_Cause._—The cause is either promiscuously in the whole body, by a cocochymia, or weakness of the same, or in some of the parts, as in the liver, which causeth a generation of corrupt blood, and then the matter is reddish; sometimes the gall being sluggish in its office, not drawing away those choleric superfluities engendered in the liver, the matter is yellowish; sometimes in the spleen, not deficiating and cleansing the blood of the excrementitious parts. It may also come from the catarrh in the head, or from any other corrupt member; but if the matter of the flux be white, the cause is in the stomach by a crude matter there, and vitiated through grief and melancholy, for, otherwise, if the matter were only pituitous, crude phlegm, it might be converted into blood; for phlegm in the ventrical is called nourishment half digested; but being corrupt, though sent into the liver, yet it cannot be turned into nutriment; for the second decoction cannot correct that which the first hath corrupted; and therefore the liver sends it to the womb, which can neither digest nor repel it, and so it is voided out with the same colour it had in the ventricle. The cause also may be in the reins being over-heated, whereby the spermatical causes may be moistness of air, eating of corrupt meats, anger, grief, slothfulness, immoderate sleeping, costiveness. The signs are, extenuation of the body, shortness and stinking of the breath, loathing of meat, pain in the head, swelling of the eyes and feet, and melancholy: humidity from the womb of divers colours, as red, black, green, yellow, and white. It differs from the menses, in that it keeps no certain period, and is of many colours, all of which generate from blood. _Prognostics._—If the flux be phlegmatical, it will continue long and be difficult to cure, yet if vomiting or diarrhœa happeneth, it diverts the humour and cures the disease. If it be choleric, it is not so permanent, yet more perilous, for it will cause a cliff in the neck of the womb, and sometimes make an excoriation of the matrix; if melancholic, it must be dangerous and contumacious. Yet the flux of the hemorrhoids administer cure. If the matter flowing forth be reddish, open a vein in the arm; if not, apply ligatures to the arms and shoulders. Galen cured the wife of Brutus, by rubbing the upper part with crude honey. If it be caused by a distillation from the brain, take syrup of betony, and marjoram; with sugar and betony water make lozenges, to be taken every morning and evening; Auri Alexandria, half a drachm at night going to bed. If these things help not, use the suffumigation and plaster, as they are prescribed.