iO PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO \7T0,- 



all events, he judged it most prudent to wait. He dressed up therefore with a 

 little warm digestive, after properly fomenting the limb, and ordered the cataplasm 

 to be renewed as before. Little or no tension had yet taken place ; yet, in order 

 to obviate that, and the symptomatic fever that might be expected, and finding 

 the pulse began to rise, he ordered him to be bled about §xvj, and left him with 

 a tourniquet put loosely round the arm, with proper directions to the attendants, 

 for fear of any sudden rupture of the blood-vessel in the night. 



The next morning he found him tolerably easy, but the pulse very quick and 

 strong, and still no pulsation in the wrist of the wounded arm. The aspect of 

 the wound very good, no tension round. However, as it was so nice a point to 

 determine, whether the artery was or was not divided, and of consequence whe- 

 ther it would be more prudent, on the supposition it was, to proceed to ampu- 

 tation^ or any longer run the risk of a mortification's ensuing; he judged it 

 proper to have other opinions, and for that purpose, called in 3 surgeons of 

 credit in the town. 



They were all of opinion, as there were no imminent symptoms, it was best 

 still to wait; judging rightly, that if a mortification took place only through de- 

 fect of the blood's circulation in the lower limb, it might easily be remedied by 

 amputation above, time enough when it first made its appearance. He accord- 

 ingly dressed up in the same manner, but had the patient bled again to §x or §xii, 

 and gave a gentle lenitive, which procured a few stools. In the evening symp- 

 toms were much the same; pulse still strong and quick; bleeding was therefore 

 repeated. The next day every thing seemed to take a favourable turn, the 

 pulse grew much more calm, a good digestion came on, no tension at all was 

 observed on the limb, and in this kindly manner they went on for 3 or 4 days. 

 Though all this time not the least pulsation could be felt on the wounded limb, 

 there was always a kindly natural warmth on it, and the patient made no other 

 complaint than of a numbness and deadness of his little and ring-finger. 



By all these favourable circumstances Mr. W. was induced to hope all danger 

 had now been over, when about the 5th or 6th day from the accident, the ap- 

 pearance of the wound began to alter, and to look of a pale leucophlegmatic hue; 

 the discharge became much more thin and serous, and very considerable fungi 

 grew out from the surface of each wound; the whole limb both above and below 

 the wound became greatly enlarged, the hand and fore-arm perfectly oedematous; 

 the pulse quick and small, the countenance, from a fresh florid hue, sunk, pale 

 and sallow. These alarming symptoms coming on, gave him the greatest reason 

 to be apprehensive of the event. To obviate them as much as possible, he or- 

 dered the cortex both in decoction and substance to be administered every hour 

 or two, and had fresh consultations with the other surgeons. It was not now 

 practicable to amputate, as the distension of the limb extended quite to the 



