A treatise on localized electrization : and its applications to pathology and therapeutics / by G.B. Duchenne ; translated from the third edition of the original, by Herbert Tibbits.

Date:
1871
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A treatise on localized electrization : and its applications to pathology and therapeutics / by G.B. Duchenne ; translated from the third edition of the original, by Herbert Tibbits. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    period of from twenty minutes to half an hour. For an examination of tlie probable influence of I'riction electricity in tiie treatment of painful and spasmodic afiections consult Dr. Eadclilfc's ' Lcctiu-es onEpilejitic, Spasmodic, Neuralgic, and Paralytic Disorders of the Nervous System.'—77. 2'.] Paet II. CONTACT ELECTRICITY (GALVANISM). The term dynamic electricity, that is to say, electricity in motion, has been used to denote the electricity produced by contact {galvanism), and the electricity caused by induction. This form, obtained from voltaic piles, or from an electro-magnetic apparatus, possesses physiological and therapeutical properties essentially different from those of static electricity. The most important property of dynamic electricity, regarded from a physiological or therapeutical point of view, is that by which its action can be directed to, and limited within, almost any organ of the body. It is shown, indeed, by my experiments, that we may at pleasure confine this agent to the skin, or may cause it to penetrate the skin, without puncture or incision, and may limit its action to the subjacent organs, the nerves, tlie muscles, or even the bones. Of this I shall give evidence in the sequel. The cutaneous sensation produced by dynamic electricity may range from a simple titillation to the most acute pain. The exci- tation thus produced may always, by the use of special means, be confined entirely to the skin, whatever be the power of the current. The same electro-dynamic force, directed upon a muscle, or upon a nerve-trunk, has power to produce the most energetic muscular contraction, without any of the general shock that charac- terises the action of static electricity, and that usually forbids its employment. Such are the principal effects to be obtained from dynamic elec- tricity, which includes contact electricity {galvanism) and induced electi'icity. But each of these forms of dynamic electricity possesses special properties, physical, chemical, and physiological, such as to prevent them from being employed indifferently in practice. These special properties may even fulfil certain determinate indications, and they therefore require to be separately considered. § I.—Physiological Froperties. Quantity and tension being equal, every form of electro-motor