Dissertations, On cynanche trachealis or croup, and On the functions of the extreme capillary vessels in health and disease : to which were awarded the Boylston premiums for the years 1820 and 1823 / by William Sweetser.

  • Sweetser, William, 1797-1875.
Date:
1823
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dissertations, On cynanche trachealis or croup, and On the functions of the extreme capillary vessels in health and disease : to which were awarded the Boylston premiums for the years 1820 and 1823 / by William Sweetser. 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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    can be examined, will almost always appear healthy, and deglutition is not accompanied with any uneasi- ness. There is generally a thin white or yellowish coat on the tongue ; commonly great thirst, and total loss of appetite. The urine is passed in small quanti- ties, is limpid, and high-coloured. The bowels are, for the most part, costive, and when discharges do take place, unless provoked by medicine, they are generally small in quantity, and exhibit an unnatural appearance. Occasionally slight delirium manifests itself in this stage, yet it hardly ever lasts long, the patient here, as in the other acute inflammatory affections of the respiratory organs, generally retaining his mental powers, and at times, even in their full vigour, to the last. Pain is frequently felt in the head, and there occurs, now and then, a spontaneous vomiting of offensive matter from the stomach, often affording some temporary relief. As this stage continues, the symptoms go on increasing in severity. The breathing grows still more difficult, and the cough becomes more frequent and distressing. The patient tries to assist respiration by assuming different postures, and calling into action all the different muscles that can aid this function. During his struggles for breath, he throws back his head, thus in some degree, probably, by lengthening out the trachea, increasing its capacity for air. In the excess of his agony there is scarcely any position that he does not assume to get relief; from the lap he goes to the cradle, and from the cradle to the lap, but no position satisfies him, for none affords relief to his sufferings. Sometimes, if old enough, he will start