Brutishness

“ Not even a bruise."
"It was very painful, Doctor," explained the invalid; "one of them inward bruises. They do say as that's the worst sort o' damage as kin 'appen to a man, getting a inward bruise, same's what I did. I bin layed up fower weeks 'long o' that accident."
"And it took five days to mature. Ever heard of a disease called 'afterthought'?"
"Can't say rightly as I 'ave," admitted the sufferer.
"It is a curious sort of complaint," the doctor explained; "attacks a man very often in cases like this. Quite small things aggravate it, too; talkative friends, for example." ”

“ A contusion or bruise is a laceration of the subcutaneous soft tissues, without solution of continuity of the skin. When the integument gives way at the same time, a _contused-wound_ results. Bruising occurs when force is applied to a part by means of a blunt object, whether as a direct blow, a crush, or a grazing form of violence. If the force acts at right angles to the part, it tends to produce localised lesions which extend deeply; while, if it acts obliquely, it gives rise to lesions which are more diffuse, but comparatively superficial. ”

“ Having said so much on reflex action as a cause of disease, we will now consider it as a method of cure; and the first instance that suggests itself to our minds is the beneficial effect of a blister. Two theories have been proposed to account for the action of a blister. One is, that it dilates the vessels of the skin in the part to which it is applied, and, by thus drawing away some of the blood from the inflamed organ below, lessens the pain and inflammation in it. The other theory is, that the blister acts reflexly upon the organ itself. ”

“ Bruises of all sorts, however, unless very severe, are much safer than cuts or scratches, because they do not break the skin, and consequently no germs can get into the tissues of the blood. Our skin, as you remember, is one of the most wonderful water-proof, germ-proof, hot-and-cold-proof coat{320}ings in the world; and as long as it remains unbroken, none but a few of the most virulent disease-germs can get through it into the body. ”

“ Bruises.—If the skin is not broken, the best thing for a bruise, or black and blue spot, as they are often termed, is a piece of pure copper. It should be thin enough to shape with the fingers just the curvature or angle of the portion of the body bruised. ”

“ The more one studies Hun physiognomy and physique, the more predominant grow those first impressions of the Cult of the Brute. Brutish is the clear blue eye, with the burning excited brain revealing itself in flashes such as one might see in the eye of a rhinoceros on the attack. Brutish is the head, so round and close cropped, resembling no other animal save German. Brutish are the ears flapping out so redly. The thick necks and incredibly thick legs have the tenacious look of elephants. ”

“ Have the child bend backward over the arm of a sofa, for example, or put him in bed with the body hanging out of the bed face upward. If none of these effect relief you must depend upon the skill of the physician.
A Bruise or Contusion.—A bruise or contusion is an injury to the tissues underneath the skin, but this does not imply that the skin itself is opened or damaged. In every bruise the small blood vessels are ruptured, and the blood collects in the tissues causing distention, swelling and pain. ”

“ He could now walk almost without pain. At the start, he had determined not to limp. It had made him sick to take the first steps, and during the first mile or so, he had compressed his breath, and the cold drops of sweat had stood on his forehead. But he had walked it off. What were they after all but bruises! He had looked at them, as he was getting up: deep bruises on the backs of his thighs. And since he had made his first step in the morning, he had been conscious of them, till now he had a tight, hot place in his chest, with suppressing the pain, and holding himself in. ”

“ A sound foot is not injuriously affected, but a very thin sole is, and so also is a sole which has been bruised by a picked up stone. Even a slight bruise becomes serious if pressure is allowed to remain active over the injured part. Lameness increases, serous fluid is effused between the horn and sensitive part, or even hæmorrhage may take place.' [A]
[Footnote A: Hunting, Veterinary Record, vol. xiv., p. 593.]
The Treatment of Chronic Bruised Sole offers no special difficulty. Removal of the cause (in nearly every case incorrect bearing of the shoe) is the first consideration. ”

“ Some persons are very easily bruised, and a pinch, by no means severe, will cause on their arms a severe bruise. Discoloration—ecchymosis—may take place in the skin, cellular tissue, muscles, or internal organs as a result of external injury, or it may be due to sudden and powerful contraction of a muscle or group of muscles. ”

“ Dangerous bleeding from large blood vessels sometimes takes place internally, and collections of blood may later break down into abscesses. Furthermore, the bruise may be so great that the injury to muscle and nerve may lead to permanent loss of use of the part. For these reasons a surgeon's advice should always be sought in cases of bad bruises. Pain is present in bruises, owing to the tearing and stretching of the smaller nerve fibers, and to pressure on the nerves caused by swelling. The swelling is produced by escape of blood and fluid from the torn blood vessels. ”

“ Let patient lie flat and swallow small pieces of ice, and also take one-quarter teaspoonful of table salt in half a glass of cold water.
BRUISE.
First Aid Rule 1.—Bandage from tips of fingers, or from toes, making same pressure with bandage all the way up as you do over the injury.
Rule 2.—Apply heat through the bandage, over the injury, with hot-water bottles.
Cause, Etc.—A bruise is a hidden wound; the skin is not broken. It is an injury caused by a blunt body so that, while the tougher skin remains intact, the parts beneath are torn and crushed to a greater or lesser extent. ”

“ A veterinarian should be called in case the wound is severe or goes bad as the treatment progresses.
Treating Bruises. —In treating bruises a different procedure is necessary. The broken tissue is concealed—beneath the skin and usually under the surface muscles. Bathing with water and acetate of lead—a quart of water and two tablespoonfuls of the acetate—will tend to lessen the inflammation. In time you may have to open the swelling for the pus to get out. After doing so, inject some wash for cleansing, using one quart of water and a tablespoonful of chloride of zinc. ”

“ The injury may, or may not, be attended with division of the integuments, or with fracture or displacement of the bones; but all injuries of the hard parts are attended with more or less bruising of the soft. Bruise is most frequently produced by611 a blow, and is most severe when the violence is resisted by an unyielding part, as by bone; a squeeze between two bodies, particularly if they be in motion, also inflicts extensive contusion. The swelling continues to increase for some time, and then gradually disappears along with the pain. As the tumour subsides, the discoloration increases ”

“ Human suffering is also distinguished from brutish pain, because the animal only feels the wound, as we perhaps do in sleep, but it sees it not. Its pain is not trebled and increased by anticipation, recollection, and sensibility ”

“ Tired, Esmeralda? A little, and you do wonder whether you shall not be a bruised piece of humanity to-morrow. Not if your flesh be as hard as any girl's should be in these days of gymnasiums, but if you have managed to bruise a muscle or to strain one, lay a bottle of hot water against it when you go to bed and it will not be painful in the morning. If, in spite of warnings, you have been so careless about your underclothing as to cause a blister, a bit of muslin saturated with Vaseline, with a drop of tincture of benzoin rubbed into it, makes a plaster which will end the smart instantly. ”

“ BRUISES, or contusions, being frequently neglected at first, may produce consequences more alarming than those of wounds. Blows received on the head, pit of the stomach, hip, or the knee, are the most dangerous. A violent inflammation, in consequence of injured nerves, or the destruction of blood vessels, often occasions the mortification of those parts, which the most skilful treatment cannot retrieve, if the accident be neglected for many hours or days. ”

“ It is practically admitted that every ailment, with the exception of mechanical injuries, is the direct result of a specific germ; and even in accidents and simple fractures, no matter what may be the nature of the bruise, a micro-organism soon announces its presence, so that if not the parent, it is the inseparable companion, in fact the shadow, of disease. ”

“ Contusions or Bruises.—In slight bruises, and those not likely to be followed by much inflammation, nothing more is usually necessary than to bathe the part in cold water, or with spirit, as eau de Cologne, brandy, &c., mixed with an equal proportion of vinegar and water. In more severe cases, however, and where the accident is near an important part, as the [116] eye, or any of the joints, it becomes a desirable object to prevent the approach of inflammation. ”

“ If a considerable amount of blood is poured forth into the injured tissues it is termed a haematoma. The treatment of a bruise consists in the application of cold lotion, preferably an evaporating spirit-lotion, to limit the subcutaneous bleeding. ”

“ Young children are specially liable to die after burns.
XI.—CONTUSED WOUNDS AND INJURIES UNACCOMPANIED BY SOLUTION OF CONTINUITY
If a blow be inflicted with a blunt instrument, there is produced a bruise, or ecchymosis, of which it is unnecessary here to describe the appearance and progress. A bruise may be distinguished from a post-mortem stain by the cuticle in the former often being abraded and raised. When an incision is made into the bruise, the whole of the subcutaneous tissues are found to be infiltrated with blood-clot, and there is no clear margin. ”

“ Bruises need no attention unless they are extensive or painful. The skin should be kept clean and if possible unbroken, since injured tissues are less resistant to infection than tissues in their normal state. Applications of cold water or of equal parts of cold water and alcohol may relieve the pain, but cold should not be used upon bruises that are extensive. A compress bandaged [277] tightly in place may help to prevent swelling and discoloration.
Burns and Scalds. ”

“ It is from the tearing to pieces blood vessels, whereby the blood extravasates from their natural channels, that occasions the swelling. If the bruise is but slight, the vessels are soon enabled to circulate the humours; but if the contusion is great, the extravasated humours are apt to corrupt, and make a collection of matter; thence an aposthume and ulcer must naturally follow.
Bruises on fleshy parts are not so bad by far, as on the joints, because the fibres in the muscles are more pliable, and sooner unite; the ligaments on the joints are very rigid, and extremely sensible ”

“ They frequently follow the absorption of the clot in the venous piles where the skin is bruised and stretched. There may be one or many and usually have the skin color. These cause less suffering than the venous variety, and sometimes they exist for years, without any trouble, providing care is taken; but when bruised from any cause, such as a kick or fall, sitting on a hard seat, stretching of the parts during stool, or when they become irritated by discharges from the rectum or vagina, they become inflamed and cause much annoyance and pain. ”

“ But if the mischief be not upon the bone, but it is the flesh itself which is pulpy, relapses and pains will return from time to time, if there happen to be any disorder in the body; wherefore proper bandaging, and for a considerable time, must be had recourse to, until the extravasated blood forming in the bruise be dried up and absorbed, and the part be made up with sound flesh, and the flesh adhere to the bone. The best cure is the cautery in those cases which, from neglect, have become chronic, and the place turns painful, and the flesh is pulpy. ”

“ If one could refer to anything so damnable as captivity being blighted, I might say that bruise has blighted mine. Of the untold hours that I lie awake waiting, waiting, for the roof, sky, and earth to stop pulsating to the pulsation in my spine, no one can ever know. But the eye trouble, originally strain from shell-shock and from grit, is now only bad conjunctivitis, although it looks awfully serious. As first violin of our band my bandaged eye, and, later, my absence, had been conspicuous enough to the Turks. ”

“ And yet if he had seen a man insult her,—if he had seen her at that moment in peril of the slightest danger, the slightest bruise, he would have rushed forward like a madman, and died, saving her from that bruise. ”

“ In these, as in all other cases, the value of this remedy is greatly enhanced by an early application. In bruises on the shin I have not had a single instance in which I was not enabled to effect a cure by the adherent eschar, if application was made to me early. The difficulty of forming an adherent eschar is always increased by delay; but in these bruises along the shin there is an additional reason for this increased difficulty, [65] arising out of the tendency observed in them, to the formation of a slough. ”

“ Here "sustenance by rapine, upon carcasses ravenously snatched" is evidently felt to be connected with "front teeth in both jaws: superior vi, all acute," with "laniariform teeth [canines] solitary," with "claws on the feet acute." But one of his dicta in botany was that a character of great systematic importance in one group may be very variable in another, consequently he did not mention sustenance under Bruta, but contented himself with the two characters "front teeth none either above or below" and "gait awkward (incessus ineptior) ." ”