for not having permitted their gallants to enter their bodies, or emit, but betwixt their thighs only, left they should prove with child, they thought themselves very fecure; but afterwards found, that they were maids with big bellies, a thing not fo very hard to be conceived as fome imagine." Dionis p. 78.

Cafe of Debility followed by an Inflammation of the Stomach and Intestines, terminating in immediate Death. Communicated by J. C. ROUSSEAU, M. D.

SIR,

A

S the cafe that I am going to communicate, is of rare occurrence, it will not probably be unacceptable to your readers. I will relate it as briefly as poffible, so that it will, I hope, be at any rate, worth the time spent in reading it.

On the 11th of May laft, I was defired to vifit J. B. D. a native of the West Indies, aged about 45. He had kept his bed for a few days and complained of an extreme debility, efpecially in his lower extremities, which refufed entirely to fupport his body, he falling to the ground as foon as he attempted to stand up. He complained of a lofs of appetite, and was troubled now and then, with a fingultus. His pulfe was natural, but rather weak; the heat of his body, his coun

feed, that is, the most subtile and spirituous parts of it, are thrown and darted into the womb, while the groffer and thicker ones move heavily along the yard, in a drivelling manner, and are lodged in the vagina." p. 78.

We need not fay how chimerical this is; being acquainted with facts which forced him to admit, that neither the penis nor femen entered the vagina, and yet the woman conceived, he was obliged to have recourse to his imagination; this furnished him with the two drops of femen that are first ejected.

tenance, and every thing else about him was natural; in fhort, nothing indicated the existence of any disease. I prescribed,

B Spir. Vitr. dulcis,

Aquæ fontis, ää. cochlear. minim.

Sumat ter quotid. dum fingultus adfit.

This had the defired effect and he had no occafion to take more than one ounce in the course of three days.

14th. Singultus has returned; applied a small blifter on the pit of the ftomach; obtained relief.

16th. I was applied to by his wife, to furnish the certificate of death prescribed by the law. I could hardly believe her report, and unable to account for fuch a fudden death, I propofed an examination of the body, which I obtained.

The outward appearance of the body presented no marks of any violence or injury, except fome frothy mucous discharge from the nose and mouth.

On opening the abdomen, the ftomach and small intestines were found totally empty, exhibiting the strongest mark of inflammation, which extended to a portion of the peritonæum ; the large inteftines were natural and without any alteration; all the vifcera perfectly found; not the leaft appearance of turgefcence in the blood veffels.

In the thorax, the lungs were found with a few adhesions to the pleura and pericardium, which appeared to have been of long standing, and probably the effect of former diseases of those parts. On opening the pericardium, the heart was found flaccid and extremely soft, and containing very little of VOL. IV.

A a

:

blood on preffing the lungs, the bloody mucous discharge fpoken of above, came out by the nose and mouth in a small quantity.

It is very remarkable that no blood appeared under the knife, although no precaution was taken in diffecting the pectoral mufcles, which were cut in every direction, to expedite the bufinefs in opening the thorax. Indeed, from this circumftance, and the flaccidity of the heart and blood vessels, à pérson unaċquainted with the particulars of the disease, might have fuppofed, that bleeding had been done ad exitium.

What I could collect from his wife was this; he was, the day before about noon, feized with a violent chill, and shortly after, complained of a burning heat in the abdominal region; he became delirious towards night, and died in a little time. She faid she did not fend for me, because the was not fenfible of the danger at first, and himself expreffed that he did not wish to put me to any trouble.

He had taken very little folid food for fome months past, and drank more than ufual of teas or fweetened water. He drank pretty freely of fpirituous liquors at all times, previous to his illness; but I do not recollect to have ever feen him intoxicated, although I had known him for fome years.

I thall offer no reflexions, leaving the reader to comment upon the cafe after his own judgment and adopted principles.

It offers an ample field for inquiries upon the difeafes that are attended with an inflammation, or preternatural redness of feveral parts of the animal economy. Is it then the effect of a preternatural impulfe of the blood in the part affected, or owing to a derangement in that part, difpofing it to receive.

more of that fluid, than it is apt to do in the healthy ftate? I cannot but favour the laft opinion, when I obferve, daily, cold and heat, pleasure and pain, fo oppofite in their nature, produce the fame effect, an increase of circulation at the furface; the florid hue and the burning in the ears, of timidity, attended with cold hands; and the emaciated state of confumption, with a burning in the extremities, &c.

J. R. COXE, M. D.

J. C. ROUSSEAU.

Obfervations on the Effects of the Nitrous Oxide, when taken into the Lungs by JAMES WOODHOUSE, M. D. Profeffor of Chemiftry in the University of Pennsylvania, &c.

IN

N the year 1802, I prepared a large quantity of the nitrous oxide or dephlogisticated air, from the nitrate of ammoniac, made by decompofing nitre, by the fulphate of ammoniac, and by adding the nitric acid to fal ammoniac.

A great number of gentlemen, belonging to my chemical class, who intended to breath the gas, were present in the morning, when I was filling my air holders with it, and saw all the operations going forward.

In the afternoon, being alone at my laboratory, at two o'clock the air was examined, and found to be extremely impure, having made ufe of too great a degree of heat, in generating it.

Expecting the gentlemen at three o'clock, the impure air was thrown away, and the air holders filled with atmospheric air.

This air was breathed by a variety of perfons, under the impreffion that it was the nitrous oxide, and the greater part of them were affected with quickness of pulfe, dizziness, vertigo, tinnitus aurium, difficulty of breathing, anxiety about the breast, &c.

The following is a letter, received from one of the gentlemen.

"The nitrous oxide produced no fenfible effect, for perhaps the space of a minute after I began to refpire it. Soon after I was affected with a tinnitus aurium, which affected the sense of hearing, in the fame manner as water, in a state immediately preceding ebullition does. At the fame time I had a fenfation fimilar to that produced by swinging; afterwards a difficulty of breathing gradually came on, which at length neceffitated me to discontinue the respiration of the air. The difficulty of breathing and the tinnitus then foon fubfided, but the peculiar fenfation in my breaft, continued fome time longer, which was fucceeded by flight nausea, which continued fix or eight hours."

A fhort account of the effects of the atmospheric air, was fent to Dr. Mitchell of New York, who published it in the fifth volume of the Medical Repository.

For many years after this, not finding the experiments of Mr. Humphrey Davy on this subject, confirmed by other chemifts, I believed that the influence of the imagination, caused all the effects afcribed to the nitrous oxide.

In the winter of 1806, having prepared a quantity of this gas, extremely pure, from the nitrate of ammoniac, made by a direct combination of the nitric acid and the carbonate of ammoniac; two quarts of it were administered to Mr. Henry