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more vitality) does not slough. Thisdetached cellular substance with mat-ter in its interstices forms the core asit is called ; and the inflammationwould subside if not kept up by thisirritation, which must be dischargedby ulceration. It is a disease to which

young persons are much more subjectthan adults. I have seen very tew inold persons, rarely beyond the middleperiod of life. They appear also morefrequently upon the front of the bodythan on the back part, and on the trunkmore frequently than on the extretni-ties. They occur in parts which arenearest to the centre of the circulation,and are often produced by riding. Ihave known young men who havejoin-ed volunteer regiments, and from notbeing accustomed to ride, they have,after a hard day’s duty, had boils upontheir buttocks as big as tea-cups. (Alaugh,) I shall not be able to describethe others which I have mentioned,and shall therefore leave them untilthe next evening.

LECTURES ON THE

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE

OF PHYSIC,

BY DR. ARMSTRONG.

Theatre of Anatomy, Webb Street.

LECTURE 9.

IN the two last Lectures I enu-merated the symptoms and describedthe morbid appearances of inflamma-tion of the brain and its membranes,as it occurs in adults and in children.Having proceeded so tar, it will nowbe necessary to explain the variouscauses or pathological conditions ofthat affection called water in the brain,or technically, hydrocepalus inter-nus.

Hydrocephalus Internus.It has been said by many writers

that Hydrocephalus Interntts is a dis-ease sui generis; but if mv observa-tions be correct, that opinion is erro-

neons. Hydrocephalus laternns is asymptom, or rather effect, of some pre.vious affection, and may almost inva-riably be traced to one of the threefollowing:-

1. Venous Congestion.In this condition of the brain, the

patient has an universally cold skin,a feeble pulse, a weak respiration,great prostration of muscular power,and, in the worst forms, he is inseii-sible aiso. If you examine the brainafter death, no trace of inflammationcan be found, but the venous ar?para-tus there is more or less congested,and an effusion of the fluid exists inthe venti ides of the brain. Manyweakconvalescents, some infants, and oldpeople, die in this way, through theinfluence of depressants productive ofcongestion and effusion. I once sawthe child of a medical friend of mine,who died in this manner. He became’ unnecessarily alarmed at a slight in-disposition of the child, and appliedseveral-leeches to the temples. Theevacuation of blood !-unk the littlepatient into an extreme exhaustion,and, while in that condition, the skinbeing cold, and the pulse thready,the pupils became dilated, it begun tosquint, and; after its death, whichshortly took place, a copious effnsionof serum was found in the ventricles.

2. It occurs from

Inflammation of the Brain, -

or membranes, arising either from acommon or a peculiar cause. When

arising from a common cause, it is

only a variety of common inflamiiia.tory fever, the inflammation beingmerely seated in the brain, or itsmembranes. But inflammation of thebrain, or its membranes, may alsoarise from a peculiar cause, as, forinstance, in the course of measles,small pox, scarlet fever, hooping-cough, and typhus, after the fataltermination of which, where the brainhas been affected, this etiusion occurs.

3. Organic Diseases.In o!d persons, the ventricles are

often deluged with a serous fluid, fromthe great obstruction at last oifoedto the circulation by organic himnnrs,or the like. MORGAGNI, who drewhis inferences simply from the facts

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before hita, has given a tnueh morecorrect account ofhydrocephalns thanmost modern authors; for he said,that it arises not from one cause,but from various causes. In this wayit sometimes arises in children fromtnbercles, a specimen of which I.showed in the last lecture, and some-’times from hydatids, and even orga-nic affections, an instance of whichI saw not long since in the child of aprofessional friend. If, therefore, youaccurately note the rise and progressof- the symptoms, and examine thebodies of those who die of this atiec-tion, you will find hydrocephalus in-ternus to have arisen either from con-gestion, inflammation, or an organicaffection of the brain. In children,the bronchial and intestinal lining willoften be found simultaneously atftwt-ed, and some) imes the liver. In thosewho had been pale, or more or lessemaciated hefore the attack of fever,the mesenteric, bronchial,ant! cervicalglands are frequently diseased, and ;nsuch subjects a tubercular state of thelungs and other parts is not uncom-mon. But I do not believe that theenlargement of the glands, either inthe neck, or about the bronchia, arethe cause of effusion into the ventri-cles by the mechanical pressure whichthey might be supposed to make onthe veins ; at least I have seen manycases in which these glands have at-tained a very large size, without pro-ducing any such effect. Generallyspeaking, inflammation of the brain,or its membranes, runs a more rapidcourse in adults than in very youngchildren, if we except those cases iuthe latter which occur suddenly andseverely, and which wind up rapidlyby convulsions. The brains of youngchildren seem capable, for the mostpart, of sustaining a longer excite-ment than those of adults under anacute or sab-acute inflammation - andthis is the reason, perhaps, why wevery frequently find, in most cases,less eflirsion in the brain and betweenthe membranes in adult bodies, theinflammation having terminated at anearlier stage.

Treatment of Inflammation ofthe Brain,

The treatment of inflammation ofthe brain is the next consideration.

In the present lecture I shall advertto the treatment best snited to adnltcases ; and in my next, to that bestsuited to infantile ones. Inflamma-tion of the brain occurring in the adultis, when combined with fever, eitheracute or sub-acnte. In acute, thefever is higher and the local disturb.ance greater; it runs a much more

rapid course, and is, therefore, moredangerous than the sub-acute, inas-much as it affords less time for theoperation of remedies. You will not

forget, however, an excelltion to theabove description, as far as the feveris concerned, for one form of acuteinflammation occurs in the brain itself,in which neither the heart nor tII6pulse are remarkably affected, and inwhich the mental and bodily oppres-sion are nevertheless so great as to beimmediately alarming. When acuteinflammation of the brain or mem-branes occurs, the legal maxim,-" Nullum tempus occurrit regi,"

might be changed thus,-"Nullum tempus occurrit medico;"

for time then is of’ inestimable value,if properly employed. But if, in suchcases, hour after hour be lost in doubtand indecision, the patient assuredlyis sacrificed. If I wished to inspirestudents with the highest confidencein the remedial powers of physic ; Iwould take them, at the outset, to a

series of cases connected with acute -or snb-acnte . inflammation, which,rightly managed then, wonld nearlyalways end favorably. If I wishedto make a man a complete scepticin physic, I would show him caseswhich had been neglected or mal-treated in the commencement, formost of such, unhappily,would have antinfavoui-able termination. A French.man once observed, that the only diffe-rence which he knew between the

English and French physicians wasthis: the English killed their patientsby their heroic or active treatment,whereas the French allawed theirs todie by their expectant or inert treat-ment. If you trace the practice ofmost physicians, you will find that

they are remarkably attached to someparticular practice, which is pushedbeyond the legitimate boundary. Oneis too partial to bleeding, another t9

328

purging, a third to bark, a fourth toblue pill, and so on ; but the fact is,that if any man wish to practise withgeneral success he must not be attach-

, ed to one plan, but vary his treat-ment according to the circumstancesof each particular case, for even if hepossess correct general principles, stillhe must caretolly take into account

all the circumstances which modifythe employment of remedies. Hissuccess will depend on the-precisionwith which he detects these modify-ing circumstances, and the skill withwhich he adapts his measures to themand the existing affection. GALLthinks, that decision of character, orfirmness, is connected with a peculiarformation of the head, especially, ifI mistake not, about the crown. ButI believe, that if a man’s head wereas taper at the top as asugar-loaf, likethe Macrocephali described by Hip-pocrates, that he woitid become de-cisive in his practice in acute inflam-mations, merely by witnessing the hadeffects of a contrary method. It isthe grand peculiarity of’ the humanintellect, that it has the power of

varying its determination as the occa-sions may require, and the cultivationof this power is of the highest utilityto the medical practitioner. You willremember that f do riot place the

efficacy of the treatment entirely inthe administration of medical means,but in the co-operation of medical,regimenal, and mental measures ; the

following of which are those uponwhich most reliance is to be placed inthe removal of acute and sub-acutecerebral inflammation.

1st. Bloodletting.We can do, by bloodletting, in acute

or sub-acute inflammations, in fiveminutes, what we could not do in fivedays- by any other measure; there-

fore, in all such affections of the brainit is the principal remedy, the first,without which nothing effectnal couldbe done. If the inflammation be acuteor sub-acute ; if the heat be high onthe surface and the pulse expanded,or hard and contracted, then the pa-tient is under the most favourablecircumstances, for bloodletting. Noprecise quantity of blood can be men-tioned as necessary to be taken awayfor the removal of any kind ofinflam-

mation. We have not yet arrived atthat mathematical accuracy which en-

ables us to say, that ten, twenty, or

any other determinate quantity, willsuffice in inflammation of the brain ormembranes. You must be guided bythe effect produced, and not by thequantity drawn. Under the circum-stances above-named, you must bleedthe patient to approaching syncope.If you bleed a patient to-day, withreference not to the effect but to thequantity, and bleed him again to thesame extent to-morrow, yet if you donot make an impression on the heart’saction, you do no good in cases of in-tense inflammation ; nay, you doharmbecause you weaken the patient, andleave the disorder unsubdued. In allcases, then, of acute inflammation,where the fever is freely developed,observe this rule-bleed the patient

either till the pain be removed, ortillsyncope approach, till, in fact, thepulse become amere Buttering threadbeneath the finger. The quantity re.quisite for this end is exceedinglyvaried in different patients. Once Iattended two persons about the sametime, one, who laboured under inflam-mation of the lungs, the other underinflammation ot’ the brain; in theformer case, which occurred in a

man of very extraordinary strength,about fifty ounces were necessary,whereas in the latter, about a tablespoonful answered ; the effect in eachcase was the same, namely, approach.ing syncope, and the subseqnent re-moval of the inflammation. If yoncan produce approaching syncope bythe abstraction of a small quantity of-blood, so much the better, and thebest way of accomplishing this is tobleed the patient while in the erect

position, in which syncope, or faint-ness, the soonest approaches. Youhave a very good example of the effectproduced on the capillary vessels bybleeding, in the case of common acnteinflammation of the eye; if you stopshort before approaching syncope beproduced, the conjunctiva remains asred as bef’ore the performance of theoperation ; but if you continue theabstraction of blood until the statejust mentioned be produced, you willfind that the Conjunctiva will be per-fectly hlanched, the blood having thenleft the capillary vessels of that part.

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Frequently, one such bleeding as thiswill be sunicient to remove the inflam-mation, and thus the strength is savedby avoiding repeated venesection.—Strong men require a larger quantityof blood to be drawn than weak ones,generally speaking, to produce thesame effect, and males generally morethan females. But the rule by whichyon must be guided in all acute andsub-acute inflammations, where thefever is fully developed, and where avital part is concerned, is that whichI have mentioned before, and be sureto act upon it in such cases, for halfmeasures are then mostly fatal. Butwhenever you have occasion to bleedin this decisivc manner, always makea point of laying the patient quite tiatbefore the fainting shall actually takeplace, and then there will be no dan-ger from perfect syncope, if it shouldsupervene. Hear this rule constantlyin mind where you are conipelled toabstract large quantities of blood. Ifthe local disturbance should return

with the fever after the first blood-letting, it will be necessary to repeatthe operation in the same manner asbefore, particularly-if the inflamma-tion be acute ; for the sub-acute formbeing much more protracted, there isless occasion for promptitude in the

repetition of venesection than in theacute,which requires that much shouidbe done in a short period. If a deci-ded impression shall have been madeby one, two, or three bloodlettings,as the case may demand, then the

application of leeches to the templesoften has an excellent efiect in re-

moving any residue of inflammation.But always recollect to combine thesecondary with the principal means-the smail arms with the artillery ofphysic...The second means for the removal of

inflammation of the brain or tnem-

branes, is the use of purgatives. Thestomach is very irritable, and thebowels sometimes are very torpid,and when this is the case, yon maybe quite sure that vou have not carriedthe beeding sufficiently far, fur thepatient has frequent nausea, retching,or vomiting. aiid the bowels are notobedient to aperients. You must re-move these conditions by decisive

htoodletting, and not trust to etferve-scing draughts to relieve the stomach,

nor to purgatives,however administer.ed, to relieve the bowels in thefirst in-stance ; but remove the remote intlam-mation, upon which these symptomsmainly depend. While, however, youare attempting this by bloodletting,you may often assist in allaying theirritability of the stomach, by unload-in- the colon through large injections,which should not contain less than apint and a half, or two pints, so as todistend the lower gut, and dislodgethe accumulation of faeces, if any re-main in the colon. If you put intothis injection three or four drops ofcroton oil, it will have a very goodeffect, and I think that this is gene-rally the best mode of exhibiting thismedicine; for when given by thestomach, it is apt to produce not onlyirritation of the mucous membrane ofthat organ, but also of the smallintestine;;, an effect less remarkablyproduced on the same structure of thelarge intestines by this lh ug. When

you have allayed the irritability of the stomach, and emptied the colon, thenyou may give purgative medicines. Acombination of several is better thanany of them singly exhibited ; gene-rally give three grains of calomel, withthe same quantity of jalap and rhubarb,made into pills; and follow up thisdose in two or three hours, with castoroil, or the following mixture, which Iain frequently in the habit of’ using inthese cases :

’

infusion of Senna, zoi.Sulphate of Magnesia, zoi.Manna, jij.Carbonate of Magnesia, gr. xii, or j.

Three’ table spoonfuls may be takenat first, and two table spoonfuls berepeated every two, three, or fourhours, till the bowels be fully andfrequently relieved. In all ardentfevfts it is not at easy thing to getthe bowels to act, uuless you reducethe intensity of the heat by bleeding,ablutions, a cool apartment, and a

spare diet. For some time past Ihave combined colchicum with purga-tives, in the treatment of common in-flamation of the brain, and someSimilar affections, with considerablesuccess as an auxiliary to bloodletting.Usually lhave given five or six grainsof the powdered bulb, two, three, orfour times, in twenty-four hours; butwhenever nausea occurs from its use,t

330

be sure to withdraw it immediately,for if persisted in after that efftkt, itmight produce dangerous relaxation ofthe whole body, with irritation of thestomach and intestines.

3d. Regulation of temperature. The- head is considerably hotter than natu-

-ral, and whenever you can get it sha-ved without producing much mentalirritation or alarm, you should order itto be done ; bnt do irot generalize in-discriminately, and direct every per-son’s head to be shaved ; but make theproposition, if the patient be sensible,as if the shaving were tor the purposeof eusuring a good crop of hair after.wards, or as if it were for the purposeof present comfort, But if the patientbe agitated at the- proposition andresist it strongly, do not press itfurther; but then be content withthinning the hair. You should, whilethe head is preternaturallyhot, applya single piece of thin linen over thescalp, dipped in cold water. I don’tlike’ the mode of applying cold bybladders, filled with water or ice,because the weight is extremely ob-jectionable. The use of æther and

spirits of wine in evaporatirrg lotions,I also dislike, because the vapour ofthem is sometimes drawn up the

nostrils, and produce a stimulatoryeffect. Be careful that the animalheat is not too much accumulatedover the whole surface, by loading thepatient with bed clothes. When theanimal heat on the surface is increasedvery much, it keeps np the action ofthe heart, and thus tends to maintainthe inflammation. Let the patient becovered by a single stieet, and evenin winter you will find that a aailtover that will be qnite sufficient, as

long as the skin bhatt continue hotand dry. Take care also to regulatethe temperature of the room in whichthe patient lies, especially towardsevening; ; and recollect the cautionwhich 1 formerly gave you respectin;the conduct of’ nurses in consideringtheir own comfort. The feet are

frequently cold in inflammation of thebrain and then sinapisms applied therewill be found useful. They may hemade of equal parts of crumb of breadand mûstard flour, mixed up withsome warm vinegar, and should beapplied to the feet for about a clnarteror half an hour, or even longer, until

a tinnllttg warmth be produced; thenthey onght to be removed, and thefeet wrapped in flannel.The fourth mean in treatement, is theelevation of the head and trunk. By thelaws of gravitation, in adopting thispractice, you must diminish the flowof blood to the brain through thearteries, and materially assist thereturn of blood from the brain by theveins. This may be very easily donehy having an inclined plane screwedupon the bedstead, and the bed laidupon that, or still more easily, byplacing blocks of wood, 6, 8, or 10inches high under the upper parts ofthe bedstead, a footboard being atthe bottom.The 5th point in the treatment isthe abstraction of all mental and phy-sical excitantls, a term by which Imean irritants and stimulants. I am

always very much concerned whencalled to patients having inflammationof the brain in any of the very noisy

streets ofjjondon ; if I can, with per-fect safety, get them removed fromsuch situations, I invariably do so asearly as possible ; but when I cannotget them removed, I place them in thequietest room in the house, becansenoise is a dreadful thing in the firststaee of most cases. Let the businessof the house be done with as littledis.turbance as may be ; and if the pa.tient be still affected by the noise inthe street, lay straw down, and putcotton in the ears. D-, t ese things,however, only where thbj are neces-sary ; never make an unnecessary fussfor the sake of attracting attention ;for if a man have merit, it will be dis-covered sooner or later, even if heshould have ever so many enemies;and honest men will always despiseevery species of trickery, the trade ofweak minds. Another circumstanceis the management of light. Do not letthe patient have white bed curtains,or white window curtains ; but leta green bliizd be pnt over the window,and the light curtains, if such, be reomoved. I have known many patientsfall into a tranquil sleep immediatelythat this change was made. Light andnoise are two very powerful irritants,and shcutd therefore be invariabtyavoided. I recollect having been call-ed to a young lady who laboured Ha-der inflammation of the brain, and it

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appeared to me, on investigating thehistory of her case. that the irritationwas kept up by the anxiety in whichshe saw her father and mother, whowere alternately or together cominginto the room through day and night,to see and inquire how she was goingon. I said that it was not in the powerof physic to do her any good if theycontinued to visit her in this manner,and that I could not be answerablefor the consequences. At my requestthey left her tor some time alone; shefell into a tranquil sleep, and recover-ed from that time. You must neversacrifice the conviction of what is

iight, on your palt, to the feelings orentreaties of the friends, whose affec-tion always prompts them continuallyto do. what thev consider an act ofkindness; but which is often injurious,by depriving the patient of quietudeand repose, which are esseutially ne-cessary in the treatment of such deli-cate cases.

6th. The diet. The regulation of- this requires great firmness in mostacute cases, as the public prejudice isin favour of cramming. When rhe an-cient republic of Rome was in immi-nent danger, a dictator was elected,and endowed with supreme authority;and when the republic of the humanbody is in danger, the medical attend-ant must be an absolute dictator (alaugh), This dictator, alias doctor,must direct, and see that others

obey. As long as the skin shall con-tinue verv hot and dry in acute in-

flammations, accompanied by a fullor a hard pulse, water will be not

only the best diink, but the best diettoo; but when the fever is fairtyonthe decline, a light nutritious diet maybe allowed morning, noon, and even-ing) such as a liulemilk whey, arrow-root, gruel, or any simitar article.Even in convalescence the changeshould be very gradually made to abetter diet.

7th. Blistering, Never apply a blis-ter While the heat is highly developed,or the sensibility highly augmented ;when you have reduceel the urgencyof the febrile symptoms, by the modesbefore pointed out, and a slight de-gree of uneasiness only remains, thena sma)! blister, applied t,) the nape ofthe or epigastrium, is often at-tended with considerable advantage.

But in the first stage of inflammationof the brain, never apply a blister,white the patient is preternaturaltysensitive, over the head; but on theapproach of the second stage, whentorpidity or heaviness occurs, it is fre-quently beneficial when applied there.The 8th means is the use of Opium.

When the inflammation of the brainhas been subdned, or nearly so, by

evacuations, and you still find the pa-tient with a skin hotter than natural,a remarkably hurried respiration, a

small thready, rapid or tremulouspulse, and when he complains of light-ness in his head, and is extremelyrestless, tossing to and fro in his bedconstantly, in short, changing hisplace or position, a full dose of opium,two or three grains, will be found ex-ecedingly beneficial; indeed it may beconsidered a sovereign remedy undersuch a state of general irritation. Ihave seen several cases where fnlldoes of opium have produced thevery best effects. Opium may also begiven with very great success in somecases of madness; but recollect neverto give opium in inflammation of thebrain till copious evacuations havebeen premised, and till great restless.ness supervene.

I have considered inflammation ofthe brain in adults as having occurredwithout any other inflammation : some-times this is the case, bnt at othertimes inflammation of the brain is at-tended by inflammation in other or-gans, such as the serous or mucousmembranes in the cavity of the chestor abdomen. In old persons and in

children, you will often find the bron-chial membrane inflamed at the sametime, and this combination requiressome modification of the treatment.: When inflammation of the brain occurs

! in very aged persons, you must en-deavonr to clreck it by the smallestpossible loss of blood, when combinedwith a bronchial affection, because ifyou bleed such an individual in thesame decisive way in which I haverecommended persons to be bled inthe middle period of life, without sucha concomitant, the case would gene-rally terminate unfavonrabty. One oftwo things would happen, the agedperson would either sink under the

copious bleeding, or if he recovered,he would drag out a miserable exist-

332

ence by remaking in a very weak an4languid, state. Generally speakingmoderate bleeding will suffice in old

persons, if yon adopt the other meansimultaneously. I believe, that in themanagement of such cases, I havedrawn less blood than most otherpractitioners; and I think it is, be-cause I have paid.so much attentionto the regimen:tl and mental treat-

ment, the influence of which is so

highiy important. Success in practicedepends not so much on the applica-tion.of’one measure,in many instances,as on the co-operation of several, con-tributing to-the same end.The exciting causes from which in-

flammation of the brain proceeds verymuch modify the treatment. If, forexample, any man were to say, thatbecause the brain is intiamed in theadvanced state of typhus fever, thecase then requires the same treatmentas an inflammation of that organ inthe commencement which arises froma common cause, he would commit agreat mistake ; for in the former theInflammation is passive, the heart’saction being subdneri,and the strengthprostrate, so as to require mild mea-sures. Common inflammation of thebrain may almost always be speedilyremoved by the plan which has beenlaid duwu; and if any degree of sim-ple fever should remain, it will be re-moved by rest, spare diet, daily ape-rients, and a regulated temperature;but when these means f-ail, then youmay prescribe digitalis, say 10 dropsof the tincture every 6 hours, till the

. pulse be reduced, when it ought to beentirely omitted.

Prognosis.In your prognosis of inflammation

of the brain you must be guided firstby 1he degree of inflammation. Inacute inflammation there is more dan-

ger than ill the sub-acute, because theformer runs a more rapid course, andallows less titie for the operation ofremedies. The habits of the patientvery much modify the prognosis. Ifinflammation of the brain attack a

cnnfirmed drunkard, it generallyproves fatal If the patient labourunder excessive anxiety of mitid, italso generally proves mortal. If itoccur in an a;;ed person, it is more

dangerous than in a man of 30 or 40

years of age; because the old do notbear evacuations so well- as youngerpersons, and the inflammation is fre-

quently mixed up with some organicaffection. What at first sight ap-pears to be simple inflammation issometimes the result of an organicaffection of the brain ; and, in orderto detect this, you must trace the his-tory of the disease backwards, fromits origin through its progress, and upto’its present state. I recollect havingattended a lady, who died of an ap-parent attack of inflammation of thebrain. On examining the body after’death, a chronic abscess was found inthe cerebrum, and another in the ce-rebellum, while the liver was likewisemuch enlarged, breaking short likegingerbread on handlina.

; She had complained a long time be-fore of pain and uneasiness on the

front and back- part of her head, andalso at the pit of the stomach. Thischronic disease was wound up by anattack of acute inflammation, whichended of course fatally, When deii-rinm occurs very early, and continuesconstantly, in inflammation of thebrain, it is a very uufavonrable sign.Squinting is avery unfavourable symp.tom, but before forming your opinionfrom this point, you should ascertainthat the patient did not squint in

health, and always consider the com-bination of symptoms. Difficulty ofdeglutition, great prostration of themuscular form, gathering the bed-clothes into folds, pickillg f’eathers,catching at things in the air, are veryserious, and often fatal symptoms.But, however unpromising the appear-ance may be, I would advise yonnever to give a patient etttirely upwho is labouring under inflammationof the brain ; for I have seen several

recover under the most discouragingcircumstances. If yon should give adecidedly fatal prognosis, the friendswill be sure to call in another piacti-tioner, on the supposition that you cando nothing more ; and if by any chancethe patient should recover, your re-putation might be sacrificed, or, at allevents, be much injured. Such is the

uncertainty of human opinion, on someoccasions, that it always becomes usto speak with cantion, especially on asubject where the public are prone tomake too little allowance for any fail-

333

nrp, and equally prone to give creditfor cnres which are often recoveriesthrough the energies ofNatnre alone.In the advanced stage of most febrile ’,,affections, it is a main point to do noharm, to remove all opposing circum-stances, so that Nature may have fairplay in the struggle which is decisiveof life or of death.

REVIEW.

Lectxres on DIGESTION and DIET. -ByCHARLES TURNER THACKRAH, Esq.Member of tiLe Royal Collea of Sur-geons in London. and of the Société

de Médecine-Pratique de Paris, &c.8vo. pp. 156.’ London ; Longman,and Co.

PHYSIOLOGY is at all times an inte-

resting object of pursuit to men of

science generally; but particnlarly tothose ho are engaged in the practiceof physic. Whilst au acquaintancewith physiology is useful and impor-tant to the former, it is absolutely ne.

cessary to the latter ; if they wish toexecnte the duties of their professionstiecessftilly, or to maintain that rankin the estimation of society, which hasbeen assigned to them by the generaldiffusion of information, and the culti-vated condition of the human mind.The consideration of the laws bywhich the functions of an animal bodyare regulated cannot be too atten.-

tively slu;liml, nor can the knowledge,derived by such consideration, be tooextensively diffused. The design ofthe present work is to furnish a gene-ral skEtch of physiology ; to supplyinformation in a style that may engagethe attention, and afford instruction

to the profession, and at the same timebe perfectly intelligible to the com-

munity at large.There is nothing in the nature of the.

subject to deter any one from becom-ing thoroughly acquainted with it; butthe inducements to do so are many

and forcible. Is it not interesting towatch the gradual development of thestructure of the human body, from thetender susceptibility of childhood,through the active season of youth, tothe firmness and vigour of mature age?Is it not interesting to become ac-

quainted with the mode in which theaccumulation of the material for the

edifice is accomplished, and to noticethe changes which this material inces-santly undergoes ? 2 Then it is to phy-siology we are indebted for the expla-nation, and for revealing the internal

springs that impel and regulate themovements of the very complicatedmachinery of which the body is com-.posed. From knowing when the mo-tions of the whole are perfectly per-formed, we are enabled to appreciatethe minute deviations of its parts, pro-

ducing disturbance and derangementthroughout the frame-work ; which

the eye of the scientific engineer soondiscovers and sets right. What we

have fipuatively said, respecting phy-siology itself, is also applicable to its

influence on society : it is a subjectthat relates to the well bting of everyindividual ; the knowledge’ of it ena-bles him to avoid the dangers to whichhis health is daily exposed ; to mark

the insidions encroachments of disease,and to detect the ignorant pretensionsof those on whom he may call tur a,3-sistauce.