ON EXPECTORATED MATTEIL 



.^17 



But late experiments have manifested, that various things 

 taken into the stomach can be made at pleasure to produce 

 considerable effects, by impregnating sensibly the blood 

 and urine, as well as the milk, «weat, and perhaps saliva. 

 Farther; the fine experiments of professor Colman have instance of the 

 shown, that the contagious glanders may be excited in the importance of 

 ass by the transfusion of the blood of a glandered horse, 

 and the matter from the nose of the glandered ass can pro-^ 

 duce this disease in the horse or the ass*. Hence I appre- 

 hend it is reasonable to expect, that the farther investigation 

 of the properties of the animal fluids will afford gratifying 

 instruction to the researcher in natural science, and impor- 

 tant practical information to the physician. 



On the present occasion, I desire the honour of comma- Importance of 

 nicating the knowledge I may have acquired by investigat- a/^'^owledge of 

 ing the properties of expectorated matter secreted by the matter. 

 bronchial membrane. The appearances of this substance 

 serve to regulate the judgment of the physician concerning 

 several diseases of the lungs ; but especially of that of pul- 

 monary tubercles, which yearly destroys from 120000 to 

 140000 subjects of the United Kingdom. It is fit that I 

 remark, that I do not notice in this paper the ingenious 

 experiments of several learned chemists, because by so do- 

 ing I should be led into a detail of too great extent for my 

 design. 



The numerous varieties of expectorated matter, according 

 to my observation, may b€ arranged and characterized un- 

 der the following seven heads : 



I. The jellylike segaitransparent kind of a blueish hue. Its Tarietiw. 

 excreted in the healthy state. 



II. The thin mucilagelike transparent matter, so copi- 

 ously expectorated in bronchial catarrhs. 



HI. The thick opaque straw coloured, or white and very 

 tenacious matter, coughed up in a great-variety of bron-* 

 chial and pulmonary affections; especially in that of tu- 

 bercles. 



IV. Pufiform matter secreted without any division of con- 



* Mr. Colman alleges, that there is not a sufficient quantity of blood, 

 in a single glandered ass, to excite the glanders by the transfusion of 

 • blood into the horse, ^ _ 



tinuity^ 



