The physician's vademecum, or, A manual of the principles and practice of physic : containing the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of diseases; accompanied by a select collection of formulae, with a table of the doses of all medicines now in use / by Robert Hooper.

  • Hooper, Robert, 1773-1835.
Date:
1833
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The physician's vademecum, or, A manual of the principles and practice of physic : containing the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of diseases; accompanied by a select collection of formulae, with a table of the doses of all medicines now in use / by Robert Hooper. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    •2. Coiitracliliti/ is that function which enables living beings to pertbrm their motions. It is iJso divided into orgmiic and moral. The first is exemplified in the interior motions of organs which are performed without our knowledge, as the secretion of the glands, the action of the lymphatics, &c. The second is that of which the soul acquires a knowledge. It is subdivided into vdinitarij and involnntart/; the first consists in those movements under the influence of volition, as walking, dancing, &c., the second are performed with our cognizance, but without om- ability to accelerate or suppress them; as the action of the heart, kidneys, &c. 3. Caloriciti/ is that faculty wMcli organs possess of pre- paring a quantity of heat necessary to life; and of maintaining the temperature of the body in all situations, whether hot or cold. This is as indispensable to life as air is to respiration; it penetrates, warms, dilates, expands the organs, facilitates the circulation of the fluids, and, in a word, it animates all parts, and without it life ceases. When it is in excess, it irritates, inflames, and disorganizes all living tissues. The temperature of the human body is 98° of Fahrenheit, and this does not vary in the coldest or warmest climate. The quantity of caloric necessary to existence is mocUfied by habitation, ali- ment, di-ink, clothing, &c. 4. Expansihilitrj is the faculty which enables organs to ex- pand or dilate themselves for the admission of certain sub- stances necessary for their growth, their preservation, and the exercise of their functions. Deglutition, respii-ation, dilata- tion of the heart, &c. Dlustrate this faculty. 5. Sympathg is that faculty by which organs almost simul- taneously perceive the impressions of others, either con- tiguous or remote. This arises from the universal nervous connexion which subsists in all parts of the body, through the cerebro-spinal system. It would be easy to illustrate this facidty by thousands of examples ; a few shall suffice. Thus the sight of agreeable food will excite the salivary glands, as will also its odour; the sight or odour of a disagreeable object will cause headache, nausea, vomiting, or fainting; disease of one eye will affect the other, a diseased tooth will cause pain