24. The _hydropic_ state of fever, in which are included collections of water, in the lungs, cavity of the thorax, cavity of the abdomen, ovaria, scrotum, testicles, and lower extremities, and usually preceded, and generally accompanied with morbid action in the blood-vessels. That dropsy is a state of fever, I have endeavoured to prove in another place[10]. Nineteen dropsies out of twenty appear to be original arterial diseases, and the water, which has been supposed to be their cause, is as much the effect of preternatural and morbid action in the blood-vessels, as pus, gangrene, and schirrus are of previous inflammation. This has been demonstrated, by the late Dr. Cooper, in a man who died of an ascites in the Pennsylvania hospital. Pus and blood, as well as water, were found in the cavity of the abdomen. It is no objection to this theory of dropsy, that we sometimes find water in the cavities of the body after death, without any marks of inflammation in the contiguous blood-vessels. We often find pus, both in the living and dead body, under the same circumstances, where we are sure it was not preceded by any of the obvious marks of inflammation. [10] On Dropsies, vol. II. 25. The _hæmorrhagic_ state of fever, in which are included discharges of blood from the nose, lungs, stomach, liver, bowels, kidneys and bladder, hæmorrhoidal vessels, uterus, and skin. Hæmorrhages have been divided into active and passive. It would be more proper to divide them, like other states of general fever, into hæmorrhages of strong and feeble morbid action. There is seldom an issue of blood from a vessel in which there does not exist preternatural or accumulated excitement. We observe this hæmorrhagic state of fever most frequently in malignant fevers, in pulmonary consumption, in pregnancy, and in that period of life in which the menses cease to be regular. 26. The _amenorrhagic_ state of fever occurs more frequently than is suspected by physicians. A full and quick pulse, head-ach, thirst, and preternatural heat often accompany a chronic obstruction of the menses. The inefficacy, and even hurtful effects, of what are called emenagogue medicines, in this state of the system, without previous depletion, show the propriety of introducing it among the different states of fever. I have designedly omitted to take notice of other states of general fever accompanied with local disease, because they are most frequently combined with some one or more of those which have been mentioned. They may all be seen in Dr. Cullen's Synopsis, with their supposed respective generic characters, under the class of pyrexiæ, and the order of fevers. We come now in the