614 
DR. PROUT ON ANIMAL CHEMISTRY. 
Secondly.—The majority of the cases, five out of nine, occurred 
either in natives of hot climates, or in individuals who had been 
resident for many years in such climates. 
Thirdly.—The general health suffers much less from the 
affection than might be expected. There is commonly more or 
less of emaciation, accompanied by uneasiness, usually described 
as a sense of heat, or pain in the region of the kidneys, but 
sometimes these are entirely absent. The disease does not inter¬ 
fere with the pregnant state, nor with the secretion nor qualities 
of the milk, and may continue more or less, for a great number 
of years, without apparently much affecting the constitution. 
The appetite is generally good, and sometimes inordinate. 
Fourthly.—There is evidently an inflammatory tendency in the 
system during the continuance of the disease, or at least such a 
tendency frequently arises during its progress, and requires, and 
is benefited by, bloodletting. Two of the individuals died of 
inflammatory attacks of the abdominal viscera—one during the 
disease, and the other some time after it had subsided ; and it 
is remarkable, that in the latter case the kidney (which, by the 
favour of Dr. Roe, I here exhibit to you) does not present any 
marks of organic lesion. It is a singular circumstance, however, 
that during acute inflammation and fever, and also during the 
presence of ptyalism from mercury, the chylous characters of 
the urine usually disappear, but return again, sometimes in an 
aggravated form, as soon as these have subsided. In the chronic 
state of the affection, the complaint has yielded completely for a 
time to the use of opium, astringents, and the mineral acids, but in 
other instances these and every other remedy tried have failed. 
Sometimes the complaint ceases spontaneously, and occurs again 
after a long interval, and when it has once occurred it appears to 
be very liable to return, particularly after exposure to cold, or any 
cause producing fever. In general I have observed that all sti¬ 
mulating remedies and powerful diuretics do harm: the same 
may be observed in general also of tonics, which* from the 
inflammatory character of the affection, do not in general agree 
well, and, indeed, I have seen the affection much aggravated by 
their use. 
Lastly, what is the intimate nature of the disease ? The inti¬ 
mate nature of this affection, like that of all others, is obscure; 
but the principles developed in our former lecture seem to throw 
light on its general nature, and, by directing our attention to the 
right road, may at some future time enable us to follow out its 
nature in detail. That both the assimilating organs and the kid¬ 
neys are involved in the affection, cannot, I think, be doubted. 
The chyle, from some derangement in the processes of assimila- 
