Lectures on the blood and on the changes which it undergoes during disease : delivered at the College of France in 1837-8 / by F. Magendie.

  • Magendie, François, 1783-1855.
Date:
1839
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Lectures on the blood and on the changes which it undergoes during disease : delivered at the College of France in 1837-8 / by F. Magendie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    portance of this movement of the liquids through the frame; you saw that if these stand still, various disorders directly follow in the various organs; the functions are no longer carried on, and life itself ceases. But why is it necessary that the blood—observe, Gentlemen, by the way, that the word blood is so vague as to be totally unfit to designate a fluid of such complexity—why is it necessary, T say, that the blood should be in a constant state of movement in living bodies 1 Nature, it is certain, does nothing without motives, and we find in every direction proofs of her inex- haustible resources, and profound wisdom. Listen, then, to the facts bearing on this question. The existence of certain relations between its constituent parts is necessary for the support of the blood's vitality; its disappearance, its reproduction, its transforma- tion, are also requisite for the same end. Death or disease is the inevitable result of the absence of any one of these conditions, while their perfect association constitutes and maintains the state of health. If too much of the fluid escape from its reservoirs the play of the organs is impeded. If any periodical evacuation ceases, disorder similarly follows. But if the blood receive new materials in one way, while it loses the old proportionally by another, an equilibrium of composition and decomposition is established, con- stituting its normal state. At another time we will analyse its intimate properties; for the present I will simply state in a few words its mode of reproduction, and the nature of its action on the organs. The chief source from which its materials are derived is the food, under which head T include drink. Tn these materials are found the three constituent principles of living beings,—liquids, solids, and gases. The nutritive and sensorial functions regulate the phenomena by which one is converted into the other. Fluids, however, seem to be more indispensable for its reproduction than solids, which explains the agonising character of the sensation of thirst. Men have succeeded in enduring total abstinence from solid food ; but the torments of thirst—of the instinct that forces us to furnish the blood with its most necessary material—have invariably proved too great for human tolerance. A curious circumstance exemplify- ing this recently occurred in my wards at the Hotel Dieu. A woman, who was either an impostor or a lunatic, gave out that she had received a mission from the Deity to reform mankind: she was to fast 3G5 hours, doubtless to render herself more worthy of the great work with which she had been entrusted. For several days she refused all nourishment, and 1 became anxious to ascertain how far she would carry her melancholy juggle, which was be- ginning to make some noise among the devotees of the metropolis. She was separated from the other patients and confined in a solitary room, and every precaution taken to prevent her obtaining food without our knowledge. However, as I had no wish that the poor creature should fall a victim to her obstinacy, some food, previously weighed with care, was placed at her disposal. The result was