\ 
PATHOLOGY. 
310 
vacancy and languor. Thefe circumftances give the pa¬ 
tient a fatuous appearance. Indeed there is every reafon 
to believe, that, when the complaint has fubfifted for 
fome time, fatuity to a certain extent interrupts the ex- 
ercife of the mental faculties. Fever, fuch as arifes in 
snarafmus, is not a necefl'ary attendant on chorea; ne- 
verthelefs, in the advanced periods of the difeafe, flncci- 
dity and wafting of the ntufcular flefh take place, the 
confequence of conftant irritation, of abating appetite, 
and impaired digeftion, the common attendants of pro- 
traced chorea; and which, I doubt not, may, in fOme 
inftances, although contrary to the opinion that chorea 
is not fatal, have been the forerunners of death.” 
In the old pra&ice of antifpafmodics and cordials, 
little good was done for chorea. Since the general pro¬ 
mulgation of the grand faft, that, in nine cafes out of 
ten, nervous difeafes of all kinds arife from diforders of 
the abdominal 7 vifcera, this difeafe has been more fuc- 
cefsfully treated. Full purging is the chief remedy at 
prefent. The purges ufed ftiould be rough and draftic, 
and ftiould be continued forfome time, even when their 
efficacy is not at firft apparent. In chorea, as in neural¬ 
gia, where habit only keeps up the malady, medicines 
capable of powerfully influencing the nervous functions 
may be ufed ; as, for inftance, the arfenical folution. 
3. Synclonus raphania: fpaftic contraCion of the 
joints; with trembling and periodical pains. So called 
by Linnaeus as being fuppofed by him to be produced by 
eating the feeds of Raphania raphaniftrum, the wild rad- 
difti, or jointed charlock. It is chiefly found in Sweden 
and the adjoining countries ; and has hence been chiefly 
treated of by Swedifh writers. There is a paper upon 
the fubjeC by Dr. Rothman, in the Amoenitates Acade¬ 
mics, vol. vi. who aflerts that it is neither a new difeafe, 
nor confined to the Baltic countries. He has traced it, 
he fays, as an affe&ion common to Europe, in the works 
of various writers up to the year 1596. It feems to de¬ 
pend upon fome deleterious vegetable intermixed with 
the grain employed in making bread : fome fpecies of 
Loliurn or Secale (darnel or rye) have been fufpedted ; 
but there is more reafon (he fays) for afcribing it to the 
Raphania raphaniftrum. It is fometimes accompanied 
with cutaneous ulcerations, and extenfive exfoliations of 
the cuticle and cutis. 
4. Synclonus beriberia : fpaftic retraction of the knees 
on walking : trembling and painful ftupor of the limbs ; 
fenfe of formication ; hoarfe voice. 
The beriberia has been found chiefly in the Eaft Indies, 
and is a fpecies of palfy, in which, according to Bon- 
tius, patients feem to imitate ftieep in lifting their legs 
■when they walk. This palfy confifts in a partial depri¬ 
vation of the motion and fenfation of the hands and feet, 
and fometimes of the body. Sagar once faw fome fheep, 
-obierving a wolf, feized with this fpafmodic affec¬ 
tion ; and they, whether ftanding ftill or walking, mo- 
mentaneoufly retracted their knees, which immediately 
returned to their natural fituation. The caufe is gene¬ 
rally thought to be expofure to the cold vapours of the 
night too loon after exercife. Dr. Good fuppofes that 
the fwallowing of fome parafitic plant, or animalcule, 
in the food or drink, is the caufe of it. 
The difeafe is not mortal, except by feizing the mufcles 
of the breaft, fo as to obftruCl refpiration and the voice. 
In the cure, moderate exercife and friftions are ufeful : 
the Indians ufe a femicupium made of water, in which is 
boiled an aromatic herb called lagondi; or, in want of it, 
camomile and melilot. The affefted parts are rubbed 
well with a mixture of the oils of mace and rofes. Bleed¬ 
ing is not required ; but, on the contrary, ftimulants and 
tonics are to be ufed, with an occafional gentle purge. 
Decoctions of farfapariila and guaiacum are alfo of fer- 
vice. 
The term beriberi is ftill preferved in Ceylon, but ap¬ 
plied to a different difeafe ; a peculiar fort of dropfy, 
commencing with ftiffnefs and cedema of the lower ex¬ 
tremities, which ftiortly fpread over the whole body, 
producing dyfpnoea, vomiting, cohtulfve motions, and 
death. The fymptoms have been given at fome length 
by Mr. Colhoun, and Mr. Chriftie, infpedtor-general of 
the hofpitals in Ceylon. The Englifh forces eltablifhed 
at Ceylon are occaiionally fubjedt to it. See “ Effay on 
the Difeafes incident to Indian Seamen or Lafcars on long 
Voyages, by William Hunter, A. M. Member of the 
Afiatic Society of Calcutta, &c.” In like manner lord 
Valentia, in his Travels, vol. i. p. 318. “ a complaint, as 
far as I have learnt, peculiar to the ifland (Ceylon) is the 
berri-berri. It is in faft a dropfy that frequently deftroys 
in a few days.” 
Order IV. Systatica, [from c-tmofa/xi, I colledl to¬ 
gether.] Difeafes aft'edling feveral or all the fenforial 
powers fimultaneoufly. Irritation or inertnefs of the 
mind extending to the mufcles or external fenfes ; or of 
the mufcles or external fenfes extending to the mind. 
It contains nine genera. 
Genus I. Agrypnia, [front «, priv. and vrtvo ?, fleep.] 
Sleepiefl'nefs. There are two fpecies. 
1. Agrypnia entonica: fleep retarded by an inordinate 
excitation of the mind to a particular fubjefl; liltleflhels 
to furrounding objedls. 
2. Agrypnia chronica : habitual wakefulnefs ; mind 
tranquil; attention alive to furrounding objedls. Moft- 
ly common to advanced age. 
Genus II. DyJ'phork, [from $v;, difficulty, and (pofiu, 
to bear, or endure.] Reftlefliiefs. Generic charadle'rs— 
Troublefome and reftlefs uneafinefs of the nerves and 
mufcles; increafed fenfibility ; inability of fixing the at¬ 
tention. There are two fpecies. 
1. Dyfphoria fimplex, fidgets: general; and accom¬ 
panied with a perpetual defire of changing the polition. 
2. Dyfphoria anxietas, anxiety: chiefly aft’edting the 
praecordia; with depreflion of fpirits, and perpetual de¬ 
fire of locomotion. 
All the above fymptoms, when not accompanied by the 
derangement of the fyftem denominated fever, may be 
referred to fome of the numerous forms of dyfpeptic 
malady. Anxiety is more particularly referrible to ex- 
ceflive eating, or weaknefs of the mufcular coat of the 
ftomach. The fidgets are frequently obferved in thofe 
who have nothing to do, and feem to be the refult of 
want of exercife for the brain ; in confequence of which, 
its energies are exerted on trifling fubjedfs. On the 
other h.and, JleepleffneJ's is a common attendant on the 
literary character, the over exertion of the mind keeping 
up a continual ftate of irritation in the brain. Hence the 
fleep is broken, light, and troubled with dreams. For the 
cure, &c. fee Dyfpepfia , under which head this fubjedl is 
fomevvhat copioufly difcufled. 
Genus III. Antipalhia, [from etrli, againft, and rraOoj, 
feeling.] Antipathy. Internal and unaccountable horror 
at the prefence of particular objedls or fubjedls ; with 
great external reftleflnefs, or deliquium. Two fpecies 
are noted by Dr. Good. 
1. Antipathia fenfilis : antipathy produced through the 
medium of the external fenfes. As, at the fight of a 
drawn fword in king James I. Digby Theatr. Sympathet. 
—Sound of mufic. Kph. Nat. Cur. Dec. I. obf. 134.— 
Smell of rofes. Id. Dec. II. ann. x. obf. 8.—Of ftrawber- 
ries. Id. ann. v. obf. 214.—Tafte or fmell of cheefe. 
Zacut. Lvfit. Frax. admir. lib. iii. Obf. 103. Eph. Nat. 
Cur. paflim.—Erafmus, though a native of Rotterdam, 
had fuch an averlion to fi/h, that the fmell of it gave him 
a fever.—Ambrofe Pare mentions a gentleman who never 
could fee an eel without fainting.—Jofeph Scaliger and 
Peter Abono never could drink milk.—Cardan was par¬ 
ticularly difgufted at the fight of eggs.—Uladiflaus, king 
of Poland, could not bear to fee apples.—Henry III. of 
France, could never fit in the room with a cat. 
2. Antipathia infenfilis : produced through an un¬ 
known medium. Chiefly in the cafe of cats, at hand, 
but neither feen, touched, fmelt, nor heard. 
Genus 
