Description of the distinct, confluent, and inoculated small pox, varioloid disease, cow pox, and chicken pox / by John D. Fisher.

  • Fisher, John D. (John Dix), 1797-1850.
Date:
1829
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Description of the distinct, confluent, and inoculated small pox, varioloid disease, cow pox, and chicken pox / by John D. Fisher. 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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    upon the face and extremities on the second, third, fourth, sixth and ninth days of its existence, and as it in fact did actually appear on these several days in the patient before alluded to, is well represented in plate IV. fig- ures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. It presents itself in the form of slightly inflamed papulae, becomes vesicular on the second day, figure 1, plate IV. and as- sumes the regular and characteristic form of pustules on the third or fourth, figure 2, plate IV. About the fifth day, figure 3, plate IV. the pustules exhibit slight central depressions, and the matter contained in them begins to become purulent. On the sixth, figure 4, plate IV. the pustules show marks of commencing desiccation, and about the ninth day, figure 5, plate IV. dark chocolate coloured scabs cover many of them. From the twelfth to the fifteenth day the scabs fall from the face and soon afterwards from the extremities, leaving scars of a livid colour. A few of the scars remain indelible, but most of them become erased after a few weeks, and leave no traces of their ever having existed. The pustules of the face usually pass through their various stages of vesi- cation, maturation and desiccation rather sooner than those of the extremi- ties, as is exemplified in the figures just referred to, the delineations in the lower half of the figures being representations of pustules which existed on the face, and those in the superior half being copies of pustules which ap- peared on the hands. The fever declines on the breaking out of the eruption and generally vanishes by the time it ceases to multiply ; and if it re-appears at all during the suppuration of the pustules, it is usually light and of short duration. The inoculated small pox is liable, like all other eruptive diseases, to some deviation in its general course and particular stages. The following ano- malies have been occasionally observed. 1st. The punctures made by the instrument in performing the operation of inoculation may remain unaltered for eight or ten or more days, and then suddenly inflame, rise into pustules and pass through their course attended by the usual febrile symptoms and the general eruption.