Page:Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Vol 2.djvu/88

Rh generally in less than a quarter of an hour. The battery employed consisted of 4-inch plates, charged with a mixture of muriatic acid and water, in the proportion of one acid to twenty of water.

With regard to the number of plates, there are few persons who cannot bear so many as eight pair, and few who require more than twice that number. Dr. Philip generally begins with a very weak power, and gradually increases it till the patient begins to feel some degree of uneasiness, when it is easy to move the wire of communication backward a few divisions, and again return after a temporary remission of the excitement. The application was made through the medium of two thin plates of metal dipped in water and applied wet, one to the nape of the neck, and the other to the pit of the stomach, in order that the galvanic fluid might pass through the chest as nearly as possible in the direction of the nerves; and with respect to the position of the two ends of the battery, it was found expedient to place the positive wire to the nape of the neck, and the negative wire to the pit of the stomach. The operation was discontinued as soon as the patient felt his breathing become free ; for it was not found that continuance for a greater length of time had any tendency to prevent a recurrence of the symptoms.

In those cases of spasmodic asthma in which galvanism has been applied by the author, it has failed to give relief; but where the spasmodic paroxysm has been succeeded by habitual difficulty of breathing, there galvanism did give immediate, but temporary relief. It appears, however, that most is to be expected from this remedy in those cases of habitual asthma which are the least complicated with any other disease.

In order to be assured that the effects above described, as apparently arising from galvanism, might not, in fact, be owing to an impression on the mind during its employment, Dr. Philip endeavoured in various instances to deceive his patients, by imitating the pricking sensation occasioned by the application of the wires to the surface of the skin without really completing the circuit; but they invariably received no relief from such experiments, and very soon felt the customary benefit after the communication with the trough had been established in the usual way.

In one instance the galvanic current was directed solely along the spine, by placing the second wire to the small of the back instead of the pit of the stomach; but the advantage derived from this application was far less than in the usual mode.

In confirmation of the truth of these observations, the author refers to various professional friends who have witnessed the trials, and especially the House Surgeon of the Worcester Infirmary, who is convinced that no other means are equally efficacious in the relief of this species of asthma.