Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/329

 BLE

one is the falvatella, which runs on the outfide of the back of the hand towards the little finger. This wa3 called fplenica by the antients, and they eftcemed the opening it particularly fer- Viceable in melancholy, and dHeafee of the fpleen. The other is the cephalica, which runs betwixt the thumb and forefinger, and was fo denominated from an opinion, that the bleeding from it was particularly ferviceable in difeafes of the head ; but thefe opinions were all without foundation; and tho* the patient is bled more difficultly and flowly in thefe veins, the effect is the fame as if bled in the arm. It is fomctimes, how- ever, neceffary for a furgeon to open them, either at the par- ticular defire of the patient, or when the veins of the arm are very obfeurely fituated, or He deep, while thefe lie fair and

■ confpicuous. When any one is to be blooded in the hand, it muft firft be held for a conlidcrable time in warm water, and well rubbed there wjth the other hand, in order to make the fmall veins become turgid and confpicuous; then a ligature is to be fixed on the wrift, .that the veins may continue thus diftended, and wiping the. hand dry with a napkin, an orifice is to be made in the moft convenient part of the vein, as in bleeding in the arm. If the blood does, not flow freely from the orifice, the hand muft bp again plunged into warm water, and kept there, till the quantity taken away is judged fufficient ; then the hand is to be wiped dry, and the orifice covered with a comprefs, de- fended by a proper bandage. Heijl. Surg. p. 279.

Bleeding in the neck.- -It has been a very antient practice to bleed in the external jugular veins of the neck for moft inflam- matory diforders of the adjacent parts. The accumulated blood and humours may certainly be thus difcharged from the parts, and the operation is no-wav difficult or dangerous; fince the jugular veins run on each fide the neck from the head to the clavicles, juft under the ffcin; They are very large, and eafily opened ; but a ftricture is firft to be made on the lower part of the neck with a handkerchief, or the like ligature. The beft method of raifing this vein is, however, by a loofe ligature thrown over the neck, which the patient, or an affiltant, may pull downward over the breaft; and by this means the jugular veins will be comprefied on each fide, and become turgid, without occluding the trachea, or obftructing perforation. When the veins are thus made turgid, which ever of them lies the faireft, may be fecured by the finger for iucifion, if the diforder affects the whole head ; but if only one fide, it is beft to open the jugular on that fide.

When the proper quantity of blood is taken, clofe the orifice, and apply a proper comprefs and bandage. The common fear of this vein's bleeding afterwards is but ill-grounded, and there feldom is any difficulty of flopping the blood. The patient commonly faints away in bleeding i but this occafions no iarm. Heijl. Surg. p. 283.

Bleeding intheranul&.—\t is often found of fervice in quin- fies and other inflammatory diforders of the neck, to bleed in two fmall veins, which run under the tip or end of the tongue, cfpecially if a larger vein has been before opened in the neck or, arm. To bleed in thefe veins, a ftricture muff be made upon the neck ; the apex of the tongue muft he then elevated with the left-hand, while with the other the veins are both opened, firft one, and then the other, by the lancet. When they have bled fufficiently, remove the ftricture from the neck, on which the bleeding ufually flops of itfelf ; but, if it does not, let the patient take a little vinegar, or red wine, in his mouth, or elfe apply a bit of vitriol, or alum, or a comprefs dipped in fome ftyptic liquor, till the haemorrhage ccafes. But there is no need of being too bufy with thefe topics ; for the blood never flows violently, or long, without them ; and if therg be not a good quantity of blood difcharged by thefe veins on the occafions for which they are ufually opened, the opera- tion is of no ufe. Heijl. Surg. p. 284. See Phlebotomy.

Bleeding at mi artery is called arter'iotcmy. See Arte riotomy. Some phyficians extol bleeding as the fureft and moft efficacious of all evacuants ; yet was it little known or ufed among the antients. Erafiftratus of old, and Hclmont and his followers among the moderns, decried bleeding as only fit to let out the treafure of life, and draw away the receptacle of the foul a. Dr. Morgan fays, that a man never recovers any great lofs of blood; which, if true, fhouki make us lefs willing to part with it. Others pretend, that twenty or thirty ounces of blood are recovered in little more than as many hours ; clfe whence fhould fuch profufe haemorrhages as we read of have been fup- ported. Some make no fcruple of bleedmg every other day in confumptions, for feveral weeks together ; and Dr. Morgan owns it of confequence to a phyfician, in moft cafes, to take at firft a little blood, that he may be enabled to judge of its itate and conftitution, whether there be any other occafion for bleeding, or not ; for as this can do no harm, (o it may often be .of great ufe b .— [ a Hcffm. New Exper. on Miner. Water. §. 3. p. 119. b Morg. Phil. Princ. Med. P. 3. pr. 1.

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in monafteries there were five ftated times in the year, when all the monks were obliged to bleed, whatever their habit of body might be c. This looks a little too like the method ftill ufed in refpect of foldiers horfes, where a whole troop are ufu- ally blooded in a day d .-— - [ c Du Cangc, Gloff. Lat. T. 3. p. Suppl. Vol. L

564. voc. imnuere. It. T. 4- P« 597* voc. fanguiminuere. d Brack. Not. to Bard. Farr. p. 96. J

Nothing is more fuccefsful to flop the bleeding of the fmaller vefiels, f6r inftance, in cutting for the ftone, than the applica- tion of wet fponge. Phil. Tranf. N° 478. p. 3 3, Phyficians feem greatly divided as to the propriety of letting; blood in the fmall-pox. See Med. Eff. Edinb. abridg. Vol. 2. P-4'9-

From confidcring, fays Mr. Quefnay, all the effects of blood- letting, it muft be concluded, that there is only place for bleed* zng, when the liquids difturb the a£ion of the folids, or when the folids caufe diforder in the fluids ; for when the folids or the fluids are found defective abfolutely, or in fhemfelves the bad Hate of neither of them can be repaired by bleeding, L'Art deGuerir par le Saignee. ap. Med. Eff. Edinb. The aphorifm of Hippocrates, if a pregnant woman be let blood, fhe will mifcarry, has proved not a little deftrudtive to many. Experience thews not only the fafety, but benefit of phlebotomy in many cafes of pregnancy. Vid. Boyle, Works abridg. Vol. 1. p. 27.

The bramins never bleed, but, in lieu thereof, faft. Hifl. des Bram. ap. Trev. T. 4. p 1438. voc. faigner.

Bleeding by ?neafure is where account is taken of the quantity as it flows from the vein, in order to put a flop to the flux when the requifite proportion is had.

Bleeding at large, where the flux is continued without regard to the quantity, till fuch time as fome expected effect is per- ceived. This method is fometimes ufed in cafes of apoplexies, comata, izfe.

Blefding, in farriery, is that practifed on horfes, oxen, and other black cattle, efpecially to cure and prevent defluxions fevers, founderings, farcy, mange, EsV. Vid. Bard. Farr. n' ' 42. Di&Ruft. T. 1. in voc. F "

Bleeding is alfo ufed for a hemorrhage or flux of blood from a wound, rupture of a vefiel, or other accident. See He- morrhage.

Bleeding of a corpfe, cruentatio cadaver is, is a phsnomenon faid to have frequently happened in the bodies of perfons mur- dered, which, on the touch, or even approach of the murder- er, began to bleed at die nofe, ears, and other parts ; fo as formerly to be admitted in England, and ftill allowed in fome other parts, as a fort of detection of the criminal, and proof of the fact. Vid. Wale. Introduct. Philof. U %. c 2 (28 p. 689. Voight. Delic. Phyf. ap. Phil. Tranf. N° 77. p. 3017* Numerous inftances of thefe pofthumous hemorrhages are given by W.ebfler % Lemnius, Libavius, and efpecially Horftius f, who has a difcourfe exprefs on the point, f e Exam. Witch, c. 16. §. 28, feq. Wale. Lex. Phil. p. 280. voc. bluten. f De Cruentatione Cadaverum. Vid. Vater. Phyf.

Exper. P. 2. §. 2. c. 15. qu 11. p. 273, feq.] But this kind of evidence ought to be of fmall weight ; for it is to be obferved, that this bleeding does not ordinarily happen, even in the prefence of the murderer, yet fometimes in that even of the neareft friends, or perfons moft innocent, and fometimes without the prefence of any, either friend or foe. In effect, where is the impofhbility that a body, efpecially if full of blood, upon the approach of external heat, having been confiderably ftirred or moved, and a putrefaction comin^ on, fome of the blood- vefiels fhould burft, as it is certain they all will in time ? Vater. loc. cit.

Bleeding is alfo applied, in a lefs proper fenfe, to a flux of fap out of the wounded vefiels of plants, either fpontaneoufly at certain feafons, or by art, and the help of iucifion. See the article Sap.

This amounts to the fame with what is otherwife called weep- ing, droppings running, he.

In this fenfe, all plants, in the fummer-time, are found to bleed, that is, to yield a juice from fap-vefTels, either in the bark, or in the margin of the pith; the faps, thus bled, having either a four, fweet, hot, bitter, or other tafle. At times alfo, the veffels in the bark of a vine-branch bleed a four fap. But that which is vulgarly called bleeding, as in a vine, is a different thing, both as to the liquor iffuing, and the place where it iffues, being neither a fweet, nor four, but taftelefs fap, iffuing not from any vefiels in the bark, but from the air- veffels in the wood.

So that there is as much difference betwixt bleeding in a vine, and the fifing of the fap in any other tree in March and July, as there is betwixt falivation and an haemorrhage ; or be- twixt the courfe of the chyle in the lactiferous veffels, and the circulation of the blood in the arteries and veins. Grew, Anat, of Plant. 1. 3. c. 1. §. 8. p. 125.

Ray, Willughby, Lifter, Tonge, Grew, Kales, and other mo- dern naturalifts, have given a great number of obfervations on the bleeding of plants, the times and feafons thereof, the quan- tities difcharged s, and the forts of trees moft fubject thereto, particularly the birch h, fycamore ', walnut-tree k , vine ', wil- low m, and aloe ". Such bleedhgs, when fpontaneous, are ranked by Tournefort in the number of difeafes of plants, an- swering to a plethora in animals, or a fuperabundance of juice .— [ 6 Phil. Tranf. N° 40. p. 798. It.N° 44. p. 880, Ifeq. It. N° 43. p. 854. It. N° 57. p. 1 165. It. N°7o. p. 2119, feq. It. N° 224. p. 382. Greiv, Idea Anat. Plant. §. 5 A 2>