulmonary circulation paralyzed in such cases, 

 that very little carbon and hydrogen are given 

 off in the air cells of the lungs ; the supply of 

 animal heat by respiration is nearly suspended; 

 and if the circulation be not speedily restored by 

 the warm bath, the patient remains chilly for two 

 or three days, even before an ordinary fire. 



The same thing occurs during asthma, and 

 that congested state of the lungs which exists in 

 the early stages of tubercular consumption. It 

 has also been observed, that during the cold stage 

 of cholera, and some of the more malignant forms 

 of algid fever, the temperature is often reduced 

 from 10 to 20 below the normal standard, when 

 the blood, even in the arteries, assumes a dark 

 venous hue, and the general circulation is so far 

 diminished, as to resemble the languor of cold 

 blooded animals, with a frightful prostration of 

 all the vital functions. What then would be the 

 effect of resorting to the warm bath, during, or 

 rather before, the commencement of the cold stage 

 that ushers in nearly all diseases? The managers 

 of the Royal Humane Society have already an- 

 swered this question, by employing the warm 

 bath in cases of suspended animation from ex- 

 posure to mephitic gases, and from immersion 

 under water. I have also found, that by remaining 

 40 minutes in a bath raised to 110, the pulse was 



