(seq. 71)

62

Materia Medica

Astringents

which is a verry valuable one in Diarrhea as depending on a
relaxed or torpid state of the bowells they may be used with
advantage in the diarrhea of old people accompanied with great
pain, they are improper in Dysentary they are frequently
injurious. Dr Cullen supposed to this to depend on a spasm of a
part of the colon, produced verry often by increased arterial action.
I do not believe this idea of the disease to be correct but rather
suppose it to depend on a febrile action in the internal or mucous
membranes of the intestines, hence it is obvious that these
membranes that diminish the action of the arterial action
system ought first to be employed, astringents are serviceable in
some cases of Dysentary, but such only as depend on a
relaxed state of the system, or are of a cronic nature there
are some of the vegitable astringents that may be used in its
first stage. Leucorrhaea. Astringents are serviceable
according to Dr Cullen, but some authors have found them
injurious, there are evidently two species of this disease, one
commencing with fever and more or less of a febrile nature
through all its stages, the other the effect of debility, they are
serviceable in the latter kind, but I have cured some cases of