The application of electricity as a therapeutic agent / by J.H. Rae.

  • Rae, J. H.
Date:
1877
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The application of electricity as a therapeutic agent / by J.H. Rae. 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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    The cases of cancer, ulcers, scrofulous complaints, gon- orrhoea, and syphilis, tend to prove this at once. Primary electricity (Galvanic) acts as directly upon the blood as induction-currents (Faradaic) do upon the mus- cles, or as the superinduced does upon the nerves. The treatment of aneurism by acupuncture proves this, and no further evidence is necessary. Just here I will say that I advise every physician, no matter of what school (for electricity, thank heaven, has not yet been chained by medical ethics), to obtain Dr. Garratt's large work on Electro-Physiology and Therapeutics; also Dr. Althaus on the same subject. The application of electricity and electro-magnetism will become, as it is more generally understood, a specialty with physicians. They should at least understand how it is to be used so they can prescribe it if necessary. In its me- chanical application more labor and time are requisite than most physicians can afford. Hence a few will devote themselves exclusively to it, as I and a few others have done, and the general physician who desires to have a pa- tient receive the electrical treatment in connection with his own will look for some honorable specialist. I sincerely believe that I have, in several instances, re- moved from the system (blood) evidences of both mineral and vegetable poisons. The removal of effects of poisoning by lead and mercury has unquestionably been accomplished, with results so marked that I was led to experiment in