Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-06-29
HYDROPHOsIA.

1t would be difficult to find another dis
ease in the whole catalogue Of mslacies,
whose physiology is less understood, or
whose fatal termination is more feared by
the average Of mankind, when bitten by a
rabid dog. The Baltimore american has
called attention to cases which app ar 10
throw light on this interesting subject. That
paper says, 30 81. va
"The dog ran under a wagon and refused
to come out. The men persuaded the little
boy TO go under the wagon, catch the dog
by the collar and lead him out. As be was
doing this he was bitten in the hand. The
doy broke out ofthe yard and ran away.
He had never been seen in that neighbor-
hood before, and he was never seen again.
The little boy paid no attention to the bite,
il soon healed up and the Circumstance was
forgotten both by him and bis
mother. Eight months thereafter ne was
taken with spasm; physician was
summoned, who found that the ciestrix of
the old bite was iDflsmed, and that mark
extended from the wound 10 the elbow. He
suffered considerable pain in this arm.
The suspicious of the physician were arous-
ed, and be made iIquiry about the wound.
The mother then Tecollected the bite of
eight months before. The child died in
five days; all the symptoms of hydrophobis
were present, and number of eminent
physicians who saw the case were satisfied
10 other known disease could base pro-
duced them. This case seems to establish
tha theory that the poison, when commu-
niclted by the tooth of q rabid dog, is held,
as 1t were, in. a little vessel or sac which
forms about the wound, and that IL IS not
absorbed Hntil this receptacle is destroyed
by the assimila.iDg processes Of nature. If
taken by the blood Immediately, hydrOpho-
.bia would result immediately. The fact
that the wound becomes sore Just before
madness comes on shows that some disin-
tegrating process in the cellular structure
mist be taking place. Great faith should
be put in the cutting out and cauterzing of
the wound, for there can he no doubt that
the poison remains there long time before
il is absorbed"
1t is presumsble that the poison injected
into the wound msde by the bite of mad
dog, is in liquid, or sem-iliquid state; and
it seems impossible for any impervious sack
to form around it through whose walls it
would not pass by absorption. Nor would
such sack be likely TO grolo before some
Of the liquid venom would pass into the
general circulation. again why should not
this impervious sack held the poison harm
less eight years, as well as eight months?
TIE explanation is quite az
mysterious as the hydrophobia.
In two ether cases mentioned by the
american, a robust man and little girl
were bitten by rabid dog, as supposed.
a. the same time. The man was greatly
frightened, and died with what appeared to
80 dydrophobis; the girl had no such fears,
aid escaped. There is nothing uncommon
in these facts; as not over one system in
twenty, saking statistics for our guide, is
susceptible OF poisining by this peculiar
virus. This important fact the public and
some medical men overlook. Some of the
nineteen escapes are easily worked up into
great cures by clever quacks.