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much sensibility and pain. She complained much of the head, and the pulse was 150 or 160. On the 25th the conjunctiva was still more humid, the cornea more opaque and apparently sunk; the vital powers were evidently sinking fast, and the fatal event occurred in the evening, on the third day of the affection of the eye.

CASE V.

SINCE the preceding cases were transmitted to the Society, we have been called to witness the course of a fifth example of this fatal malady: and as it differed from the rest by a still more early sinking of the vital powers, and consequently by a less marked form, we think it right to append it to them.

Mrs. E. aged 22 years, was delivered after a rather lingering labour of sixteen hours duration, on Wednesday night, May the 25th, 1825. The succeeding day was passed without any symptom of complaint; but the patient had exerted herself far too much in seeing visitors, and care of the infant.

Early on the Friday morning she was taken with shivering, which was followed by profuse perspiration and a rapid pulse. The bowels were freely moved, and were in the most healthy state, having been particularly attended to during the whole of her pregnancy. The perspiration gradually sub

sided, but on Saturday morning the pulse still remained at 120, and the abdomen was rather full, and painful, and tender under pressure, on the right side. These appearances of abdominal affection were, however, entirely subdued by the application of leeches, and by again evacuating the bowels. In the evening, and on Sunday morning, there was no tenderness or fulness of the abdomen at all, but the pulse remained frequent, though less so than on the preceding day.

In the evening of Sunday the pulse became more frequent, and the abdomen again tumid, and two red tender spots appeared in the inside and fleshy part of the left fore-arm. Very early on the Monday morning the pulse was found to be still more frequent, and the abdomen more tumid, while the vital powers were evidently failing. The bowels had been evacuated during the night freely and without uneasiness by the spiritus terebinthinæ. The arm remained as before. About eleven o'clock a. m. the left eye was observed to be inflamed, and the tunica conjunctiva to be red and tumid. The state of sinking increased rapidly, and the patient expired at one.

POSTSCRIPT.

In conclusion we beg leave to give the following short account of a case of this morbid affection

by Mr. Ward, surgeon, of Ollerton, in this county. Mr. Ward observes, "about eighteen years ago I was requested to visit the wife of William Aikin, of Eakring, aged 36, who had been confined about a week. Her labour had been tedious, and much hæmorrhagy followed the extraction of the placenta. She had complained of great pain of the head and eyeball for several days. She had taken opening medicine which acted well. On inspecting the eye I found that it had already burst, that its humours had escaped, and its coats collapsed; leaving only the appearance of a thick white substance on its anterior part. In addition to this affection of the eye, there were two large abscesses, one situated in the left axilla, the other above the calf of the left leg, which on being opened discharged much sanious matter. The patient was in a state of stupor, quite insensible to any object around her. I prescribed the cinchona with camphor, and port wine in gruel. In a few days diarrhoea came on, and soon afterwards the patient expired."

The first case detailed in the preceding pages was visited by Mr. John Wright, the eminent surgeon of this place. It has neither occurred to that gentleman nor to some others to whom the subject has been named, to have met with any other example of a similar puerperal disease.

Nottingham, July 1, 1825.

CASE

OF

EPILEPSY,

ATTENDED WITH

REMARKABLE SLOWNESS OF THE PULSE.

BY WILLIAM BURNETT, M.D.

MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS; PHYSICIAN IN ORDINARY TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF CLARENCE; AND HONORARY FELLOW OF THE IMPERIAL MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL ACADEMY

OF ST. PETERSBURGH, ETC.

COMMUNICATED BY

DR. JAMES JOHNSON.

Read April 13th, 1824.

AN officer of the navy, aged about forty-six, who had served much at sea in different climates, experienced about sixteen years ago, a single attack of epilepsy, from which time, till about four years preceding the present period, there was no recurrence of the disease; he then, however, had another attack while in bed, and, in consequence, fell out on the floor. From this time till August, 1820, he enjoyed good health, but, on the 23d of that month, I was requested to visit him, and though on this occasion I had no opportunity of

seeing him during any of the paroxysms, I had every reason to conclude, from the symptoms mentioned, that the disease under which he laboured was epilepsy, which, by moderate bloodletting, both local and general, purgatives, and light tonics, together with small doses of the pil. hydrargyri, I soon succeeded in checking. He remained quite free from complaint till the end of January, 1821, and appeared to have regained his usual health. Indeed on the day preceding his attack on this occasion, I met him while on my road to visit a patient in the country, driving his chaise, and looking remarkably well.

On the 27th of January, I was again requested to visit this patient, and found him labouring under all his former symptoms, having suffered many paroxysms. Indeed, they were now so frequent that, in the space of half an hour, while I was with him, he had four or five attacks. During the paroxysms he exhibited all the usual symptoms of epilepsy; yet these were of very short duration, sometimes lasting only a few minutes, and never being followed by a disposition to sleep. They were commonly preceded by nausea, and a sensation as if something arose in the stomach, and proceeded upwards to the head. Occasionally the nausea proved very troublesome, and was accompanied by vomiting even when the fits did not come on. The same plan of cure was pursued as on the former occasion, with the addition of the tinct.

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