An Essay on Contagious Diseases: more particularly on the small-pox, measles, putrid, malignant, and pestilential fevers — John Shaqi
An Essay on Contagious Diseases: more particularly on the small-pox, measles, putrid, malignant, and pestilential feversWintringham, Clifton
History
An Essay on Contagious Diseases: more particularly on the small-pox, measles, putrid, malignant, and pestilential fevers
Wintringham, Clifton
Communicable diseases -- Early works to 1800; Fever -- Early works to 1800; Smallpox -- Early works to 1800
These Disorders will necessarily be increased on account of the Air's
Spring being weakned by its Heat, the Vessels of the Lungs being less
inflated, and the Globules of the Blood less broken and divided, and the
more especially in a humid Air, Heat and Moisture necessarily relaxing
the Tone of the Fibres and Vessels, and rendring them less Springy and
Elastic. Hence then the Quantity of Spirits being diminish'd, and their
Motion more slow, the Contraction of the Heart and other Muscles will be
more weak and languid, and being stimulated by the Acrimony of the
Circulating Liquors, must contract more frequently than in a Natural
State; The Consequence of which is Weakness, Faintness, Thirst, and
Dejection of Spirits.
These and the preceeding Symptoms will necessarily continue, 'til such
time as the gross and viscous Matter, being shook and loosen'd by the
Action of the Capillary Vessels, is washed away into the Veins by the
force of the Circulating Fluids, and there continues its Course with the
rest, 'til it be either attenuated and secreted, or lodged again in the
Capillaries to excite new Disorders.
[Sidenote: _Malignant Fevers._]
Now if to this evil Disposition of the Air be added a number of pungent
stimulating Particles, whether bred in the Body or floating in the Air,
and thereby communicated to the Blood, which are apt to coagulate the
Animal Juices, so as to form _Moleculæ_ of such Shapes and Sizes as more
firmly obstruct the Capillary Vessels, and at the same time stimulate
and corrode the nervous Parts; It will necessarily happen, that the
preceeding Symptoms must be highly exasperated, and a Fever of a much
worse Nature produc'd.
Hence then must follow a violent Hurry and Colluctation of the Fluids,
the Viscid and coagulated Parts of the Blood in some Parts obstructing
the Circulation of the Juices, and the Acrid, Volatil, and Fiery Parts,
rarefying and dissolving others of the more Liquid, to the greatest
degree of Pungency and Volatility imaginable.
Hence it is easy to perceive how the Motion of the Blood must
necessarily be in some Parts more languid, by the Cohesion of the more
Viscous parts, in others quicker, join'd with a pungent and stimulating
heat, from the increased Velocity and Acrimony of the moving Fluid, and
the various Actions of the Particles upon each other, and their Impulses
on the containing Vessels; As also how these are capable of almost
infinite Variations, in Proportion to the different Quantities and
Qualities of the constituent Particles. Hence then appears the Reason of
that wandering and uncertain Heat and Coldness, in different Parts of
the Body at the same time. Hence appears the Reason of that great
Inquietude and Anxiety, of those uncertain and partial Sweats,
Watchings, Tremors, stretching Pains of the head, and the like, as will
be more fully shown hereafter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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