Dissertations, On cynanche trachealis or croup, and On the functions of the extreme capillary vessels in health and disease : to which were awarded the Boylston premiums for the years 1820 and 1823 / by William Sweetser.

  • Sweetser, William, 1797-1875.
Date:
1823
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dissertations, On cynanche trachealis or croup, and On the functions of the extreme capillary vessels in health and disease : to which were awarded the Boylston premiums for the years 1820 and 1823 / by William Sweetser. 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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    than as one may favour the action of more muscles in aiding respiration. In pneumonic inflammation, the breathing is shorter and more rapid than in croup, and the sound accompanying it is altogether different, approaching that which often follows a sudden blow on the chest, or epigastric region. There seems to be no mechan- ical obstruction to the air in its passage to the lungs, as in the latter disease; the effort on the part of the patient to carry on respiration is apparently but slight, yet by observing him attentively, we perceive that he breathes short, and with a degree of timidity, seeming afraid to take a full breath ; and if at any time the attempt is made, checks himself suddenly as if from acute pain. The cough, also, differs from that of croup. As coughing produces considerable pain, the patient makes evident attempts to avoid, or check it, and during a paroxism, exhibits signs of much suffering. Its sound, too, is very different, having none of that peculiar shrillness attending the cough of croup. There are instances recorded of polypi forming both in the larynx and trachea. They are dis- tinguished from croup by the gradual manner in which their symptoms come on, and the comparative mild- ness of the constitutional sympathy. The peculiar sound, too, attending the respiration, voice, and cough in croup, is here absent. It has been observed, like- wise, that the breathing is free at certain times and difficult at others, and that occasionally after an expi- ration the patient seems to be suffocating, but becomes immediately relieved by an inspiration. 5