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INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER.

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cessive fatness, a scirrhus of the liver itself, violentshocks from strong 1 vomits when the liver was beforeunsound, an adust or atrabilious state of the blood, anything that suddenly cools the liver after it has beengently heated, stones obstructing the course of the bile,drinking strong wine and spirituous liquors, using hotspicy aliment,obstinate hypochondriacal affections,&c.

SYMPTOMS.—This disease is known by a painfultension of the right side under the false ribs, attendedwith some degree of fever, a sense of weight or ful-ness of the part, difficulty of breathing, loathing offood, great thirst, with a pale or yellowish colour ofthe skin and eyes.

The symptoms here are various, according to thedegree of inflammation, and likewise according to theparticular part of the liver where the inflammationhappens. Sometimes the pain is so inconsiderable,that an inflammation is not so much as suspected;but when it happens in the upper or convex part ofthe liver, the pain is more acute, the pulse quicker,and the patient is often troubled with a dry cough, ahiccup, and a pain extending to the shoulder, withdifficulty of lying on the left side, &c.

This disease may be distinguished from the pleurisyby the pain being less violent, seated under the falseribs, the pulse not so hard, and by the difficulty oflying on the left side. It may be distinguished fromthe hysteric and hypochondriacal disorders by thedegree of fever with which it is always attended.

This disease, if properly treated, is seldom mortal.A constant hiccuping, violent fever, and excessivethirst, are bad symptoms, ifit ends in a suppuration,and the matter cannot be discharged outwardly, thedanger is great. When the scirrhus of the liver ensues,the patient, if he observes a proper regimen, maynevertheless live a number of years tolerably easy;but if he indulge in strong animal-food and strongliquors, or take medicines of an acrid or irritatingnature, the scirrhus will be converted into a cancer,which must infallibly prove fatal.

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