Observations on the use and abuse of mercurial medicines in various diseases / by James Hamilton ; with notes and an appendix by Ansel W. Ives.

  • Hamilton, James, 1767-1839.
Date:
1821
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on the use and abuse of mercurial medicines in various diseases / by James Hamilton ; with notes and an appendix by Ansel W. Ives. 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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    crease in general the action of the heart and ar- teries, and produce salivation, followed by ema- ciation and debility, with an extremely irritable state of the whole system. These effects of mercury are expressly men- tioned, or virtually admitted, by every author, ancient and modern, who has directed its use ; and it must appear very extraordinary, that their full influence should have been hitherto misun- derstood, or at least not sufficiently regarded. The first effect enumerated, is an increased action of the heart and arteries, that is, a more than usually rapid circulation of the blood through every part of the body. This also oc- curs in feverish and in inflammatory disorders, and in all is accompanied writh an augmentation of the animal heat. But in feverish disorders there is neither any apparent change upon the sensible qualities of the blood, nor any unusual flow of the ordinary secretions ; while in inflam- matory affections the sensible qualities of the blood are materially altered, and either some of the secretions are furnished in greater abundance, or topical congestions, that is, obstructions in the vessels of particular parts, take place.