M. le Clerc

“ We may well reckon up Fifteen distinct Parts, which are the Bone, the Cartilage, the Ligament, the Tendon, the Membrane, the Fibre, the Nerve, the Vein, the Artery, the Flesh, the Fat, the Skin, the Scarf-Skin, the Hair, and the Nails.
What is a Bone?
It is the hardest and driest Part of the whole Body, and that which constitutes its principal Support. ”

“ To let out the Matter, the Patient must be oblig'd to lean on one side, stopping his Mouth and Nose, and puffing up his Cheeks, as if he were to blow vehemently; then if Blood appears, a greater quantity of it may be taken away than if it were Matter, in regard that a Flux of Matter weakens more than that of Blood. It is also worth the while to observe, that in making the Incision, the Intercostal Muscles ought to be cut a-cross, that the side of the Ribs may not be laid bare, by which means the Wound will not so soon become Fistulous. ”

“ A Simple Wound is that which only opens the Flesh, and hath no other concomitant Circumstances; but a Complicated Wound, on the contrary, is that which is attended with grievous Symptoms, as Hæmorrhages, Fractures of Bones, Dislocation, Lameness, and others of the like Nature.
What is a dangerous and mortal Wound?
A dangerous Wound is that which is complicated the Accidents whereof are dreadful: As when an Artery is open'd or prick'd, when a Nerve or Tendon is cut, or when the Wound is near a Joynt and accompanied with a Dislocation or Fracture. ”

“ A mortal Wound is that which must be inevitably follow'd by Death; as is that which is situated deep in a principal Part necessary for the Preservation of Life.
What are the Parts wherein Wounds are mortal?
They are the Brain, the Heart, the Lungs, the Oesophagus or Gullet, the Diaphragm, the Liver, the Stomach, the Spleen, the small Guts, the Bladder, the Womb, and generally all the great Vessels. ”

“ The Ribs are luxated either on the outside, or on the inside: If they be dislocated on the inside, a Cavity is perceiv'd near the Vertebra's, the Patient drawing his Breath with Pain, and not being able to bend his Body.
When the Luxation is on the outside, and happens in the upper Ribs, the Patient's Hands are to be hoisted upon the top of a Door, to raise up the Ribs, whilst the Surgeon presseth the Prominence of the Rib to restore it to its place. ”

“ If both the Bones of the Elbow be broken, a stronger Extension is to be made than if only one of 'em were so hurt; to which purpose a Servant is to be appointed to grasp the Arm above the Elbow with both his Hands, and another to hold it above the Wrist, whilst the Surgeon sets the Bones with the Palms of both his Hands, till no unevenness be any longer felt in the Part.
The Dressing and Bandage Are the same with those in the Fracture of the Arm; but the Bands which are carry'd upward are to be stay'd above the Elbow. ”

“ What is to be done when an Artery is open'd?
If it be well open'd, it is requisite to let the Blood run out till the Person falls into a Syncope or Swoon, by which means the Aneurism is prevented; and afterward the Blood will be more easily stopt: It remains only to make a good Bandage with many Bolsters, in the first of which is simply put a Counter or a Piece of Money; but a bit of Paper chew'd will serve much better, with Bolsters laid upon it in several Folds. ”

“ If the Echymosis happens in a Nervous Part, Balsam of Peru may be us'd, or, for want thereof, Oleum Lumbricorum & Hyperici, with luke-warm Wine, with which the Bolsters must be soak'd, to be laid upon it.
When the Echymosis is great, and much Blood is diffus'd between the Skin and the Flesh, the safest way is to make an Opening to let it out, lest a too plentiful and dangerous Suppuration should ensue, or even a Gangrene it self. However, a Surgeon ought to proceed in the curing of an Echymosis in the Face with great Circumspection, which must be always prepar'd for Incision. ”

“ As for Topical Remedies, none are to be administer'd, except it be judg'd convenient to apply to the Tumour a Piece of Lead rubb'd with Quick-silver; all others serving only to make the Skin tender, and apt to break. The Patient may also take for his Drink Water of Scorzonera and Hart's-Horn, with the Flowers of Bugloss or Borage, and Liquorice: Or else Quick-silver-Water alone, boiling an Ounce of it in a Quart of Water every time, the Quick-silver always remaining at the bottom of the Vessel.
What are the Remedies for an ulcerated Cancer? ”

“ The Cancer at first is not so big as a Pea, being a small, hard, blackish Swelling, sometimes livid, and very troublesome by reason of its Prickings; but when it is encreas'd, the Tumour appears hard, Lead-colour'd, and livid, causing in the beginning a Pain that may be pretty well endur'd, but in the increase it grows intolerable, and the Stink is extremely noisome. ”

“ When the Wound is so small that the Bone cannot be seen, and nothing appears but the Accidents.
What are the Accidents or Signs of the Fracture of the Skull?
They are a dimmness of the Sight, and loss of the Understanding, which happen at the very Moment when the Fall or Blow is receiv'd; with the Phlegmatick Vomittings that follow soon after: These Signs are call'd Univocal. And there are others that bear the Name of Equivocal, and which confirm the former; as a Flux of Blood thro' the Nose, Eyes, and Ears, redness of the Eyes, heaviness of the Head, and puffing up of the Face ”

“ REMEDIES. What are the Remedies proper for a Phlegmon?
They are of two sorts, viz. General and Particular; the former having regard to the antecedent cause, and the other to the conjunct. The Phlegmon is cur'd in its antecedent Cause, by Phlebotomy or letting Blood, by good Diet, and sometimes by Purgations, by which means the Plethory, Heat, and Alteration of the Blood is diminished; But Fomentations, Cataplasms and Plaisters facilitate the Cure in the conjunct cause, either by dissolving the Tumour, or bringing it to Suppuration. ”

“ What are the means proper to be us'd in a simple Dislocation?
A speedy and simple reducing thereof, which is perform'd by stretching out the dislocated or luxated Member, and thrusting back the Head of the Bone into its natural place. Afterward the Joynt must be strengthen'd with a Fomentation made with Provence Roses, the Leaves of Wormwood, Rosemary, Camomile, St. John's-Wort, and Oak-Moss boil'd in the Lees of Wine and Forge-Water, keeping the Part well bound up, and sustain'd in a convenient situation. ”

“ What are the Signs which shew that the Splints remain in the Fracture after it hath been reduc'd?
They are the secret and continual Workings of the Fibres, or twitchings, that are felt by Intervals in the Part, with great Pains, which are the Indications of an Abcess arising therein; and when a Wound is join'd to the Fracture, the Lips of it are puff'd up, and become more soft and pale, the purulent Matter abounding also more than ordinary.
When the Splints appear, must they be drawn out by force? {191}
By no means; for great care ought to be taken to avoid all manner of violent Operations ”

“ The Penis or Yard is a Nervous and Membranous Part, well furnish'd with Veins and Arteries, containing in the middle the Canal of the Ureter: Its Extremity, which consists of a very delicate and spongy sort of Flesh, is call'd Balanus, or Glans, and the Nut, the Skin that covers it being nam'd the Præputium, or the Fore-Skin. Thus by the means of this swell'd Part, and stiff thro' the affluence of the Spirits, the Male injects his Seed into the Matrix of the Female, to propagate his Kind.
What are the Parts appropriated to Generation in Women? ”

“ Enarthrosis is a kind of Articulation which unites two Bones with a great Head on one side, and a large Cavity on the other; as the Head of the Thigh-Bone in the Cavity of the Ischion or Huckle-Bone.
Arthrodia is a sort of Articulation, by the means whereof two Bones are join'd together with a flat Head receiv'd into a Cavity of a small depth. Such is the Head of the Shoulder-Bone with the Cavity of the Omoplata or Shoulder-Blade; and that of the Twelfth Vertebra of the Back with the first of the Loins. ”

“ Panaritium or Paronychia, is a Tumour which generally ariseth in the Extremity of the Fingers, at the Root of the Nails: It is red, and accompany'd with very great Pain, even so exquisite, that the whole Arm is sensible thereof, insomuch that a Fever sometimes ensues, and a Gangrene; the Humour being contain'd between the Bone and the Periosteum, or that little Membrane with which it is immediately invested. ”

“ Modern Anatomists have discover'd that the Diaphragm is compos'd of two Muscles, viz. one Upper, and the other Lower; so that the Upper cleaves to the Extremities of the Spurious Ribs, and is terminated in a flat Tendon in the middle, which hath been always taken for its Nervous part. The Lower begins with two Productions, the longest whereof being on the right side, ariseth from the three upper Vertebra's of the Loins, and the other on the Left from the two Vertebra's of the Back, till it is lost in the Aponeurosis of the Upper Muscle. ”

“ The Leg is usually cut off at the Ham; the Thigh as near as can be to the Knee; and the Arm as near as is possible to the Wrist: But an Amputation is never made in a Joynt, except in the Fingers and Toes.
In order to cut off a Leg, the Patient is to be set on the side of his Bed, or in a Chair, and supported by divers Assistants; one of 'em being employ'd to hold the Leg at the bottom, and another to draw the Skin upward above the Knee, to the end that the Flesh may cover the Bone again after the Operation. ”

“ But if the Entrails are fasten'd to the Caul, it is requisite to separate 'em by cutting a little of the Caul, rather than to touch the Intestine; which last being reduc'd, a Servant may press the Belly on the side of the Wound; so that if a Mass of Flesh be found in the Caul, which hath been form'd by the sticking of the Caul to the Muscles and Peritonæum, this Fleshy Mass must be entirely loosen'd, and then a Ligature may be made to take it away, with some part of the Caul, as we have already shewn in the Gastroraphy. ”

“ If the Lungs are pierc'd, a spitting of froathy Vermilion-colour'd Blood ensues, with difficulty of Respiration, and a Cough. If any of the great Vessels are open'd, the wounded Person feels a Weight at the bottom of his Breast, is seiz'd with cold Sweats, being scarce able to fetch his Breath, and Vomits Blood, some Portion whereof issueth out of the Wound. If the Diaphragm or Midriff be cut in its Tendinous Part, he is suddenly hurry'd into Convulsions: And if the Heart be wounded either in its Basis or Ventricles, he falls into a Swoon, and dies incontinently. ”

“ An Ulcer is a Rupture of the Natural Union of the Parts made a long while ago, which is maintain'd by the Sanies that runs out of its Cavity; or an Ulcer takes its Rise from a Wound that cou'd not be well cur'd in its proper time, by reason of the ill quality of its Pus or corrupt Matter.
What difference is there between a Wound and an Ulcer?
It is this, that a Wound always proceeds from an external Cause, and an Ulcer from an internal, such as Humours that fall upon a Part; or else a Wound in growing inveterate degenerates into an Ulcer.
Whence is the difference of Ulcers deriv'd? ”

“ When these Wounds penetrate into the Substance of the Brain, or Marrow of the Back-Bone, or into the Heart, Pericardium, great Vessels, and other noble Parts, Death always inevitably follows, and often happens at the very Instant. ”

“ It is discover'd by the livid Colour of the Skin, which departs from the Flesh, the softness, coldness, and insensibility of the Part; and sometimes by its dryness and blackness, from whence exhales a cadaverous Stench, with Sanies issuing forth after Punctures or Scarifications made therein. Lastly, a Gangrene is perceiv'd by the cold Sweats, Swoonings, Syncope's, and Delirium's that invade the Patient, and which are all the Fore-runners of approaching Death.
Is a Gangrene only found in the Flesh, and soft Parts of the Body?
It happens also in the Bones; and is then call'd Caries. ”

“ In order to perform the Operation of Lithotomy, the Patient must be laid along upon a Table of a convenient height, so as that the Surgeon may go about his Work standing; the Patient's Back must also lean upon the Back of a Chair laid down, and trimm'd with Linnen-Cloth, lest it shou'd hurt his Body; his Legs must be kept asunder, and the Soles of his Feet on the sides of the Table, whilst a Man gets up behind him to hold his Shoulders: His Arms and Legs must be also bound with Straps or Bands. ”

“ A Good Friction being first made with warm Clothes, lighted Toe is to be put into the Cupping-Glass, or else a Wax-Candle fasten'd to a Counter, and then it is to be apply'd to the Part till the Fire be extinguish'd, and the Skin swell'd, re-iterating the Operation as often as it is necessary; and afterward laying on a Bolster steept in Spirit of Wine. These are call'd dry Cupping-Glasses: But if you wou'd draw Blood, every thing is to be observ'd that we have now mention'd, besides that Scarifications are to be made, according to the usual manner ”