Memoirs of Erasmus Darwin, M.D. 31 



all limestone or marley countries. The calcareous earth in 

 these waters mig;ht possibly be carried to the bones, as mad- 

 der is known to colour them. Warm bath. Volatile or fixed 

 alkali as a lotion on the spine, or essential oils. 



The innutrition of the bones is often first to be perceived 

 by the difficult"; of breathing and palpitation of the heart on 

 walking a little faster than usual, which I suppose is owing to 

 the softness of the ends of the ribs adjoining to the sternum ; 

 on which account they do not perfectly distend the chest, 

 when they are raised by the pectoral and intercostal muscles 

 with greater force than usual. After this the spine becomes 

 curved both by the softness of its vertebrse, and for the pur- 

 pose of making room for the disturbed heart. 



As these patients are pale and weak, there would seem to 

 be a deficiency of oxygen in their blood, and in conse- 

 quence a deficiency of phosphoric acid ', which is probably 

 produced by oxygen in the act of respiration. 



Mr. Bonhomme in the Chemical Annals, August 1793, 

 supposes the rickets to arise from the prevalence of vege- 

 table or acetous acid, which is known to soften bones out of 

 the body. Mr. Dettaen seems to have espoused a similar 

 opinion ; and both of them in consequence give alkalis and 

 testacea. If this theory was just, the soft bones of such 

 patients should show evident marks of such acidity after 

 death; which I believe has not been observed. Nor is it 

 analogous to other animal facts, that nutritious fluids se- 

 creted by the finest vessels of the body should be so little 

 annualized as to retain acetous or vegetable acidity. 



The success attending the following case in so short a 

 time as a fortnight, I ascribed principally to the use of the 

 warm bath, in which the patient continued for full half an 

 hour every night, in the degree of heat which was most 

 grateful to her sensation, which might be I suppose about 



94. Miss , about ten years of age, and very tall and 



thin, has laboured under palpitation of her heart, and diffi- 

 cult breathing on the least exercise, with occasional violent 

 dry cough, for a year or more, with dry lips, little appetite 

 either for food or drink, and dry skin, with cold extremities. 

 She has at times been occasionally worse, and been relieved 



in 



