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Show Wu.~a-.-v-..~..m. ...... . ____ ,_-_,‘,___,, Origin Qf {be anlmls and Lymph/mus. 4,3 49 Origin (3/ [be Lflclcnls {l/[d Lympbatit's. ample, arises in the back, between the scapulee, soon after the glands behind, the tnamillary processes of the temporal bones, swell and become tender, shening, that the absorbents of this part of the skin, run upwards, to some distance from their origin, and that they pass through these glands. In pulmonary consumption I have frequently applied a plaister made of powdered gum ammoniac dissolved in vinegar of squills, to the skin, over salivary glands, the intestines, and sometimes all the glands of the body, and produces all other appearances which it does when taken into the sto- mach. The same is true of many other medicines. It is therefore evident, that the lymphatics arise from the. skin. Also, it may be inferred, as they arise from these cavities and surfaces, that they probably arise from all cavities and surfaces of the body. In confirmation of this, we find fluids morbidly accumulated, absorbed from all the cavities of the body. the sternum. This plaistcr ulcerates the skin, and every now and then in- the absorbents and their glands: in this way I learned that the absorbents of this part of the skin went partly into the axilla:, partly under the clavi- eles, and partly with the jugular veins, for the glands in all these places swelled, and became tender. The same plaister applied to the intcguments of the abdomen, or those of the. liypochondriac regions have also occasioned swellings and tenderness in the glands of the groin, pointing out the course of the lymphatics, long before I actually saw them running this way; I have seen the glands of the groin also become swelled and tender from inflamed piles, round the verge of the anus and thence inferred that some of the absorbents of these parts came round the inside of the thighs to the groins. I have not, how- ever, described any of these, excepting such as I have actually injected. We know that this accumulation is, in the healthy state of the body, constantly prevented by the same vessels. This idea appears long ago to have presented itself to the ingenious \I'illis: " Enimvero sape saipius miratus sum quid fiat dc cl‘lluviis vaporosis, qua: pcrpetim, e sanguine in przecordiis efllagrante, copiosissime, et nonnunquam iinpctuosissiine dimanant." And then, by and by, speaking of the lungs, he explains this, and says, " Qua- propter loeuli, seu spatia ista inania ubique ex omni parte (lisponuntur, qua: vapores in pulmone OCClusos exeipiant, ct eosdcni mox condensates per lymphm ductus, quasi per totidcm aleinbici rostra, extillcnt." This doctrine is also proved by injecting fluids into the abdomen in liv- ing dogs, which are quickly absorbed; of six pints of warm water, after six hours, not more than four ounces remained. The water of the hydrocephalus, deposited in the ventricles of the brain, we have every reason to believe, has been sometimes absorbed from these cavities; for the symptoms of the hydrocephalus, which are exceedingly well marked, have made their appearance, and then, from the use of remedies, again C II A P. X. disappeared. The water of. the hydrothorax‘ has also sometimes been removed; and we have occasionally known ascites cure itself. Origin of Hid Lacrmls and Lynp/mtit'r. .. 1( ROM the several facts already mentioned, it is evident that the lactcals, taking up whatever is thrown into the cavity of the intestines, must arise from their internal surface; that the lymphatics of the lungs, absorbing blood from the air-Cells, must have their origin from these cells; as well as that those absorbing bile from the gall-bladder, must have orifices opening into that cavity. That mercury is absorbed from the skin, cannot be doubted; for, when rubbed on the skin, it produces a brassy taste in the mouth, stimulates the salivary Now, as it has been proved that transudation does not take place in the living botlv, it follows, that if llrtids are deposited in, and then removed from, cavities, it must be by absorption, the only power we know an animal body to he possessed of, which is adequate to this eil‘ect. In oedema of the legs, friction, we know, frequently occasions a removal of the fluid. Now, as liiction becomes a stimulus to the arteries and veins, and accelerates the motion or" the blood through the parts, we have reason to con- elude, that the same friction becomes a stimulus to the lymphatic vessels, and cbiiges them to take up the extravasated fluid. When the bones are ll diseased, |