Southern telegraph., 1836-07-01

REMARKS on FEYER,
nT WgI. G. WILLIAMS, m, -.
OF Rodacu, Aiss.


Of Rndacy, Mss. Il
Il isnoi my intention TO consume time y
10 endeaVoring to defne Fever, nor shall i y
enter intop detail Of its various types and c
grades. This is natmy object. Nor has n
the lime IT have consumed in the prspera- d
ton Of this article been sufficient for this q
purpose. Ldoa0l wish to b understood as !
claiming any thing, on thescore of origin .
aliiy. The desirable object to be attained !
Is TRUTH. As to the correctness or absur-
dily Of tho subjoined remarks the reader {
can Judge. IL approved, shall be gratitied,
If condemned, satisfied from the e0nsidera-
ton Of having erred in search Of light, and
with a belief that the undertakings at all
events laudablo one. We should in all /
investigations, divest ourselves Of our pre-
Iiudces. Too many have commenced their
enquiries with pre-cOnceiyed theories, aud /
to these made facts subservient. This |
in the present, as wellas preceding age, has
clogged the wheels Of investigation, and
limited the usefulness Of those, who other
wise might have been instrumental in pre-
serving the lives of thousands of their fel
low beings, whilst as many thousands have
fallen victims to pratices based upon false,
| might say, absurd theories. To become
3 successful practitioners Of medicine, we Of
3 ten find it necessary to rid ourselves Of ma
G Inv theoretical notions we acquire during
e oils pupilOge. We have to study the phe-
2 nomena presented in disease, free of par
taity, for any theory we may have form
ed or conceived to be correct. A little far
II theT Advancement in the science, and few
S more revelations consequent in the opinions
e Of the medical world, will level many Of
i our present theoretical monuments in the
e dust, and others rear more perfect in con-
2, struction, and freer from the rubbish of ig-
g norance and speculation. 1t is not improb-
% able that to the age which is to succeed,
ID some Of our present pathological opinions
Of will appear as absurd as do many OF the
T. preceding to us. This should cause US to
re examine closely for ourselves, and not to re-
lily too implicitly on the opinions and inves.
tgaiions Of others. Much is yet to be
a learned in relation to the brain and nervous
i. system; and have not the least doubt, that
the light which investigation is to shed on
its Anatomy and Physiology healthy and
morbid, will do much to expose the detor
nifty Of many of our Patholog cal views
Circumstances, will not permit me to entel
into detail ofall the theories which in tht
lapse Of time have successfully risen anC
fallen, amid the storms that have agitatet
the world of investigation. ] shall only
mention few which are reared upon tht
ruins of others, and which are doomed t
share the same fate, as the sun of trutI
"a. and knowledge continues to drive back th
~ clouds which have so long lowered over tn
-. scientific world. Various have been the opin
= ions entertained at diferentperiods, as to tn
~ nature of some ofthe remote causes of Fe
Yer, and the parts Of the system up
- on which they produce their primar
~ u deleterious impressions. Nor have we a
nc at this enlightened period settled concu
ie- sions upon this subject As a proof of thi
| need only refer to the various thoorie
which at present engage the attention {
on the profession. Many deny the existonc
"a of approximate causes Among these ar
- those who support the theories of Broussa
'l'l and Cutterbuck. The former contenC
he that the frebiIe phenomena are dependent o
lel Castro Euteretis, the latter, that inAammj
IN ton of the brain and its membranes are tn
..o exciting causes offever. Both refer us
''' post mortem appearances as proof of tn
10 correctness of their views, which is su0
nd a.onE oysJonoa fhoE ~ lonak 70
to.) correct DR.. Cartwright speaking of II
n. Epidemic Fever, of Monroe county, Mis-:
= in 1892, states, that in "thOse who died, q
HUI ter sudden subsidence of pain, the P
vas Mater and the membranes investing Il
his ganglionic nerves were found in a his
the state of inflammation" Also in anoth
- !, part of the same paper, he says,"I mu
= here observe, that the limpid evacuation
Seo which often take place at the close of Il
fin operation of a cathartic, resemble the was
ce, ings Of beef, which comes on, especial
,ob when purgatiyes are not assisted by sui
y cient blood letting;" and that Sin these C
are ses in repeated examination after deaf
Ill he always found the duodenum highly
ans famed and often mortified, whilst the stol
he uch in large majority of cases showed
signs of disease" DR.. Smith in his tire
''1' tise, gives cases in which upon dissectic
go traces Of inflammation we're discoverat
'xas in the abdomen, when the brain and
ners membranes appeared perfectly natur
NOT while sometimes one portion of the bow
!. were inaamed, and sometimes anoth
~ In other cases the stomach and bow
en- showed no signs Of disease, but the brain
eral its membranes were found inhamed. A
-eIa- in the other cases, the thorace viscera,
~. hibited marks of inflammation, whilst
abdominal and cerebral organs were fot
'lhe1 in a tolerably healthy condition. Fr
u as this it is evident, that neither inhammat
!. Of the brain and membranes, or stomach
.no,v bowels, is invariably discoverable upon
animation after death. Whilst in some ca
n ~ traces Of inflammation present themsel,
;. both in the Uranium and abdomen. He