THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 7.93 



them diminished, and respiration of course im- 

 peded, attended with a sensation of chilliness,* 

 which is increased by the slightest current of air. 

 In this enfeebled condition of the capillaries, the 

 lungs, lining membrane of the throat and nostrils, 

 become congested with blood, when effusion of 

 serum takes place, attended with coughing, sneez- 

 ing, and a thickening of the membranes, by 

 which the bronchi, trachea, and nostrils, are 

 more or less obstructed, the free inspiration of 

 vital air impeded, the arterialization of the blood 

 and its circulation throughout the body dimi- 

 nished, and all the secretions deranged. 



* Dr. Edwards relates the case of a vigorous young man, who 

 fell into the river Seine when it was full of floating ice, and with 

 difficulty escaped by swimming; after which he continued chilly 

 for three days, even before a warm fire. In this case, the circu- 

 lation through the lungs was so far paralyzed by the immersion, 

 that respiration was diminished. A similar case was related to me 

 of a mechanic, who, after fatiguing himself by over-exertion, impru- 

 dently bathed in the river Wye, in the month of April, until he 

 became chilled, which produced torpor and congestion of the 

 lungs, that ended in what is called hepatization of their substance. 

 And so far were the air cells thus obstructed, that he suffered a 

 sensation of coldness throughout the following May and June, 

 when he was removed in a state of extreme debility to St. Bar- 

 tholomew's Hospital, where he soon afterwards expired. Now 

 can any rational individual doubt, that an early application of 

 the warm bath would have aroused the torpid circulation, restored 

 the natural function of the lungs, and thus have prevented all the 

 fatal symptoms that followed ? Would not this delightful remedy 

 be equally efficacious in the early stage of all diseases that are 

 ushered in with chilliness ? And if so, is it not the duty of every 

 family to have a warm bath in the house ? 



