A treatise on malignant fever : with an attempt to prove its non-contagious nature / by Stubbins Ffirth.

  • Ffirth, Stubbins, approximately 1775-1820.
Date:
1804
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A treatise on malignant fever : with an attempt to prove its non-contagious nature / by Stubbins Ffirth. 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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    in March and April; some cases of the measles continued to occur during these months, but were obliged to do homage to the ruling monarch. The weather, during the greatest part of this time, was very variable ; cold and warm, fair and wet, succeeded with a suddenness that sur- prised even those best acquainted with the climate. May commenced with its usual mildness : During the first part thereof the weather was very serene, the ther- mometer varying from forty-five to fifty-six for the first seventeen days, with occasional refreshing showers of rain ; the remainder of the month was warm, towards the end thereof several heavy rains fell, the thermometer vary- ing from fifty-six to eighty-nine ; when at the last height the heat would have been almost insupportable, if it had not been for the occurrence of gentle zephyrs. The scar- latina, which had been rife the two preceding months, still continued in the Northern Liberties, but had entirely disappeared in Southwark ; a number of pleurisies occur- red, and some cases of dysentery. The observation has often been made by writers, and was found particularly truc with the inhabitants of this city, that preceding an epidemic of malignancy, affections of the skin become uncommonly frequent. Such was the case now ; for cu- taneous diseases occurred daily in practice, and almost eveiy physician was astonished at the great number there- of. They yielded to the usual mode of treatment, but some were uncommonly obstinate, and required herculean re- medies. Cases of cynanche parotydia occurred through- out the city: Three cases of hydrocephalus internus oc- curred ; two of them yielded to early and copious bleed- ings, with the free use of mercury, so as to induce an af- fection of the mouth the other terminated fatally. June was warm and sultry, attended with frequent show- ers, some fine weather occurred, occasionally the sun would break forth with resplendent lustre, but at the same time the heat was so intense as to render it very unpleasant to be exposed to its influence in the streets. The ther- mometer ranged from seventy to ninety, and the barome- ter from 29.4 to 29.9. Cases of the scarlatina anginosa and