The new method of inoculating for the small-pox : delivered in a lecture in the University of Pennsylvania, on the 20th of February, 1781 / by Benjamin Rush, M.D. professor of the institutes and of clinical medicine in the University of Pennsylvania.

  • Rush, Benjamin, 1746-1813.
Date:
MDCCXCII [1792]
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The new method of inoculating for the small-pox : delivered in a lecture in the University of Pennsylvania, on the 20th of February, 1781 / by Benjamin Rush, M.D. professor of the institutes and of clinical medicine in the University of Pennsylvania. 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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    3. If mercury acted fpecifically in de- stroying the variolous matter, it would ren- der every other part of the preparation un- neceflary, but this we know is not the cafe, for the neglect or improper ufe of the ve- getable diet or cool regimen is often attend- ed with an extraordinary number, or viru- lence of the fmall-pox, even in thofe cafes where mercury is given in the largeft quantity. The way in which mercury prepares the body for the fmall-pox, feems to be by pro- moting the feveral excretions, particularly that by perfpiration, which, by diminifh- ing the quantity of the fluids and weaken- ing the tone of the folids, renders the fyftem lefs liable to a plentiful eruption of the fmall-pox. But I object to the ufe of this medicine for the following reafons : 1. It effectually deprives us of all the benefits of the cool regimen ; for mercury, we know, always difpofes the fyftem to take cold. 2. All the good effects of mercury may be produced by purges, which do not fubject the body to the above-mentioned inconvenience. The