183

REVIEW.

Transactions of the Medical and PhysicalSociety of Calcutta. Volume the First.

8vo. pp.406. Thacker, Calcutta, andParbury and Co. London, 1825.

WE should ill become the station which,as Medical Journalists, we have the ho-nour to occupy, did we not seize the ear-

iest opportunity of congratulating our

professional brethren on the formation,under such happy anspicies, of a inedi(-al

society in the metropolis of British India.The benefits that may resutt from this

measure are incalculable. Well conducted

associations of this kind have done more,

perhaps, to advance and aggrandize thesciences, than the patronage of the rich

and the powerful-of kings and emperors.It would be idle to descant on the manydiscoveries and improvements which im-mediately followed the institution of the

Royal Society of this country, and othersof a similar nature abroad. A host of me-

morable names, not inferior to the most

illustrious of the ancients, will occur to

every one-men whose genius will be ’,better appreciated, and shine with in-

creasing and more resplendent lustre, asthe world grows old. ,

Seeing the impulse which well or-

ganized societies have communicated tothe sciences, we cannot withhold our

thanks from the very meritorious indi-

viduals with whom the present associa-tion originated, and under whose liberaland enlightened policy it promises to

grow so great, and prove so extensivelyuseful. That system of exclusion, thoseprinciples of faction and division, the

elements of dissolution, which are mixedin the very composition of many of ourmodern medical societies, happily for ouroriental friends, form no part of their go-

vernment. We do not doubt, therefore,that their exertions will prove of greatand lasting service, not only to medicine,but to every branch of literature and

science that may be deemed collateral

to it. It is probable that the imperfectscience of the Raids or Hakeems of India

cannot furnish much instruction to the

practitioners of Europe, but liberal andcultivated minds will welcome the lightthat may be thrown upon the past and

pre3ent state of oriental medicine, by thelabours of the industrious and the learned;whether their information be derived

from authentic sources or actual obser-

vation. The history of Mohamedan me-

dicine, comprising the most flourishingperiods of the schools of Bagdad andCordova, has been pretty fully elucidated,but fails with the decline of the power of

the Caliphs ; a long subsequent period inthis branch of inquiry is therefore in.

volved in obscurity, and the medical his-tory of the Hindus is an utter lilank.In these respects, therefore, there is am-ple scope for investigation, which may beprosecuted with every advantage in the

country in which the society is with so

much judgment established. To the

oriental nations we owe the introduction

of many simples into medicine, which

were unknown to the Greeks and Ro-

mans, such as manna, senna, tamarinds,and rhubarb, besides musk, nutmegs,cloves, &c.; and in modern times, themadar, croton oil, &c. Hence it is not

improbable, that many valuable remediesmay yet be culled from the Materia Me-

dica of the East ; but if no accessions of

value be derivable from that source, a

* Medical men of every denominationand country, who can produce certificatesof a regular education, shall be eligibleas members of this Society ; and all re-

gular professors and practitioners of theveterinary at-t.-Lriws of the Society.Only think, Gentlemen, of the Decad, of" the strong antipathy of good to bad 11 ! °

134

vast store of knowledge, important equal-ly to physiology and pathology, may becotlected and rendered subservient to the

healing art. That much may be done, is

proved by the present volume of transac-

tions, which, although the Society hasbeen so recently established, contains

many papers of sterling value, of thesewe sliall now proceed to give some ac-count. The first is an elaborate dis-

sertation on "Kushta, or Leprosy, as

known to the Hindus," by H. H. Wilson,Esq. This formidable and loathsome dis-

ease, as it occurs in India, is well adaptedfor medical research, as its nature is un-

certain, and its treatment undefined.

The talent of Enrope has been baflied bythe want of experience, which nothing butactual observation can convey. There is

an ample field, therefore, for the Indianobserver, who has numerous opportuni-ties of examining the disease under all itsforms, and in all its stages. Under these

circumstances, we trust that this Societywill remove the reproach to medical

science, and indeed it is a reproach, thatso little is known of the subject.The author of the present paper first

takes a general view of the Hindu notionsof leprosy, rightly judging that theymight form a serviceable and interestingintroduction to future and more scientific

inquiries. "The advanced state of me-

dical knowledge in Europe," he remarks," is a sufficient security that the errorsof these guides, imperfect as they un-doubtedly are, will not lead us astray,whilst, from their long experience andaccumulated observation, it is possiblethat some hints may be derived, which

may lead us to an improved knowledgeand classification, if not to a more suc-cessful treatment of the disease." From Ithe systems of Hindu medicine*, there-

* The authorities which the author con-sulted, are the following:—The Chikitsá,

fore, (and it appears they are never satis.fied with less than a system,) the author

proceeds to specify the causes, symptoms,prognosis, and diagnosis, classification,and treatment of teprosy, a disease (ac.cording to these authorities) of the con.stitution, first disorganizing the integu-ments, but proceeding to destroy the

solid parts and dismember the body.According to Hindu writers, the causesof leprosy are disorders of ’he primae

viæ, however induced ; hereditary dis.

position ; contagion, and " political orpopular superstition." Under the first

head they reckon the taking of thingswhich do not assimilate, as milk and fish,and viscous and indigestible foods. Ex-

posure to fatigue or heat, after a full meal.

Drinking water or walking while heated.Excessive bodily exertion or mental ex-

citement. The use of new rice, curds,fish, and of salt and acid viands; of

pulse, rad ishes, sesamum, milk, and treacle.Also sexual intercourse, and sleepingunder a loaded stomach.

They assert that the blood and serum

are affected by the disease, and that it

may be thus communicated to the foetusin utero. They declare that it may be

communicated by contact, by breathingthe same air, by eating together, by sittingon the same seat, or by wearing the

clothes and ornaments, or using the per.fumes of an affected person.

Lastly, to abuse Brahmins, or to hold

in contempt spiritual preceptors, with

many similar offences are superstitiously

or practical chapter of CHARAKA, whichincludes the Nidan, or pathology ; the

practical chapter ofSusRUTA; the Chi-kitsa and Nidan of BAGRHATTA; theC:hikitsa of CHAKRADATTA and BANGASENA ; the Nidan Of MADHAVA; the prac·tical section of the Rasa Ratnakar, andthe chapter of the Bháva Praxás, whichcomprehends all the branches of the sub’ject. The classification of CHARAKA andSUSRUTA is uniformly adhered to.

135

supposed to generate- this loathsome: af- ifection.

It is probable that in warm countriesrancid foods, or proper ones if devouredin excessive quantities, may be causes ofthis disease. Dr. Henderson makes the

former, one of the causes of elephantiasisin Norway, and Good, unwholesome dietof the Spanish and Italian varieties of

that disease. Dr. T. Heberden also states

that in Madeira, fish, melons, cucumbers,young garden beans, or mulberries, takenat the same meal with butter, cheese, orany preparation of milk, are supposed toproduce it, and are therefore religiouslyavoided. Upon the whole, there is not

much of novelty in the first set of Hinducauses.

Aretaens, and others of the ancients

assert, that the elephantiasis is conta-

gious. He says, " that it is no less dan-

gerous to converse and live with per-sons affected with it, than with those in-

fected with the plague, because the con-tagion is communicated by the inspiredair." (De cansis diuturnorum morborum,Lib. ii. cap. xii.) Dr. Bateman thinks it

not contagious, but" in opposition to this,"says the author, " we have the uuiversal

belief of the people of India, as ex-

pressed by their medical authorities, andtheir legislative enactments; there are

also some well known instances of the

transmission of the disease from one per-son to another. On the other hand, thereare also some well-known instances to

the contrary." Sonnini in Egypt, andPallas in Tartary, notice the intercourseof diseased persons with healthy ones,

without communicating it, and the RabbinDoctors argue, that a leprosy communicable by clothes and houses never occurredbut in Judæa. It is probable that the

disease is sometimes, though not uniformlycontagions, but under what particular cir.cumstances remains to be elucidated byfuture observations. To be brief on the

last cause, -Alibert and Willan say thatthe leprosy is hereditary

"Symptoms.—The symptoms indicativeof the first accession of this disease, gene-

rally, are a glossy or oily appearance ofthe skin, which at the same time IS rough,rigid, and wrinkled. The perspiration isiriegnlar, and occurs ttnseasonably; theskin loses its sent-ibitity, but is affected

with sensation of heat, itching, and prick-ing; wounds occur upon very slight irjn-

ries, and are attended with great pain, aredifficult of cure, and unless taken greatcare of, spread vety extensively. Thereis a great rigidity of the surface. The

hair of the body is harsh and erect, theveins become turgid and contorted. The

’ blood becomes of a dark or black hue ; ;and blotches, pimples, or tubercles ap-pear. The appetite is impaired, and thesystem is generally relaxed.Leprosy affects the seven essential

parts of the body, besides the three hu-mours, wind, phlegm and bile.* Accordingto the seat of it, and the number of hu-mours affected, the disease should bedistinguishable; but as it rarely occursin a solitary form, and various parts areaffected at the same time, another classifi-cation has been adopted from the appear-ance and discoloration of the skin, analo-gous to the principles of our own writers,which discriminate Lepra as a scaly, andElephantiasis as a tnbercnlons disease, orwhich distinguish the former into squamous,crustaceous, and tuberculous, making the

varieties depend upon the colour andcharacter of the scales, crusts, or tuber-cles. Beside, these, the incidental mo-difications arising out of the humour or

part affected, eighteen sorts of leprosyare enumerated. Seven great or princi-pal, and eleven small, or of inferior im-portance ; they are thus described.

Kapala.—The skin spotted with blackand purplish specks, or of the colour ofbroken pieces of eartiten pots ; theblotches are irregular, hard, and dry, with

* According to J. Ernestus Grnndlerqs,a Danish Missionary, who went to Ma-7labar in 1708, the Brahmins believe thatevery person has three principal diseasesborn with him. The first of these iscalled Produm, that is wind or flatulence;the second, Bittum, which aeenis to sig=nify bile ; the third, Tschestum; that isimpurities of the humours; and thesediseases are prevalent according to theparticular state and condition of the pa-tient, and either excite or suppressothers.—ED.

’

136

pricking and pain; the wind is the humour

chiefly affected. The disease, if not’in-curable, is very difficiilt of cure.

Audumbara.—The blotches are red, orlivid, of the shape of the Udumhara, orfruit of the Ficus Glomerata. The painis very great, and there i-i a sensation ofburning heat on the skin. The hdir ofthe body becomes carroty or tawny. Themorbid humour is bile.

_ _ .. IMandala.—Circular tubercles, or raised

blotches, while and red, but yellow onthe edges, confluent, or running into eachother, and emitting a thin ichor. Theskin of a glassy or oily appearance, withfissures The disease is ubstinate. Thehumour affected is phlegm.

Rishyajihwá.—Tubercles, shaped likethe tongue of a bear, hard, horny, red onthe edges, and black or smoke-coloured inthe centre ; much pain. This is the firstDwandwaja, or connected with the vitia-tion of two humours, wind and bile.

. Pundaríka.—Raised blotches or tuber-cles, white or pale red in the centre,_whilst the edges are of a dark dull red,like the leaves of the totus, when exposedto the sun. A thick ichor and blood aredischarged. Phlegm and’ bile are thehnmonrs affected.

Sidhma.—Blotches, white and coppery;or livid; shaped like the flower of the

gotird. The skin is mealy, and robs off

every where in thin dust, especially on

the breast. The diseased humours are

phlegm and wind. This species is at leastone form of the Leprosy of the Greeks.or scaly leprosy of the moderns. Thefirst species of Good, possibly, or LepraAlbida ; and the Lepra Vulgaris of Bate-man ; Lepra Alphos, or Leuce, of Ali-bert.

Kákana.—The blotches resemble theseeds of the Abrns Precatorious, havinga black fpot in the centre, surrounded bybright red, or a red centre, with blackedges. The blotclies are exceedinplypainful, and telminate in suppuration.The three humours are all affected, andthis form of the disease is incurable.The above seven are the Mahakushthas.

The other eleven are the Kslitidra, or

small; but some variations of classifica-tion occur in different writers, and the

greater and minor modifications occasion-ally change places: as indeed, the dis-tinction does not seem to be.indicated byany fixed principle, and cei-taitily does notdepend upon any notion of the greater orlesser intensity of the specific varieties.Ekaku.-htham.-In this, perspiration is

defective, and the disease is seated in theflesh. The skin is in scales, like those ofa fish. This morbid condition is alsocompared to the plates of talc, the

roughness of the cuticle resembling thatof an elephant’s hide. This variety isalso called Gajacharma, elephant’s skin;bnt some writers, as the compiler of theBhava Prakas, make the latter a distinctspecies, apparently with reason. Thevitiated humours are wind and phlegm,This complaint agrees in external char.acter with our Ichthyasis Simplex, or fishskin, which is iiiiitoi-mly separated, bothfrom Lepra and Elephantiasis, and ocetirsno doubt independent of any connexionwith Leprosy. At the same time, theform here specified may still be correctlyclassed, as similar appearances accompanyLeprosy in various states ; and, 1)eihaps,as observed by Bateman, influenced theGrecian writers to affix to a species ofLeprosy the name of Elephantiasis. Soalso Good observes : " The Greeks de-nominated the disease Elephas, or Ele-

phantiasis, because the skin of personsaffected with it resembles that of the

elephant, in thickness, ruggedness, insen-sibility, and dai-khtie."

Kitibha.—black blotches or scars, likethe cicatrices of healed ulcers. The skinhard and rough. The same humours de.ranged as in the preceding.

Vaipadiká.—Small tubercles, blackorred, seated especially in the hands andfeet, which are much swollen and chapped.There is little itching, but much pain.This and the variety called Vicherchika,are considered by some, as Bhoja, forinstance, as differing only in their site;but others regat d them aii distinct. Thehumours affected are the same as in thelast.The enlargement of the lower limbs, as

one symptom or subvariety of leprosy,may be with great propriety admitted inthe classification of the complaint. It hasbeen usually considered as characterizingthe disease, known by the name Ele-

phantiasis to the Greeks ; but this latteris now regarded as properly distinguish-able by the formation of large tubercles,apparently agreeing with the next varietyspecified by the Hindns. Under this viewof the case, Good exclndes the swelledleg altogether from the symptoms of Ele.phantiasis, referring it to a new genus,Bncnemia Tropica. There can be no

hesitation, however, in preferring to his

arrangement that of Mons. Alibert, whocalls this variety of the complaint LepraTuberculosa Elephantiasis, and includesthe swelling of the lower extremitiesamongst the characteristic symptoms; infact, the swelling is very different fromthat to which the name Bticnemia, orTropical leg, may with propriety be as.signed; and in its assures, eruptions, pains,ulceration, and ultimate result, sufficiently

137

displays its proper character. The swelledleg on the contrary, is entirely a chroniccomplaint, attended with no pain nor ul-ceration, and interfering in no degreewith the functions of lite. It is vPr y com-mon in India, particularly to the eastward,in the provinces abounding with waterand vegetation, and i, knol’1I by thename Godh, or in Sanscrit Slipada, Kal-mashapada, &c. It is attended b thesame indications which occur in the WestIndles,enlargement ofthe inguinal ;Iand,and of the scrotum. The Hindu writershave not thought it necessary to advert tothis, whilst describing the Vaipadika,although they are not unacquainted withthe subject of Diagnosis, as we shall pre-sently see. In this case, however, thetwo swellings are so perfectly distinct thatthere is little risk of their being con-founded by those who have an opportunityof observing them.

Alasaka ,is described as particularizedby large tubercles, occurring mostly onthe upper parts of the body ; wind andphlegm are in this also the humours af-fected. As observed above, this bearsan analogy to lepra tuberculosa, or ele-

phantiasis.Dadru—Tubercles, black, like the

flower of the atasi or linum, described byBhagbhatta as spreading like durva (ordoob) grass, but called elevated and cir-clllar, in the Bhava Pracas. Much itch-ing, burning, and pain, and many sores.The phlegm and bile are chiefly affected.

Chermadala.—The blotches are red,with itching and pain. The skin chaps,and cannot bear to be touched. Humoursas in the last.Pama,--The eruptions or pimples are

minute, numerous, and diffusive, of blackand purplish hne ; painful, itching, andhot, and discharging copiously a thiniohor. Humours as in the last.Kachchhu is often considered as ouly a

sub-species of the preceding. The ap-pearances are much the same, but thepimples or tubercles are larger, and thehands and buttocks are particularly af-fected.

Visphota.—The skin dry and thin, no-vered with black and purple tubercles.

Satarush.—The blotches are red andblack, thick , at the base, excessivelypainful and hot: ulceration is extensive.

ticiaarchika.-Small tubercles, or ra-ther pimples, black : skin hot, itching,and paiofu); rugose, chapped, and dis-charging much ichor. This ill consideredas essentially the same with Vaipadika,affecting more particularly the upper,whilst the latter attacks the lower extre-mities.In all these last six species the same hu-

monrs are said to be affected, the phlegmand bile.

Besides these specific varieties, othermodifications are described, not forming,however, distinct varieties, but influen-cing the condition and character of thosealready detailed. Snch are the distinc-tions already adverted to under each

head, or the connexion of one.or moreof the vitiated humours with the peculiarforms ot the disease. Under this view itis also said generally, that when the skinis hard and rough, and the blotches areof a dark hue, the wind is chiefly con-cerned ; when the surface looks as if ithad been hoiled, when the discolorationix extensive, when there is a sensation ofburning heat, and a copious discharge ofichor, this is supposed to indicate themorbid state of the bile ; and when the.prevailing colour is white, when thesense of itching predominates, and theskin looks moist and unctuous, these in.,dications are considered to denote thediseased condition of the phlegmatic hu. rmour.

Further distinctions are made from thesupposed seats of the disease, as they aredenoted by peculiar indications. Thedhatus, or essential parts of the body illthe Hindu system, are seven. Rasa,lymph; racta, blood; mansa, flesh ; me-,das, adeps; asthi, bone; majja, marrow ;and sukra, semen ; and leprosy, it is con-sidered, affects at different periods, or invarying stages, these several parts.When affecting rasa, or lymph, it shows

itself in the discoloration and rigidity ofthe skin, paralysis, horripilation, and ex-cessive perspiration. ,

When in the blood, it produces itching, !fetor, hardness of the skin, swelling ofthe extremities, pain in the joints, anddryness of the mouth. When it attacksthe flesh, it is attended with pain, thesensation of pricking and swelling, andinduration. When the adeps is its seat,there is stiffness and immoveability of thejoints, spontaneous separation of the ex-tremities, and giving way of the honestWhen it attacks the bones and marrow,in addition to all the preceding symp-toms, it occasions redness of the eyes ;the cartilages of the nose fall off, thevoice becomes particularly harsh, or islost, and worms breed in theutcers. Thepresence of the disease ill the seminalfluid is only shown by its transmission tothe offspring ot the atFected individual.The local distribut on ot the disease is

not unknown to modern writers in En-rope ; and Good has refetred elephan-tiasis to the ha;matica, or disorders seatedin the blood ; whilst he assigns lepra tothose seated in the rasa or lymph, or, ia

138

his language, to the eccritica, or disordersof the excernent function."

We hastily pass over the prognosis,because, in the absence of any rational

pathology, the Hindu physicians are notlikely to form a very just one, and if theydo, it is only when death is remote or in-evitable. For instance, what can be

learned from such sentences as the fol-

lowing :"Leprosy is considered to be curable

as 10Hg as it is confined to the skin, flesh,and blood, and as long as the humour af-fected is phlegm or wind.When the marrow is its seat, provided

the three humours be not vitiated, thedisease admits of relief, if not of cure."- p. 19.

Thus, if the " disease is seated in the

skin, flesh, and blood," it may be cured,

but," When seated in the adeps, (!) in the

marrow, or in the bones, and when twoor three humours are vitiated, one ofthem being the bile, it is regarded as in-curable".—p. 19.

The author is now and then confused

by his subject, which, indeed, is no won-der. He says,

" The symptoms of its fatal termina-tion are settled indigestion, irregular orobstructed secretion, pains in the head,redness of the eyes, loss of voice, gene-ration of worms, and extensive ulcera-tion, with discharge of blood and foetidmatter."—p. 19.

Now we should like to know what weare to understand by " settled indiges-’tion/’ or irregular and " obstructed secre-

tion." Then he says, that pains of the head,redness of the eyes, and loss of voice, in-dicate a fatal result, forgetting that thesesymptoms should inculcate the proprietyof abstracting blood, as recommended bythe best of the ancient writers, and often

practised with success by the moderns*.

* Cadins Aurelianus, who though proba-bly for the most part a compiler, being ofAfrica, may be supposed to have seen

Notwithstanding the confusion which

nosologists have created, there can be nodoubt that the elephantiasis and the

Eastern leprosy are very similar to eachother, if they be not the same disease;for Galen observes that one often runs

into the other.* ’* Modern writers, how-ever, have separated them. Dr. Bateman

calls the latter a scaly, and the former atubercular disease, and Good does more,for he considers one to be of the blood,and the other of lymph. In this respecthe has followed Celsns, who observes ofvitiligo, (Lib. V. cap. xxviii.) that "if onthe skin being pricked blood issues, are.medy may be found ; if a white humour,it admits not of cure." We think we

have seen scales deposited on the skin, bythe lymphatic vessels, and in some casesapparently by transpiration alone. We

sometimes find the lymph as Celstis

describes, exude through the skin, and

become inspissated, but never met with acase of the kind that did not yield to theusual internal and topical remedies.

We now come to the diagnosis. A disease liable to be confounded

with leprosy, is discriminated by Hinduwriters from that complaint. It is calledSwitra, implying properly whiteness, andintending such a discoloration of the skin.It is also termed Kilasa, or blotch; Da.runa, or the formidable disease; andVaruna, perhaps from Varuna, the deityof the waters, who is of a white com-

something of elephantiasis, says, " The-

mison, ad Dimantem scribens, phleboto.marijubet, (and he continues) quod est

oestimabile, atque ut ita dixerim dog-maticum," &c. Lib. IV. cap. i, andCelsus, Lib. III. cap. xxvi. It will al-

wayx be matter of regret, that the begin.ning of the former author’s chapter on thisdisease is wanting, for, to say the least,some of our modern writers have strange.ly confounded the elephantiasis of theGreek3, with the tumid leg of’ the WestIndies.

* Prorrhetic, Lib. II. sub finem.

139

plexion. The change, however, is notconfined to whiteness, and the dicolora-tion is also of a coppery or purplish tinge ;those modifications being supposed to de-pend upon the humours chiefly affected ;white indicating a morbid state of phlegm,purplish that of the wind, and a copperyred that of the bile. The complaint is oftwo kinds ; one originating from morbidhumours, the other from external injuries.It is attended with itching, heat, and lossof hair, but no discharge nor nlceration.The blood, the flesh, and the adeps, arethe parts to which its seat is conceived tobe restricted. The treatment is in generalthe same as that of leprosy. When notof long standing, nor very extensive, norproduced by burns, and when the white-ness does not reach the hair of the body,the complaint is curable. It is incurable,in proportion to the absence of these re-

quisites, and when seated in the palms ofthe hands, in the lips, or in the privities,although it be not of any long anteriordate.Most of the cutaneous complaints which

have been classed under the head of Lepraby European writers, would properlyperhaps be found to resemble the Switraof the Hindus ; and there can be littledoubt that this is the Vitiligo of Celsus,the very first sentence of whose descrip-tion identifies it with Switra, and discriminates it from Kushtha; " Vititigo, qno-que, quamvis per se nullem periculum ad-j’ert, tamen et foeda est." It is also thesame, no doubt, with the Behek, and pro-bably with the Beres of the Arabic writers.It agrees with these in the absence ap-parently of pimples or tubercles, or even,with one exception, of scales; the dis-coloration being quite superficial, and inlike manner unattended by ulceration. Thenature of this discoloration is rendered

quite clear by the Hindu writers, who statethat a similar appearance is sometimesoccasioned by external injuries. Thecuticle and the rete mucosum are absorb-ed, and the cutis exposed. The conse-

quences of this on the white races ofmankind are little obvious; but in thoseof a black complexion, we know howstriking it is, and how offensive to the

sight. In its utmos! violence, however,and with the changed complexion of thewhole surface from head to foot, it hasbeen known to produce no change norirregularity in the natural functions, andto have continued for a length of time,without appearing to induce any alterationunfavourable to life. The more thoroughinvestigation of this complaint, and itscomparison with leprous affections, are

the means which will enable us in thiscountry to form a correct classification of

the several complaints, now obviouslyconfounded, by men of the greatest ta-lents and experience."

Treatment.—In the treatment of leprosy" the Hindu writers are essentially defi-

cient;" theymultiply ingredients, and dis-

figure their works with the most prepos-terous and ridiculous compounds. They

administer them, too, without much dis-

crimination, and with little regard to the

dose. The subject is, therefore, of little

interest, and it will be sufficient to hear

the author enumerate the articles upon

which they mostly rely." The oldest writers," he tells us, " as

Charaka and Susruta, trust chiefly to ve-getable substances, of which the nimb,patola (trichosanthes diceca,) the myroba-lans, and teori, are the principal favour-ites, with the former: the khadira (ca-techu*,) aragbadha (cassia fistula,) bhal-lataka (semacarpus anacardium,) andsalasara (doubtful,) with the latter. Boththese writers also recommend the spiritu.ous mixtures, and the latter makes greatuse of iron filings, and chalybeate prepa-rationst. As we advance, the substances

Stssruta gives an account of the man-ner in which the extract of the khadira isto be collected. A trench is dug roundthe root of a well-grown and healthvtree; a hole is then made into the hearrof the main root of the tree, and an ironvessel introduced ; a fire of dry cow-dungmixed with clay is then made round thetrunk, and as the extract thus renderedliquid runs down, it is collected in thevessel.

t The Ayaskriti of the Sausrutais thusdescribed. take thin plates or leaves ofiron, smear well with salt, &c. and calcinein a fire of dried cow-dung; wash theproduce repeatedly with a strong decoc-tion of the three myrobalans and othervegetable substances ; then burn with hotcoals and catechu extract, reduce to afine powder, and sift through a cloth.This po ",def is mixed with honey andghee, and may be taken in quantities offrom five rettis to four mashas, accordingto circumstances.

140

multiply ; and to the preceding are added,or at least more extensively united, theplants that yield acrid milky juices, asthe species of asclepias and etipliorbitim,the wrightea antidy senterica, the anthel.mintic plant virenga, the dhatura, theserratala anthelmintica, gentiana che-

rayta, and other vegetables of very va-rious properties ; also resinous substances,as bdellium, and the resins of the sal, sisu,and deodar ; alkalescent preparations, asthe lixiviated ashes of the palas andother plants. Almost all the mineral sub-stances indigenous in India are also putin request; and as we have seen, the sul-phuretted ores of arsenic, quicksilver,and other metals, treated according to

the alchemical notions of the Hindus, aremore abundantly than scientifically em-ployed. Amidst this confusion, there-

fore, there is no want of variety; andthe chaos may admit of being reducedto order, by exercising a judicious selec-tion in the first place, and subsequentlybringing each candidate for efficacy tothe only test on which dependence canbe placed, that of experience. If anyone of the substances thus proved, shouldfurnish even but a palliative of the dis-ease, the result of the inquiry will be itsown sufficient reward*.

On a future occasion we shall return to

this volume of Transactions. It contains

many valuable papers, to notice which,however, we cannot at present find room.

* The use of arsenic pills in India hasbeen made known to European readersby Sir W. Jones, through the medium ofthe Asiatic Researches, (vol. ii. p. 149.)The following is the formula communi-cated to him :-’ White arsenic, one tola(105 grains,) black pepper, six times thequantity ; beat well together for severaldays, make them into a paste with water,and divide into pills, as large as tares orsmall pulse. One to be taken morningand evening."’

FOREIGN DEPARTMENT.

iParis, April 13th, 1826.

Inspiration the principal agent in theVenous Circulation.

THE circulation of the blood in verte-brated animals may be adduced as oneof those functions on which our informa.tion is the most precise. The directionwhich the venous blood takes towardsltheheart was no, iced by Servetus more than

fifty years betore Harvey discovered thetrue mechanism of the circulation, batthe power by which the circulation ispositively effected remained to him un.known.

Harvey attributed to the heart thepower of propelling the blood throughontits whole conrse,anJ modern physiologistshave done little toward the confrmmttoonor the refutation of this opinion. Accord.ing to Bichat, the absorbent power of thecapillary venous system is sufficient tocommence the circulation in the veins,and that the actions of the coats of thevessels are of themselves sufficient tocontinue it. Others have ascribed thevenous circulation to a variety of acces.sary powers-as, the motions of the largearterial trunks, placed most frequendybetween two veins ; the pressure exer-oised without and within all organs bythe skin and muscles; to the viscera be.coming related after having been dis-tended; and to the pressure of the mus-cles, voluntary and involuntary.

The respiration has been especiallyobserved to influence considerably themechanical return ot the venous blood tothe heart ; the coincidence of these aC’

tions was particularly noticed by Haller,in the second volume of his invaluable" Elementa Physiologiae Corporis Ht-mani ;" he has spoken of,. the elevationand depression of the brain observed inliving animals under certain circum.stances during respiration, " Ergo," sayslie, 11 si vivo animali non nimis debilitatocranium aperneris, ant trepano ant unco,duramque mernbranam detexei-is, et digitoa cranio depresseris, videbis ad singnlasinspirationes subsidere cerebrum ant so’lum, aut cum suis involucris. Vicissimin expiratione idem cerebrum surgere,cranio se admovere, digitum impositumrepellere."—Tom II. Lib. 4. "Thereforeif, in an animal not too much weakened,you open the cranium either with a tre.