An essay on atmospheric vicissitudes, and their influence on the body in health and disease / by John Epps.

  • Epps, John, 1805-1869.
Date:
1834
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on atmospheric vicissitudes, and their influence on the body in health and disease / by John Epps. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    AN ESSAY Qlf-- ' . ** X ATMOSPHERIC YICISSITUBES, S AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE BODY IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. By JOHN EPPS, M. D. Read before the Westminster Medical Society, November Li, 1834. Mr. President—Viewing man as he is placed in this world, one fact prominently presents itself to the attention, namely, the mighty influence upon his condition, exerted by the circumstances by which he is sur- rounded. This influence, in relation to his mind, is so great, as to give some reason for the opinion (erroneous in the sense in which it is generally entertained), that man is the mere creature of circumstances. This in- fluence exists equally in reference to his body; and the object of the present Essay is to develope that portion of this influence, connected with one most important agent, continually acting on him, namely, the Atmosphere. In considering this agency of the atmso- phere, I do not intend to refer to this as connected with the peculiar composition of the atmosphere, or with the essential part it performs in the fulfilling those duties asso- ciated with the pulmonary system. I do not refer to it as affording to us so many sources of pleasure, being the medium by which sounds, odours, and other influences so agreeable to us as intellectual and moral beings, are conveyed. The agency to which I particularly refer, is that which is known under the name of Climate. When I use this term, however, I beg to be understood as using it iu a wider sense than that indicated, either by the de- finition usually given by geographers, or even by that definition, still more compre- hensive, by Dr. Thomson. “Temperature, therefore,” writes Dr. T., “arising from the direct and the radiated beams of the sun, influenced by latitude and altitude, consti- tute Climate.” By the term climate, I un- derstand all those modifications of the at- mospherical condition which can be pro- duced by terrestrial operations, among which, it is-true, position, in regard to the sun is prominent: others are the^tate of the soil, whether argillaceous, sandy, alluvial, or rocky: whether wooded or not w'ooded: whether drained or not drained: whether flat or_higii grounds generally prevail: whe- ther ram is in excess or in deficiency; irre- gular or regular in the periods of its fall; soft or violent rains: whether the laud is much intersected with rivers or not: sur- rounded or not surrounded by sea: to these may be added occupations, so far as connect- ed with a pure or an impure atmosphere. All these circumstances have influence on climate. The influence of these circumstances, either individually or collectively, in affect- ing the climate, or in constituting the cli- mate, is evidenced by the fact, that the cli- mate of this country has been changed dur-