General Anatomy, Applied to Physiology and Medicine, Vol. 3 (of 3)Bichat, Xavier
Science
General Anatomy, Applied to Physiology and Medicine, Vol. 3 (of 3)
Bichat, Xavier
Human anatomy; Human physiology
Blisters are much employed in medicine on the cutaneous organ, to
dispel, according to some, the morbific humour, and overcome, according
to others, a natural irritation by an artificial one. Why should we
not also in many cases irritate the mucous surfaces? why not act upon
the pituitary membrane, upon the glans penis, upon the membrane of the
urethra, upon the pharynx, &c. and especially upon the uvula which is
so sensible? why, instead of epispastics upon the perineum and sacrum,
should we not introduce a sound into the urethra for a paralysis of the
bladder? Instead of acting in hemiplegia upon the cutaneous organ, I
have already twice employed the following means; I have introduced a
sound into the urethra, one in each nasal fossa, and at the same time,
a surgeon irritated at intervals the uvula; the patients appeared to be
much more excited than by blisters. Very strong purgative enemas and
emetics prove the advantage of the excitement of the mucous membranes
in this case. Would it not often be better in ophthalmia, to produce
an artificial catarrh in the nostril of the diseased side, than to
put a blister or seton in the neck? I have once tried it; it did not
succeed; but the ophthalmia was of long standing; I propose to repeat
these experiments at the Hôtel Dieu upon a great number of patients. I
think that we might often in diseases make use of mucous excitements
instead of cutaneous, with much more advantage, because in the mucous
system the contact of a body is sufficient, and it is not necessary to
produce, by removing the epidermis, a kind of ulcer.
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