On the pathology of ague & other intermitting disorders, and on the action of quinine as a remedy for them : being a dissertation preparatory to the degree of Doctor of Medicine in the University of Oxford / by Francis Willis.

  • Willis, Francis.
Date:
1864
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the pathology of ague & other intermitting disorders, and on the action of quinine as a remedy for them : being a dissertation preparatory to the degree of Doctor of Medicine in the University of Oxford / by Francis Willis. 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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    heart. That organ is thereby excited to more energetic action, aud distributes the blood with greater force throughout the body and to the periphery, producing heat of surface and subsequently perspiration. That this is a right interpretation of the purpose of an Ague fit is shown by the efficacy of certain remedial measures in warding off an expected paroxysm. For instance an accession of the rigors can sometimes be checked by the ad- ministration of an emetic just before the time of their recurrence. The effect on the system produced by the efforts of vomiting re- sembles that caused by shivering, the circulation being quickened by it, aud the blood more equably distributed; so that the natural reaction of the system to rid itself of a source of irri- tation is thus anticipated and imitated by artificial moans ; and if the congestion is sufficiently relieved by the operation of the emetic there is no occasion for the rigors, which in that caso do not occur. The shivering fit relieves the internal congestion no doubt to a certain extent, but owing to the atonic condition of the vessels it is speedily reproduced unless the vessels can regain their tone. If the congestion has been of short duration and depends upon atony of the vessels alone. Quinine is able to work a cure of the complaint by itself; but if the congestion has led to depraved secretion aud disordered action of the liver and other organs, it is necessary first to clear off the unhealthy secretions and relieve the gorged liver by the action of purgatives before the good effect of the Quinine will be manifested, but when this has been once ac- complished, Quinine prevents a recurrence of congestion, by restoring tone to the vessels. If the tendency to internal congestion remains, sooner or later another fit will come on, and the time at which it will take place will bo determined by the relation between the amount of congestion which is the exciting cause of it, and the activity of the ganglia through which the reflex action is produced. The greater the irritation and the more excitable the nervous centres, the sooner they will be moved to action ; and in an irritable