anomalies and curiosities of medicine-第225部分

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ew　cold　and　clammy；　delirium　or　coma　seized　the　victim；　and　in　five　or　six　days；　sometimes　in　two　or　three；　the　painful　struggle　was　at　an　end。

It　was　supposed　that　the　disease　originated　in　the　Orient　and　was　brought　to　London　from　Holland。　In　his　〃Journal　of　the　Plague　in　London〃　Defoe　describes　its　horrors；　and　tells　of　the　dead…cart　which　went　through　the　streets　gathering　the　victims。　A　few　extracts　from　Pepys's　〃Diary；〃　the　evidence　of　an　eye…witness　and　a　contemporary；　show　the　ghastly　aspects　of　this　terrible　visitation。　On　August　31st　he　writes：　〃In　the　City；　this　week；　died　7496；　and　of　them　6102　died　of　the　plague。　But　it　is　found　that　the　true　number　of　the　dead　this　week　is　nearer　10；000；　partly　from　the　poor　who　cannot　be　taken　care　of　through　the　greatness　of　the　number；　and　partly　from　the　Quakers　and　others　that　will　not　have　any　bell　rung　for　them。〃　According　to　Adams；　John　Evelyn　noted　in　his　〃Kalendarium〃：〃Sept。　7th。Near　10；000　now　died　weekly；　however；　I　went　all　along　the　City　and　suburbs　from　Kent　street　to　St。　James's；　a　dismal　passage；　and　dangerous　to　see　so　many　coffins　exposed　in　the　streets；　the　streets　thin　of　people；　the　shops　shut　up；　and　all　in　silence；　no　one　knowing　whose　turn　might　be　next。〃

As　the　cold　weather　came　on　the　plague　diminished　in　intensity　and　the　people　regained　their　confidence　and　returned　to　the　city。　According　to　Adams；　in　the　first　week　of　March；　1666；　deaths　by　the　plague　had　decreased　to　42；　and　by　the　end　of　the　month　it　was　nearly　extinct　after　carrying　off　about　100；000　victims。　In　our　days　we　can　hardly　comprehend　the　filthy　hygienic　conditions　under　which　the　people　in　the　cities　lived；　and　it　was　probably　to　this　fact　that　the　growth　and　perpetuation　of　this　plague　was　due。

As　to　the　bubonic　plague　recently　raging　in　Camptown；　China；　Mary　Niles　says　that　it　was　the　same　disease　as　the　great　London　plague；　and　was　characterized　mainly　by　glandular　enlargement。　It　had　not　appeared　in　the　Canton　district　for　forty　years　or　more；　though　it　was　endemic　in　Yunnan。　In　some　places　it　began　in　the　winter；　and　as　early　as　January　she　herself　found　the　first　case　in　Canton　in　an　infected　house。　In　no　case　was　direct　contagiousness　found　to　exist。　The　glands　enlarged　twelve　hours　after　the　fever　began；　and　sometimes　suppurated　in　nonfatal　cases　in　a　short　time。　Kitasato　has　recently　announced　the　discovery　of　the　specific　cause　of　the　bubonic　plague。

Sweating　Sickness。According　to　Hecker；　very　shortly　after　Henry's　triumphant　march　from　Bosworth　Field；　and　his　entry　into　the　capital　on　August　8；　1485；　the　sweating　sickness　began　its　ravages　among　the　people　of　the　densely　populated　city。　According　to　Lord　Bacon　the　disease　began　about　September　21st；　and　lasted　to　the　end　of　October；　1485。　The　physicians　could　do　little　or　nothing　for　the　people；　and　seemed　to　take　no　account　of　the　clinical　history　of　the　disease；in　this　respect　not　unlike　the　Greek　physicians　who　for　four　hundred　years　paid　no　attention　to　small…pox　because　they　could　find　no　description　of　it　in　the　immortal　works　of　Galen。　The　causes　seemed　to　be　uncleanliness；　gluttony；　immoderate　drinking；　and　also　severe　inundations　leaving　decaying　vegetation。　Richmond's　army　has　been　considered　a　factor　in　the　germination　of　the　seeds　of　pestilent　disorder　which　broke　out　soon　after　in　the　camps　of　Litchfield；　and　on　the　banks　of　the　Severn。

Sweating　sickness　was　an　inflammatory　rheumatic　fever；　with　great　disorder　of　the　nervous　system；　and　was　characterized　by　a　profuse　and　injurious　perspiration。　In　the　English　epidemic　the　brain；　meninges；　and　the　nerves　were　affected　in　a　peculiar　manner。　The　functions　of　the　pneumogastric　nerves　were　violently　disordered　in　this　disease；　as　was　shown　by　the　oppressed　respiration　and　extreme　anxiety；　with　nausea　and　vomiting；symptoms　to　which　modern　physicians　attach　much　importance。　The　stupor　and　profound　lethargy　show　that　there　was　an　injury　to　the　brain；　to　which；　in　all　probability；　was　added　a　stagnation　of　black　blood　in　the　torpid　veins。　Probably　decomposing　blood　gave　rise　to　the　offensive　odor　of　the　person。　The　function　of　the　lungs　was　considerably　impaired。　The　petechial　fever　in　Italy　in　1505　was　a　form　of　the　sweating　sickness。　There　were　visitations　in　1506　and　in　1515　in　England。　In　1517　the　disease　lasted　full　six　months　and　reached　its　greatest　height　about　six　weeks　after　its　appearance；　but　was　apparently　limited　to　England。　Meningeal　symptoms　were　characteristic　of　the　third　visitation　of　the　disease。　In　1528　and　1529　there　was　a　fourth　visitation　which　resulted　in　the　destruction　of　the　French　Army　before　Naples。　It　is　said　that　in　1524　a　petechial　fever　carried　off　50；000　people　in　Milan；　and　possibly　this　was　the　same　disease。　In　1529　the　disease　had　spread　all　over　Europe；　attended　with　great　mortality。

Germany；　France；　and　Italy　were　visited　equally。　The　famine　in　Germany；　at　this　time；　is　described　by　authorities　in　a　tone　of　deep　sympathy。　Swabia；　Lorraine；　Alsace；　and　provinces　on　the　border　of　the　lower　Rhine；　were　frightfully　affected；　so　that　the　disease　reached　the　same　heights　there　as　in　France。　In　England　Henry　VIII　endeavored　to　avoid　the　epidemic　by　continual　traveling；　until　at　last　he　grew　tired　of　so　unsettled　a　life　and　determined　to　await　his　destiny　at　Tytynhangar。　It　was　not　the　inhabitants　of　the　land　alone　who　were　affected；　but　even　fish　and　the　fowls　of　the　air　sickened。　According　to　Schiller；　in　the　neighborhood　of　Freiburg　in　Breisgau；　dead　birds　were　found　scattered　under　the　trees　with　boils　as　large　as　peas　under　their　wings；indicating　among　them　a　disease；　and　this　extended　far　beyond　the　southern　districts　of　the　Rhine。　The　disease　was　undoubtedly　of　a　miasmatic　infectious　nature；　as　was　proved　by　its　rapid　spread　and　the　occasional　absence　of　a　history　of　contagion。　It　was　particularly　favored　in　its　development　by　high　temperature　and　humidity。

The　moral　effect　of　the　sweating　sickness；　similar　to　that　of　the　black　plague；　was　again　to　increase　religious　fanaticism　and　recreate　the　zeal　of　persecution。


On　the　15th　of　April；　1551；　there　was　an　outbreak　of　the　fifth　and　last　epidemic　of　sweating　fever　in　Shrewsbury；　on　the　Severn。　With　stinking　mists　it　gradually　spread　all　over　England；　and　on　the　9th　of　July　it　reached　London。　The　mortality　was　very　considerable。　The　English　residents　were　particularly　susceptible；　foreigners　being　comparatively　exempt。　The　epidemic　terminated　about　the　30th　of　September。　Since　that　time　the　sweating　sickness　has　never　reappeared　in　England；　but　in　the　beginning　of　the　eighteenth　century　a　disease　very　similar　in　symptoms　and　course　broke　out　in　Picardy；　in　Northern　France。　Toward　the　end　of　the　century　it　spread　to　the　South　of　France；　and　since　that　time　has　appeared　epidemically；　195　distinct　outbreaks　having　been　observed　in　the　course　of　one　hundred　and　sixty…nine　years；　from　1618　to　1787。　The　disease　has　frequently　appeared　in　Italy　since　1755；　and　in　various　parts　of　Germany　since　1801。　In　Belgium　it　has　been　observed　in　a　few　places　within　the　present　century　（Rohe）。

Chronologic　Table　of　the　Principal　Plagues。In　December；　1880；　H。　P。　Potter；　F。R。C。S。；　published　a　chronologic　table　of　some　of　the　principal　plagues　on　record。　In　comments　on　his　table；　Potter　says　that　he　has　doubtless　included　mention　of　many　plagues　which；　although　described　under　that　name；　are　probably　a　dissimilar　disease；　writers　having　applied　the　terms　pestilential　and　pestilent　in　a　generic　sense　to　diseases　specifically　different。　It　must　also　be　remembered　that；　in　some　cases；　death　must　have　been　due　to　famine；　want；　and　privation；　which　are　so　frequently　coexistent　with　pestilence。　Following　the　idea　of　Hecker；　the　dancing　manias　have　been　included　in　this　table。

｛table　omitted｝

Small…pox。From　certain　Chinese　records　it　appears　that　small…pox；　or　a　disease　with　similar　symptoms；　was　known　in　China　before　the　Christian　era；　and　it　was　supposed　to　have　been　known　at　a　very　early　period　in　India。　Most　likely　it　was　introduced　into　Europe　in　the　second　century　by　a　Roman　army　returning　from　Asia。　Before　the　sixth　century；　the　terrible　century　of　the　great　plague；　there　seem　to　be　no　records　of　small…pox　or　other　eruptive　fevers。　Neither　Hippocrates；　Galen；　nor　the　Greek　physicians　who　practiced　at　Rome；　mention　small…pox；　although　it　is　now　believed　that　the　Emperor　Marcus　Aurelius　died　of　this　disease。　According　to　Dupony；　the　first　document　mentioning　variola　was　in　570　A。D。；　by　Marius；　a　scholar　of　Avenches；　in　Switzerland。　（〃Anno　570；　morbus　validus　cum　profluvio　ventris；　et　variola；　Italiam　Galliamque　valde　affecit。〃）　Ten　years　later　Gregory　of　Tours　describes　an　epidemic　with　all　the　symptoms　of　small…pox　in　the　fifth　reign　of　King　Childebert　（580）；　it　started　in　the　region　of　Auvergne；　which　was　inundated　by　a　great　flood；　he　also　describes　a　similar　epidemic　in　Touraine　in　582。　Rhazes；　or　as　the　Arabs　call　him；　Abu　Beer　Mohammed　Ibn　Zacariya　Ar…Razi；　in　the　latter　part　of　the　ninth　century　wrote　a　most　celebrated　work　on　small…pox　and　measles；　which　is　the　earliest　accurate　description　of　these　diseases；　although　Rhazes　himself　mentions　several　writers　who　had　previously　described　them；　and　who　had　formulated　rules　for　their　cure。　He　explained　these　diseases　by　the　theory　of　fermentation；　and　recommended　the　cooling　treatment。　Adams　remarks　that　although　it　is　probable　that　small…pox　existed　for　ages　in　Hindoostan　and　China；　being　completely　isolated　in　those　countries　from　the　European　world；　it　was　not　introduced　into　the　West　until　the　close　of　the　seventh　century。　Imported　into　Egypt　by　the　Arabians；　it　followed　in　the　tracks　of　their　conquests；　and　was　in　this　way　propagated　over　Europe。　The　foregoing　statement　disagrees　with　Dupony　and　others。　It　is　well　known　that　small…pox　was　prevalent　in　Europe　before　Rhazes's　description　of　it；　and　after　the　Crusades　it　spread　over　Central　and　Western　Europe；　but　did　not　extend　to　the　northern　countries　until　some　years　later。　In　1507　the　Spaniards　introduced　it　into　San　Domingo；　and　in　1510　into　Mexico；　where　it　proved　a　more　fatal　scourge　than　the　swords　of　Cortez　and　his　followers；　for　according　to　Robertson　it　swept　away　in　Mexico