Observations on the utility and administration of purgative medicines in several diseases / by James Hamilton ... ; from the fifth Edinburgh edition.

  • Hamilton, James, 1749-1835.
Date:
1818
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on the utility and administration of purgative medicines in several diseases / by James Hamilton ... ; from the fifth Edinburgh edition. 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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    tation, without, however, meaning to advance or sup- port any theory on the subject. I am now to consider more particularly the utility and administration of purgative medicines, according to these views which I entertain of them. In prosecu- ting this subject, when I question the opinions of res- pectable men, I trust I shall speak with that deference which I feel to be due to them ; and when I propose changes in practice, which experience lias taught me to be useful, I will do so with a confidence commensurate with that experience which has been my guide. CHAP. IV. OBSERVATIONS ON THE UTILITY AND ADMINISTRATION OF PURGATIVE MEDICINES IN TYPHUS FEVER. Febrile diseases, which constitute a great propor- tion of the disorders to which mankind are liable, have attracted much attention ; though the numerous and daily discussions, with regard to their nature, their causes, and the conduct of their cure, are a proof how little the medical world are satisfied with the explana- tions that have hitherto been given. Great learning and ingenuity have been shewn in their classification. It will, however, be admitted, I believe, that Dr Cullen has proposed the best arrangement of this subject in his Synopsis Nosologic^ Methodical. The class Pyrexia?, according to him, comprehends five orders ; and the first order is that of fever. Dr Cullen admits two genera of fever only, the intermitting and the continued ; of the latter, typhus or nervous fever is most frequent, and is c