THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES. 



quickly removing the offensive odour of the discharge. A good soothing application is 

 calendula lotion (Pr. 97). It is made by adding thirty drops of tincture of calendula 

 (the common marigold) to a tea-cupful of water. Common lime-water, to which a little 

 glycerine may be added, is a soothing application for sores from which there is much 

 discharge. Glycerine of tannin lightly painted over a discharging ulcer will cover 

 it with a film of coagulated mucus, beneath which the reparative process takes place 

 rapidly. For ulcers with a hard base and overhanging edges, a good lotion may be 

 made by dissolving one grain of common bichromate of potash in eight ounces of 

 water. When a sore is indolent, and shows but little tendency to heal, it is a good 

 plan to draw a stick of lunar caustic over the surface once or twice. It causes very 

 little pain. In very obstinate cases the surgeon often resorts to the process of 

 " skin-grafting." This consists in removing very minute fragments of skin from 

 some other part of the body, or even from another person, and then putting them 

 on the surface of the sore. They are to be covered with little squares of oiled-silk, 

 dressed with some simple lotion, and then left undisturbed for four or five clays. 

 At the end of that time they will probably have disappeared, but soon each of these 

 spots becomes a centre from which healing takes place rapidly. For a small ulcer 

 two or three " grafts" will have to be used, for a larger one half-a-dozen, or perhaps 

 more. They are conveniently taken from the forearm or leg, being cut off with a 

 pair of scissors. The process gives no pain, and the great point is to cut so small 

 a piece that no blood is drawn. This mode of treatment greatly facilitates the 

 process of cure. 



STOMACH. INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH. 



Acute inflammation of the stomach and inflammation of the bowels are so inti- 

 mately associated that the two subjects may be conveniently described as one. It is. 

 remarkable, all things considered, how rarely inflammation of the stomach occurs. 

 The stomach is essentially a long-suffering organ, and will bear a great deal before 

 showing signs of irritation. Acute inflammation may arise from swallowing some- 

 thing more than usually irritating, or from a blow or wound, or possibly the inflam- 

 mation may extend from some other part. In exceptional cases it arises from cold 

 or wet, and sometimes from gout or rheumatism u striking inwards." The ordinary 

 symptoms are pain, usually of a burning character, experienced chiefly at the pit of 

 the stomach, with frequent vomiting, especially after taking food, often with hiccup 

 and tenderness and swelling of the lower part of the abdomen. The temperature 

 will be found to be elevated two or three degrees or more, and the pulse is quicker 

 than usual. The patient feels faint and weak and ill, and is only too glad to take 

 to his bed. The pain is increased by pressure, and often the slightest touch cannot 

 be borne, not even the weight of the bed-clothes. The sufferer is tormented with 

 extreme thirst, but everything is instantly rejected. The bowels are usually con- 

 fined, but sometimes on the contrary there is diarrhoea with much griping and 

 straining. This is a condition which might possibly be confounded with TYPHOID 

 FEVER. 



Acute inflammation of the stomach is a most serious affection, and where possible 

 a medical man should be instantly summoned. Still, even when it is impossible to- 



