PERIPNEÜMONY, &c.

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the vessels of the lungs. It commonly attacks the old, infirm, andphlegmatic, in winter and wet seasons.

The patient at the beginning is cold and hot by turns, has asmall quick pulse, feels a sense of weight upon his breast, breatheswith difficulty, and sometimes complains of a pain and giddiness ofhis head. His urine is usually pale, and his colour very littlechanged.

The diet, in this as well as in the true peripneumony, must bevery slender, as weak broths, sharpened with the juice of orangeor lemon, and such like. His drink may be thin water-gruelsweetened with honey, or a decoction of the roots of fennel, liquor-ice, and quick grass. An ounce of each of these may be boiled inthree English pints of water to a quart, and sharpened with a lit-tle currant-jelly, or the like.

Bleeding and purging are generally proper at the beginning ofthis disease ; but if the patient's spittle be pretty thick, or wellconcocted, neither of them are necessary. It will be sufficient toassist the expectoration by some of the sharp medicines recom-mended for that purpose in the pleurisy, as the solution of gumammoniac with oxymel of squills, &o. Blisters have generally agood effect, and ought to be applied pretty early.

If the patient do not spit, he must be bled, according as hisstrength will permit, and have a gentle purge administered. After-wards his body may be kept open by clysters, and the expectora-tion promoted, by taking every four hours two table spoonsful ofthe solution mentioned above, or any of those mentioned underpleurisy, &e.

When an inflammation of the breast does not yield to bleeding,blistering, and other evacuations, it commonly ends in suppura-tion, which is more or less dangerous, according to the part whereit is situated. When this happens in the pleura, it sometimesbreaks outwardly, and the matter is discharged by the wound.

When the suppuration happens within the substance or body ofthe lungs, the matter may be discharged by expectoration ; but ifthe matter floats in the cavity of the breast, between the pleuraand the lungs, it can only be discharged by an incision made be-twixt the ribs.

If the patient's strength do not return after the inflammation isto all appearance removed ; if his pulse continue quick thoughsoft, his breathing difficult and oppressed -, if he have cold shiver-ings at times, his cheeks flushed, his lips dry ; and if he complainof thirst and want of appetite, there is reason to fear a suppura-tion, and that a phthisis, or consumption of the lungs, will ensue.We shall, therefore, next proceed to consider the proper treatmentofthat disease.

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