Observations on phthisis pulmonalis, and the use of the digitalis purpurea in the treatment of that disease : with practical remarks on the use of the tepid bath / by Isaac Rand, M.D. ... ; read at the request of the Massachusetts Medical Society, June 6, 1804.

  • Rand, Isaac, 1743-1822.
Date:
1804
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on phthisis pulmonalis, and the use of the digitalis purpurea in the treatment of that disease : with practical remarks on the use of the tepid bath / by Isaac Rand, M.D. ... ; read at the request of the Massachusetts Medical Society, June 6, 1804. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    When we consider the extent of the surface of thelungs, the organ primarily affected in this disease,* whose sur- face, the bronchiae 1635 square inches, the vessicles 20,000 square inches, the whole surface of the lungs, make there- fore 21,635 square inches, or 150 square feet ; equal to ten times the surface of a man's body, which at a medium, is computed at fifteen square feet. As the whole blood of the animal incessantly passes through the lungs, by comparing the proportion, which the lungs bear to the whole body, we may make some estimate of the great difference of the velocity of the blood in each. t It appears, that 4. 34 pounds of blood pass through the heart in a minute, and in 36. 3 minutes, a quantity e- qual to a middle sized man, or 160 pounds of blood, will pass through the heart: then the same quantity must also pass in the same time through the lungs, since the left au- ricle and ventricle, are supplied from thence with blood to be circulated through every other part of the system. From whence it follows, that the velocity of the blood must be very much accelerated in the lungs. And when we reflect upon the very delicate structure of this organ, the number of vessels, the importance of its use, and the many accidents to which it is exposed, we shall be less surprized that so many, than that so few persons are the fatal victims of it. Among the remedies lately introduced, the digitalis purpurea is the nfost prominent. I therefore will give a concise history of it, and its modus operandi, with a case or two subjoined, with cautionary hints. * Hale's vegetable statieks, Vol. 1. page 238-39. f Hale's haemastaticks Vol. 2. page 63, 4,5.