A B S 



«t the fame time carefully fufpending tlie enlarj»e(3 bread, 

 with an hniidkcrLhicf fpread under it, and tied behind the 

 neck. It is very rarely proper to m:!ke any artificial open- 

 ing in thefe abfcetfes : they ihould be peniiitted to burll of 

 tliemielves, and be poulticed as long as the hardncfs or in- 

 flammation continues. Durinp; this painful period, the 

 cliild inuft be luckled by the healthy brcall ; for it rarely 

 happens that the milk ir. pure duriiij^ a Hale of inflammation, 

 or that the mother can bear the in'itation of her child's at- 

 tempt to draw the nipple. 



It is here necellar)' to apprize mothers that the true milk- 

 obfccfs never degenerates into a cancer, as many pedons 

 have ignora.itly imagined. Thofe pelb of focicty, called 

 CANCER-cuRERs, often iiTipofc on anxious wives, and per- 

 fuadi them they have cured cancers of the brcall, when 

 none ever exitted ! At other times, they keep up a falfe 

 alarm, to the great detriment of women's health, and the 

 furtherance of their own bafe defigns. See the articles 

 Cancer and SciRRHus. • 



During the tedious fuppurating procefs, if the patient be 

 not fangiiine and robuft, it will fometimcs be proper for her 

 to live on ftrong nourifliing broths, with animal food, and 

 porter, and to have daily recourfe to tonic medicines. 

 Without thcfe means all external applications may prove 

 fruitlefs. When the abfcefs leaves a deep ulcer, it (hould 

 be drelTed very lightly with mild warm digeftives ; and cold 

 air mull be guarded againll in the convalefcent ftage, after 

 all the drefllngs fhall have been difcontinued. The hardncfs 

 within the breall, or around the cicatrix will generally fub- 

 Cde of itfelf ; but if it (hould not, a little oil of fweet al- 

 monds, cither alone or mixed with palm-oil, (liould be gent- 

 ly rubbed over the breall twice a-day. In lieu of thefe, a 

 piece of frefli butter may anfwer the purpofe. Sometimes, 

 however, it is necefiary to adminiller cicuta and calomel to 

 reduce the glandular indui-ations ; now and then fuper- 

 adding the mercurial liniment. But the treatment mufl 

 vary according to circumftances. 



Abscess of ibe £ye. See Hypopyon. 



Abscess o/tie Ear. See Otalgia. 



Abscess o/"//;!? G^jms. Simple gum-boils require no pe- 

 culiar management : they may be opened with a lancet 

 when the matter lies fupei-ficial ; but, if they arife from de- 

 cayed teeth, or a carious jaw-bone, the tooth affected, or 

 the decayed portion of bone, mull be removed before the 

 cure can be effefted. The mouth may be frequently rinfed, in 

 order to keep the parts clean, and the breath fweet, with a 

 mixture of warm wine, honey, and diluted vinegar ; or 

 , with feme tindlure of myrrh and water. See the article 

 Teeth. 



Abscess In the H'lp-joint and tit Invjlucra. Spontaneous 

 difeafes of the hip are very inf d ous and dangerous. The 

 firll fymptoms of an approaching dlforder in this part too 

 often pafs unobferved, or llighted, even by the patient him- 

 felf. Perhaps it begins with a trifling degree of weaknefs, 

 lamenefs, and walliug of the limb ; which, if it be atten- 

 tively examined, will be found a little elongated, and like- 

 wife depreffed on the nates of the affeded fide. After 

 ibme time, there will be a pain felt as if it were fituated in 

 tlieknee, efpecially during the night ; but this joint, never- 

 thclef:!, remains in a ftate of perfed foundnefs. The patient 

 loon begins to favour the difeafed limb, by bearing chiefly 

 on the other leg, and by elevating the heel of the°affeaed 

 fide. As his fl:rength fails, he will be feen to grafp the dif- 

 ordered thigh during the aft of walking ; and before night 

 he \vill be complaining of unaccufl;omed wearinefs. Thou'J-h 

 he may be naturaUy alert and chearful, he will, as the com- 

 plaint augments, Ihew a great averfion to move j and, in 



A B S 



aiming to pro(!uce quick exertions, there will be a fuddcn 

 halting, or even danger of falling. The aflefted limb will 

 after^vards be kept in a bended pofition as much as poffible, 

 and a tenderncfs is complained of in the vicinity of the hip- 

 joint. In fcTofulous fubjedls, the inflammation fometimea 

 advances more rapidly, the general health fufters in propor- 

 tion to its ravages, the appetite fails, debility and emaciation 

 fucceed, night fweats, colliquative dianhcea, and other hec- 

 tical fymptoms fupen'ene ; in rtiort, the local coinplainta 

 become aggravated, fuppuration then difcovers itfelf, the ex- 

 terior part of the thigh enlarges, the concealed pus fiucluates', 

 the limb (liortcns and is contrafted, the carious joint yields 

 a fetid purifoi-m difcharge, and the head of the thigh bone 

 becomes difplaced, or forms an immoveable Anchy- 

 losis. 



Now and then the progrefs or this difcafe varies from the 

 courfe we have defcribed : there may be no external outlet 

 for the matter ; fuppuration may not be diftiniflly perceptible ; 

 die febrile fymptoms may not be very' urgent ; and the pa- 

 tient may be carried through the different llages of his com- 

 plaint, with but a fmall fhare of bodily pain. This difeafe, 

 however, moll frequently goes on to a fatal termination ; 

 involving the ligaments, the cartilages, and bones of the 

 joint in one dreadfid dellruftion. 



The general curative means to be purfued in thefe cafes, 

 refemble thofe we advifed in the lumbar abfcefs : but, too 

 commonly, the aid of the furgeon proves ineffeftual. If the 

 fubjedl of an hip-difeafe be fcrofulous, it may be proper in 

 its incipient ilate, to adminifter the vegetable tcr.ics, with 

 prepared natron, and fmall dofes of calomel ; at the fame 

 time, prefcribing the warm fea-bath, counti-y air, local 

 bleeding, paflive motion, abftinence from wine, milk diet ; 

 and, if the complaint advances, the ufe of perpetual blillers, 

 cauftics, iffues, or fetons, are to be efpecially relied on. See 

 the treatment of Arthrgpuosis and White-swelling. 

 M. Petit, De Haen, Pott, and others, have written on this 

 fubjeft ; but, the mod fatisfaftory treatife we have feen, is 

 that of Mr. Ford, intitled, " Obfervations on the Difeafes 

 " of the Hip-Joint," 8vo. London, 1794. 



Abscess of the Ahdominal Vifcera. Any of the contents 

 of the belly may be the feat of an abfcefs : the moft frequent 

 and remarkable are, a fuppuration of the Liver, the Kid- 

 neys, and the Mefenteiy. In thefe cafes, the peculiar 

 fymptoms vrill diilinguilh the part affefted, and the general 

 principles before laid down mull be atter.<led to. When the 

 pus fluftuates externally, and there is a well grounded hope 

 of its being evacuated by an artificial opening, no time (hoiild 

 be loft ; as it might prove fatal to fuffer the fpontaneous 

 rupture of a large abfcefs into the cavity of the abdomen. If 

 there be any particular conftitutional affeftion, the medicinal 

 treatment adapted for fuch difeafes muft be likewife had re- 

 courfe to. See Hepatitis, Icterus, Scrofula, Tabes 

 Mesenterica, Empyema, Nephritis, GastritiSjCys- 

 TiTis, Enteritis, &c. 



Abscess of the Thoracic Vifccra. As all abfceffes are 

 preceded by inflammation, the peculiar nature and order of 

 the fymptoms which precede the formation of pus in the 

 thorax, or its contents, mil guide the praftitioner in his 

 diagnofis. See the articles Carditis, Pneumonia, Pleu- 

 RiTis, Vomica, Phthisis, &'c. If matter be feated in 

 the intei-ior fr.bllance of the lungs, it will probably find its 

 way into the bronchia, and be coughed up from time to 

 time ; but if the pus lies near the fuiface of that vifcus, it 

 is more likely to be difcharged into the cavity of the cheft, 

 forming an Empyema. As an evacuation into the bronchia 

 IS moft defirable, we rtiould ufe all our endeavours to follcit 

 a difcharge of the pus ia that way. The chinugical 



operation 



