Entablature

“ Albucasis’s directions are so judicious that we regret our limits do not allow of our giving them fully. For the extraction of a piece of stone he recommends us among other means to use a slender forceps, of which he gives a drawing. It resembles the modern dissecting forceps. He also gives a drawing of a hook slightly bent, which he commends; and also of a brazen tube to be used for sucking out bodies. When other means do not succeed, he directs us to make an incision at the under part of the ear, having previously let blood in order to avert inflammation and convulsions. ”

“ In other words it is necessary that there should be a drop or fall, or at least the weight of the body, to produce the characteristics of hanging. The jerk of the fall or sudden dependence of the body upon the ligature causes a much greater constriction of the ligature on the neck, and in a different direction, than in strangulation; and also a much greater pressure on the blood-vessels and nerves of the neck. ”

“ The absorbents arising by minute openings from all the internal surfaces, and continuing a similar contractile motion, transmit it, now called chyle, by all their gradually-enlarging branches, and through their general trunk, the thoracic duct, where it is blended with the lymph brought from other parts, into the great veins contiguous to the heart, where it is mixed with the venous or returning and dark-colored blood, and whence it flows into the anterior side of that organ. ”

“ It was the Work of Nature in this Case (and what she was endeavouring to perform) to disburden herself of those disproportionate and offensive Particles, which by their Continuance in the Body would but have occasioned an irregular Motion of the Fluids, and consequently a Discomposure of it’s whole Frame: For the animal Body being nothing else but a Congeries of Canals, filled with different Liquors, it must necessarily suffer very much, and it’s Actions be irregular, if any Heterogeneous Particles become incorporated therewith. ”

“ Absorption is the more safe and desirable, but necessarily tedious, and more or less thickening and enlargement may remain for a long time. Discharge, whether spontaneous or by incision, is usually followed by unhealthy suppuration of the infiltrated and partially broken down cellular tissue, sloughing of it, tardy separation of the dead parts, and tedious, perhaps exhausting, flow of matter. ”

“ In shipping a body, cavity embalming must always be resorted to and consists of introducing a trocar into the abdominal and thoracic cavities and injecting sufficient fluid over the contents of these cavities to thoroughly preserve them. ”

“ II. The immediate cause of dropsy is the paralysis of some other branches of the absorbent system, which are called lymphatics, and which open into the larger cavities of the body, or into the cells of the cellular membrane; whence those cavities or cells become distended with the fluid, which is hourly secreted into them for the purpose of lubricating their surfaces. ”

“ These considerations will enable any one to understand the nature of the attraction that is exerted by ligatures, and perchance of fluxes generally; how, for example, the veins when compressed by a bandage of medium tightness applied above the elbow, the blood cannot escape, whilst it still continues to be driven in, to wit, by the forcing power of the heart, by which the parts are of necessity filled, gorged with blood. ”

“ Being filled with a dense fluid, excreted by the glandular organs, the creature, when alarmed or wishing to descend, withdrew itself within the outer chamber, whereby the contraction of the tube forced the fluid from the heart into the siphuncle, and increasing the gravity enabled it to descend to the bottom. ”

“ By which (he saith) it is manifest, that solid bodies sufficiently great, have penetrated the Stomach, the Bowels, the Womb, the Caul, the lower Belly, the skin upon the inside of the Ribs, the Bladder, Membranes (he saith) impatient of so great a wound. That is to say, that Knives have been transmitted through these Membranes without wound, which is equivalent to the penetration of dimensions made in nature without the help of the Devil. And that an human body may be drawn through a small hole, through which a Cat might only pass, but not through a Wall. ”

“ The fluid accumulates, the cancelli are broken down, and the much-attenuated parietes of the bone are pressed outwards. Occasionally inflammatory action is excited on the external surface, from the pressure of the contained fluid, and minute nodules of bony matter are effused, as if nature endeavoured to strengthen those walls which are daily becoming thinner, and more incapable of supporting the weight of those parts which they encircle. ”

“ By the secretion of fluid, a constantly growing central cavity is formed pari passu with the approximation of the superficial cells, and this probably also brings with it an increase of the internal pressure, and a wider curvature of the wall of the sphere. ”

“ But after death, or even while the victim was unconscious, a cool hand, with a sharp blade, could cut down upon the artery in such a way that the blood would flow regularly, and, the body being in the bathtub, and water flowing from the faucets, no stains would be left. ”

“ When the dislocation is forwards, he directs us to make strong extension with the hands or with thongs, and then placing some round body upon the anterior part of the arm, to push the fore-arm over it suddenly to the shoulder. ”

“ A young healthy man, at 20 years old, received a contusion by a fall, was instantly carried to a neighbouring surgeon, and, at my request, bled in the following manner.
I inserted a glass funnel into the neck of a large clear phial about ℥x. contents, and bled him into it to about ℥viii. By these means the blood was exposed to the air as little a time as possible, as it flowed into the bottle as it came from the orifice. ”

“ The astounding resistance that the skin, the areolar tissue, the surface of the bodies and limbs of the Convulsionaires offered to things which seem as if they ought to have torn or crushed them, is of a nature to excite more surprise. ”

“ The whole of its breast was raw from the blister, and its mouth, lying open, showed, with painful distinctness, the dreadful injury wrought by the mercury thrown, with such a liberal hand, into its delicate system. All the life seemed to have withdrawn itself from the skin; for the vital forces, in the centre of its body, were acting but feebly. ”

“ For if they were occasioned, as generally supposed, by the difficulty of the circulation of the blood through the lungs, the whole skin must be equally affected, both of the upper and lower parts of the body; for whatever could obstruct the circulation in the upper part of the venous system, must equally obstruct it in the lower part of it. ”

“ If dispersion does not follow and the matter has collected in greater quantities, then the most elevated spot, the same where the skin is the thinnest, should be opened. Should a part of the skin be discoloured, it must be cut away. ”

“ He elaborately and clearly demonstrates the effect of obstruction of the blood-stream in arteries or in veins, by the forceps in the case of a snake, by a ligature on the arm of a man, and illustrates his argument by figures. ”

“ If the arm of a man, the branch of a tree, or the leg of a chair were cut off, would in each case the astral counterpart also be removed, and can we, by breaking an astral counterpart, produce a fracture in a physical object? ”

“ When removed from the body with a small quantity of blood, it is described as being in a state of incessant motion, unceasingly coiling and uncoiling itself, lashing the blood-corpuscles in all directions, and insinuating itself between them. ”

“ A physiological dissection, like that which transfusion of blood may be said, in some sort, to perform upon the glandular, nervous, and muscular systems, how complete soever it may be, has no value, unless the results of the analysis are combined; the experimental cutting up of the human body ought to end by recomposing the whole of it. ”

“ And as the cutaneous lymphatics are joined with the lacteals of the intestines, by frequent anastomoses; it would be more extraordinary, when a strong purging drug, absorbed by the skin, is carried to the anastomosing branches of the lacteals unchanged, if it should not excite them into retrograde action as efficaciously, as if it was taken by the mouth, and mixed with the food of the stomach.
VIII. Circumstances by which the Fluids, that are effused by the retrograde Motions of the absorbent Vessels, are distinguished. ”

“ I hold that the innate heat is the first cause of dilatation, and that the primary dilatation is in the blood itself, after the manner of bodies in a state of fermentation, gradually attenuated and swelling, and that in the blood is this finally extinguished; I assent to Aristotle’s example of gruel or milk upon the fire, to this extent, that the rising and falling of the blood does not depend upon vapours or exhalations, or spirits, or anything rising in a vaporous or aëreal shape, nor upon any external agency, but upon an internal principle under the control of nature. ”

“ Microscopic Structure—The testa consists mainly of long, thin, radially arranged, rigid cells, which are closely interlaced and do not exhibit any distinct cavities. The endopleura which forms the adhering coat of the kernel and penetrates into it, consists of soft-walled, red-brown tissue, with small scattered bundles of vessels. In the outer layers the endopleura exhibits small collapsed cells; but the tissue which fills the folds that dip into the interior consists of much larger cells. ”

“ Contractions can be produced in the amputated leg of a frog, by putting it into water, and bringing the two metals into contact with each other at a small distance from the limb.
7. The influence which has passed through, and excited contractions in, one limb, may be made to pass through, and excite contractions in, another limb. In performing this experiment it is necessary to attend to the following circumstances: let two amputated limbs of a frog be taken; let one of them be laid upon a table, and its foot be folded in a piece of silver ”

“ In some instances the destruction is frightful, the heart is torn apart and the bones crushed; in others the organs are observed entirely uninjured. In certain cases flaccidity of the limbs occurs, softening of the bones, collapse of the lungs; in others, contractions and rigidity are remarked. Sometimes the body of the person struck decomposes rapidly, but at times it resists decay. ”

“ Contractility of texture is evident in the absorbent system. 1st. When the thoracic duct is distended even119 in a recent dead body, and the fluid is discharged by puncture, it immediately contracts. 2d. All the absorbents contract also as soon as there is no more fluid in their cavity. This phenomenon is remarkable during the absorption of chyle; when that is finished, these vessels evidently disappear by the effect of this contraction. 3d. The absorbent glands, swelled at the moment chyle is passing through them, afterwards lose much of their size by this contractile power. ”

“ The sharp tube through which they sap their victim’s blood is fully three-quarters of an inch long, and resembles a cambric needle; this they steadily and unhesitatingly press into the flesh until they either strike a bone, or their forehead prevents them from doing deeper injury. ”

“ Sixthly, that in this dissolution of bodies by the Air, a certain part is united and mixt, or dissolv’d and turn’d into the Air, and made to fly up and down with it in the same manner as a metalline or other body dissolved into any menstruums, does follow the motions and progresses of that menstruum till it be precipitated. ”

“ A little too much pressure, a miscalculated thrust might easily jeopardize the life of the germ under its thin ceiling.
Every now and then the mother suspends operations. Motionless, with lowered forehead, she seems to be sounding the cavity beneath, to be listening to what is happening inside. ”

“ The blood is pumped by the heart through that weakened pipe, and, little by little, it forces the lining out through the weakened spot, making something like a bubble filled with blood. In time that might grow until you could actually see the swelling, and all the time, the containing tissue is getting thinner and thinner. ”

“ As we have seen Nature anticipating the plasterer in fibro-cartilage, so we see her beforehand with the glassblower in her dealings with the cell. The artisan blows his vitreous bubbles, large or small, to be used afterwards as may be wanted. So Nature shapes her hyaline vesicles and modifies them to serve the needs of the part where they are found. The artisan whirls his rod, and his glass bubble becomes a flattened disk, with its bull's-eye for a nucleus. ”

“ The separation of the slough is a tedious process, and the patient may become exhausted by pain, discharge, and toxin absorption. When the slough is finally thrown off, a deep gap is left, which takes a long time to heal. ”

“ Moreover, I am struck with the unusual sound of the term "infiltrated portion of skin." "An infiltration behind on the upper left" is what we are accustomed to; this would refer to the lung, and thus again to tuberculosis patients. ”

“ The man is to be laid on his back. All spiculæ of bones are to be cut out, if it is found that they are wounding the flesh.
Albucasis follows our author closely. He particularly enjoins the surgeon when there are any projecting spiculæ, to make an incision and cut them out; after which, a suture may be used to heal the integuments, provided the wound is large. A compress, soaked in rose-oil, vinegar, and wine, is to be applied to allay inflammation. He directs the patient to sleep on his back with a pillow under his armpit. ”