Verdicts of coroners' juries : the case of the late Mr. Cordwell / by P.F. Curie.

  • Curie, Paul Francis, 1799-1853.
Date:
1845
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Verdicts of coroners' juries : the case of the late Mr. Cordwell / by P.F. Curie. 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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    pulsatilla having been given on the previous day to favour the secretion of the intestines. Soon after the first dose of dulcamara, the patient began to perspire abundantly. The pain in the limbs also abated. There was yet no appetite ; there was much thirst; the tongue was still furred, and the pulse too full and frequent. He was directed to take nothing but pure water of the temperature of the room ; this abstinence being continued on account of the great febrile excitement, the total want of appetite, and the violent thirst, signs all indicating an irritation of the mucous membrane of the intestines which would have been immediately aggravated by the presence of food. 22nd and 23rd Feb.—The patient continued in the same state, with the exception that the symptoms were less marked. The former prescription was repeated, to be followed by one drop of aconite in the same way. 24th Feb.—The pulse was still too strong and frequent; the skin was hot all over, and the perspiration continued. The face was flushed, and there was still thirst with an absence of appetite. The anxiety, however, had greatly diminished, and he felt him- self much more comfortable, so much so, that he asked if I thought it necessary to see him again. It was evident that the febrile re-action was yet too strong to be neglected, and aconite was accordingly prescribed. A quarter of a drop of the third dilution to be given every five hours. 26th Feb.—The febrile symptoms had all abated. The urine was of a dirty yellow colour. The pulse continued strong, but was less frequent, and there was still a little perspiration. Bryonia was prescribed ; a drop of the third dilution in water— a fourth part every four hours. The continuance of the thirst, the developement of the pulse, and the perspiration were sufficient to indicate that remedy; more especially as the previous state of the patient and the progress of his disease suggested some appre- hension that, after the inflammatory stage of his present attack, it might assume the typhoid form.