Gout and rheumatism in relation to disease of the heart / by A.W. Barclay.

  • Barclay, A. W. (Andrew Whyte), 1817-1884.
Date:
1866
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Gout and rheumatism in relation to disease of the heart / by A.W. Barclay. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

    26/240 (page 6)
    accepted with reference to this than to almost any other malady. Then, again, the kidneys in a state of health can and do secrete such an amount of uric acid that, however quickly it is generated, no accumulation takes place in the system under ordinary circumstances. In gout, without any evidence of disease, their function becomes so far suspended that the excess remains during the whole period of the attack. Lastly, in the process of cure, how often may the disorder be suddenly cut short by having recourse to certain remedies which act as specifics, while others that would seem exactly suited to remove the excess of uric acid from the blood are quite powerless to produce this eifect? Each of these points demands careful consideration. No theory can for a moment pretend to explain the mystery of hereditary trans- mission. It must ever remain inexplicable to human reason why not only the pecu- liarities of species and race, but even those of feature and character, are stamped on the germ-cell ah initio, and are gradually developed at different stages of its existence. No less must the transmission of actual or latent dis- ease remain unexplained. We must be content