56-% LARGE VEIN ! LOCAL BLEEDING. [BOOK IV. 



plunged ; whereupon the disconcerted operator was 

 known to give it up for a bad job, at the moment 

 it became more than ever necessary, charging the 

 fault to account of the horse's restiveness, with an 

 expressed intention of resuming the attempt at 

 some more favourable opportunity. But this was 

 a promise he was seldom able to redeem cleverly ; 

 the alarm excited by striking the fleam again and 

 again scarcely ever subsiding, for the tension of 

 the vein would but increase with the continuance 

 of the ligature, and cause it to slip aside more cer- 

 tainly. Apoplexy and death has ensued from the 

 same cause, namely, the application of a ligature, 

 and the consequent bursting of the fine blood ves- 

 sels of the brain. 



A. large rem is more desirable to take blood 

 from, as an evacuation that is to relieve the whole 

 system, than a small one, and the jugular or neck 

 vein, within a hand of the jowl, is ever preferable ; 

 because the smaller do not conveniently admit of 

 making so large an orifice, for the quick escape of 

 the blood, upon which so much benefit depends ; 

 nor for the same reason allow of drawing a sufficient 

 quantity at one time, to effect any good upon the 

 spasmodic tendency or irritability of the vessels. 



Local bleeding, in the plate vein for example, 

 for a bruise in that region, does not enter exactly 

 into our present view of the subject of blood-letting ; 

 because, as much service to the part affected may be 

 generally derived from drawing off from the circu- 

 lation at the neck vein, as spraying a vein immedi- 



