388 
INFLAMMATION. 
By Mr. Simpson, V. S., Southampton. 
Scattered through the pages of The Veterinarian are vari¬ 
ous opinions and observations upon Inflammation, but I believe it 
has not yet (in the pages of that journal) been considered in that 
comprehensive light which its paramount consequence demands. 
It is a subject of the highest and most indispensable importance ; 
it is a fundamental principle in the study of our profession, and 
upon a sound knowledge of its nature and laws materially de¬ 
pends the success of our practice. In all the catalogue of dis¬ 
eases contained in our nosology, this process, in some modifica¬ 
tion, is concerned, either as a cause or symptom, or, perhaps, as 
a mode of cure ; and, in the surgical department of science, the 
skill evinced in an operation is oftentimes neutralized and ren¬ 
dered futile by the want of a proper physiological view of the 
phenomena attendant upon inflammation manifested in the after- 
treatment. In the absence of other and more enlightened scribes, 
it is my intention to publish in The Veterinarian a few papers 
on this engrossing topic; not that I have any new theory to promul¬ 
gate, but from a hope that the veterinary student may be induced 
to give it a greater, a much greater share of his consideration 
than he has hitherto done. His time, I can assure him, will not 
be unprofitably spent; for when he has once obtained a right 
idea of the principles and consequences of inflammation, his con¬ 
ception of the nature and character of disease will be, to a great 
extent, rendered clear and simple; and in many a case, wherein 
he would otherwise have been working in the dark, his way will 
be distinctly marked out for him. Let me beg of him, therefore, 
to bestow his attention upon this subject—to study it minutely— 
to investigate its phenomena—to make himself thoroughly ac¬ 
quainted with its laws, its nature, and its effects—and not to rest 
satisfied until he understands (as far as our present acquaintance 
with the subject will permit) its various important characteris¬ 
tics : for I again tell him that this knowledge must form the 
foundation upon which to build his future practice, and that it 
will hereafter guide him through many a difficulty, and spare 
him many an hour of painful and anxious thought, and, perhaps, 
many a pang of reproaching conscience. 
Definition, Symptoms, fyc. 
In order to form a proper acquaintance with our subject, it is 
necessary to give a concise statement or definition to the term, 
