6 PHILOSOPHICAL TKANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1744. 



year, he was called to the assistance of one Jane Roman, near 50 years age, and 

 coniined to her bed, under that species of dropsy called ascites, owing its rise, 

 some years before, to the severity of a lingering intermittent fever. The most 

 remarkable of her complaints were, loss of appetite, difficult breathing, un- 

 quenchable thirst, suppression of urine, and a short, importunate asthmatic 

 cough, joined to that essential symptom of the disease, a large quantity of extra- 

 vasated waters in the cavity of the abdomen, distending it to an enormous size, 

 and perceptibly fluctuating. Her more inferior parts were likewise swoln to an 

 uncommon magnitude, with livid spots and vesications in divers places. Under 

 these circumstances, and already satiated with tedious courses of ineffectual medi- 

 cines, Mr. W. drew from her (Sept. 20th) 36 pints of a greenish transparent 

 lymph, by a paracentesis made after the usual manner; by which her complaints 

 vanished, and she was soon re-established. With some part of the extracted 

 lymph, which he had conveyed to his own house, on his return thither, he made 

 the following observations : 



Obs. 1 . — Being as warm as it came from the abdomen, with one pint of it he 

 mixed the like quantity of fresh Bristol water; and immediately a slight coagulum 

 ensued. — Ots. 2. Mixing equal parts of warmed lymph and cohore claret to- 

 gether, the same phenomenon appeared; the coagulum subsided, and the mix- 

 ture became milky. — Obs. 3. Being mixed with Pyrmont water, it manifested 

 little or no change, only went turbid. — Obs. 4. He mixed a decoction of the cor- 

 tex with the like quantity of warm lymph, and it dropped a branny sediment. — 

 Obs. 5. Lymph per se, boiled, became gelatinous ; but being mixed with a strong 

 solution of terra foliata tartari, it soon resumed its former fluidity. — Obs. 6. Bring- 

 ing the above mixture to a state of boiling, the phenomenon of coagulation ap- 

 peared more eminently in each of them; especially that with claret. Eaton's 

 styptic, tormentil-roots, pomegranate-peels, and almost every restringent, more 

 or less afforded the same appearances of coagulation. 



Notwithstanding the disappearance of the symptoms, and the favourable pro- 

 spect that ensued the evacuation of the waters, the relief which she had was only 

 of a short duration: for, Sept. 30, An inundation again alarmed her, and obliged 

 her to remove the bandage, for fear of suffocation. Hence, to the latter end of 

 October, she re-filled incredibly; and notwithstanding any method used to prevent 

 it, within 40 days after the paracentesis, there was again collected, in the abdo- 

 men, and depending parts, a quantity of lymph, equal to, if not greater than, 

 that which had but just before been extracted. All her fonner complaints, espe- 

 cially the dyspnoea, likewise returned, and oppressed her more violently than ever. 

 — Oct. 29. The waters being ready to break their confines, and the pain and 

 distention insupportable under them, she again desired his assistance to relieve 

 her. He had by this time drawn some conclusions from the above observations on 



