Such kind of wounds, however, are not without danger; the patient is not only very liable to be seized with such a fever as I have spoken of § XXIII. but he also runs a risque from the wound itself. It is true, that these two dangers, that attending the fever, and that from the wound, which I shall mention by and bye, are connected, and generally accompany each other. It sometimes happens of a sudden, and without the patient, or the physicians and surgeons having any suspicion of it, that the wounds dry up, become corrupted, and exhale an infectious stench; the neighbouring parts are very much inflamed for some days, after which the inflammation goes off, leaving a kind of œdematous tumour, which produces an abscess, with a laudable discharge, or degenerates into a malignant sore, without any abscess. Sometimes these sores are beset with swarms of maggots. The treatment of the fever is the same I have described § XXIII. that of the wound, in this troublesome situation, ought to be to endeavour intirely to remove the inflammation, which readily terminates in suppuration, and forms large cavities full of matter, which must be opened. A moderate compression of the neighbouring parts, in this case, as in those I have already mentioned, contributes to prevent the reabsorption of the purulent matter. If the inflammation runs high, and the patient is young, it should be moderated by bleeding, and other medicines calculated to check and resolve the inflammatory denseness of the blood[26]. If the cause of the inflammation be obvious, it must be removed; thus every pointed splinter of a bone must be separated with a knife or saw; whatever occasions a compression must be taken away, and if there be any fibrous part causing too great a stricture, it must be cut through, dilating the wound by incisions of a convenient depth. The dryness and putrefaction of the wound, may be remedied by dressing it with the powder composed of sal ammoniac and camphor, mentioned § X. and by moistening it afterwards with oil of turpentine; or, I cause the wounds, both the original ones, and those made by the surgeon, to be dressed with pledgets, dipt in a balsam composed of _four ounces spirit of wine, half an ounce spirit of turpentine, and three drams spirit of sal ammoniac_: Afterwards, having first applied the dressings very thin, the parts must be constantly fomented with some of the compositions mentioned § XXI.