Dr. Hale's Experiment On ...
The Times, 1824-10-09T00:00:00

(Fro'Tlhe Fl7lzqy.Oracc of f ealtf,) the propos lof M..Ma endieto'uie hydrophobia by in5ectIr. water irtot-hbe yeins, which, eboi.gb It h Ys ieers tried wvithbot titt ce,ss, as we ex'Tsected, both in London intd-oft tIle continent, hasadered, the sabject of injections intothe veins caf;coAiderable public inegrest. MTe shall tlrere?ore gfve a detailed neco-tut of a most heroic ana mniqpte czperimept of thiti kind'performed am hmself hy Dr.-< Hale, jUl., of gsrton, United-Sttesa.' Thc sabstance wIih D'r. rfaleselected for hisex"perimncatwas eoll dramn casttor oil, raised to about the tFmperatare.o' O .deg.. wlsiet was thrown by a syringe into oue of the veints of the leftari. Aborrt half an ounce of the oil was injected by a friend, and abmt eight ounces of blood were lost in the operation, which occapied 25 eti;autei. The wound was then bandaged, abort l1 o'clock a. D7..' "L I felt very well," says Dr. Hale, " for ashort rime afer te operttion was finished. The firstunuuala sensation tiatli perceived, was a peculiar feeling or taste, of oiln_ss in the mouth, a little after twelve o'clock. Very soon after, while I e's wasbirng the-blood from my arm and hands, and was talking in veY:r goo4-spirits-I felt a slfiht nausea with belCiings, and some corfmlotiOtt initlte bowels; then a singular indescribable feeling seemrred Myry suddenly to accend to my bead. At -the same instant, 'I felt a sligRt stitnLes3 of the muscles of the face and jaw, which cat short m.),enktf g iM the middle of a word, accomparded by a bewildered feellmtZ in fny head. and a sliglht faintness. I sat down, and in a few momer,U re- covefed myself a little. " This part of :ne experiment had been performed in a room, at a little distance fromn my lodgings. Att a quarter past twelve, I walked home. My countenanee was pale, and the oily taste s:Dnti- nued in my mouth, with some dryness. but I felt a little better for the air. After sitting ten minutes, at 25 minutes past 12, 1 counted mv pulse, and found it 75 in a minute. Thirty-five minutes after twelvc-Thle dis-turbance in the bowels continues and increaseq ; slight pains noeviay aboat in them, with the feeling as if I had taken a ptrgAtive; copious belcbiDgs of windd, and slight nausea. There is a strange sensation in my head; it iS not a dizziness, though somewhat like it. Aly arm feels rather stifi which I attr.bute to the bandage; it is also a little sore, but is not painfu. not- '" Fo -fve minutes after twelve.-The bowels are still more in commotion. and the nausea is increased. lIly mouili still feels oily, bat is not so dry as before. In fie rninutes more tbe clisttrrbance ins the bowels was increased so much, that I thougbt there w'uld have been a discharge from them, anud made the attempt; bh 'witbout success. There is a slight pain in my head, and the strange f-lins continueg. " Twenty trinutes past one.-Thepain in thebowels isincreased, with some tenderness en pressure: have a Yery strong feeluig, aS If a purgative were about to operate; but an atempt to nrecure a disclharge tfrom the bowels was unsuccessful, as before. The nausez continues. "Two o'clock.-My general feelnms are better; the nausea iR nearly gone. Notwithstanding my previous experience of the de- ceptive nature of the pain and uneasiness in the bowels. the feeling of inclination to go to etool was so strong and distinct, that I was in- duced to make another attempt,but with no more success than before_ The same thing occurred again at 40 minutes past rwo, and twice in the course of the evening. The sensation was, in every instance, stron- snd perfectly distinct, at -east it entirely deceived me, al- thougli I was on mV guard, from the previous un*uccessful attempts. In the course of the afternoon and evening, t;e flatulenceand pair iM the bowels diminished, but the tenderness remained for several days. " At twentv minutes past two, while I was making a little exer- tion, 7eiw arm began se bleed again rather freely, and we had some little difficulty in stopping it. r was slone at the time, and before I could call mgiy assistant, and take off my coat and apply the dress. ings, shout six ounces of blood wsere lost. Slre werc obliged to malts the comptess and bandage quite tight orer the vein, and even then there was a considerable ffion of blood under the sin. "At three o'clock I dined upon a piece of pudding, which I ate with some little relish, but felt a slight nausea afterwards. About four o'clock, having a pretty urgent call to visit a patient, I wcnt a little distance in a carriage,btt took my assistant with me, to guard against accidents. I did not go out again until the 25th of February, and anl~ twice for a short time tiU the2d of Mlarch. Towards even- ing my arm became quite stiff, and considerably painful, and conti- nued se through the night. It was swoUen on the inside, from several inches below the elbow almost to the arm-pit; and there vas considerable heat and tension, especially about the elbow and a little above it. At eleven o'clock, my pulse was eighty-four. I passed ra- ther a restless night, but got some sleep. " Feb. 21.-In the morning there was a small discharge from the bowels, which was smaller and more costive than I am accustomed to have at that hour. liy arm was more swelled, and more painfil than before: pulse eighty. I had some pain in the bead, and was all day much indined to chilliness, though without regular fever. My arm was quite painful through the day. I had some fever and loss of appetite, and felt altogether too ill to make any use of my facaltices. either of body or mind. This state cantinued several days; and when I began to recover from it, I found my strength so much diminished, that it required two or three weeks to restore it to its former vigour. 4" February 22.-I was costive the whole day, and at night took a mild purgative pilL The pain in my arm was less severe, and I was in every respect better. From this time I gradualy recorvered my health, although very slowly. The swelling of my arm went off' slowly, by the diminution of the inflammation, so that on the25th I xwas sble, for the first time, to touch my forehead with the ends of my fingerg. For some time after I recovered my appetite for food, my powers of digestion seemed to be enfeebled, and l was frequently annoyed by indigestion. *It is now four weeks since the experiment was began by inject- ing the oil, and I have not yet quite recovered my usual strength and vigour. r amn more easily fatigued, and am obliged to pay mole c-areful attention to my diet than bsfore. 31 y left arm is weaker than it was previous to the operation, and is still sometimes subject to pains about the elbow." - We take our account from Dr. Hale's I Boylston Medical Prize Dissertations,' pablished at Boston. [Advertirement.j_ToivERs'9 ToxIc PILLS, a mild aperient stomschic, without a particle of mercury or antimony, are recom- mended for indigestion, pains in the stomach, nausea, bead-ache, giddiness, and other concomitant symptoms of a weak or- deranged state of the digestire organs. They are designed to renovate the tone and energy of the stomach; to correct torpdit.v of the bowels, by acting as a gentle and efficient laxative, but not aS a direct pur,ga- tive; and thus to promote digestion without distresslngor-vearemnsg th constitution. The ToNIc PILLS mnay be had of respectable venders of public medicines in London, Dublin, Edinburgh,Glas- gow, and most ptncipal towns. Each packet is signed "John Towers" on the label, and sealed with the Royal arms. DR. A1WLE'S PikRIfEV .g 1iMSEL?. ? - . , ~~. T . . I. ,