The doctor at home and nurse's guidebook / edited by George Black.

Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The doctor at home and nurse's guidebook / edited by George Black. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    44/684 (page 20)
    quire a more ready, more condensed, and more substantial nourishment than vegetable aliment yields. ANKLE The name given to the joint that connects the foot with the leg. The outer point of the joint thus called Is formed by the lower end of the fibula or small bone of the leg, and the inner point by the lower end of the tibia or large bone of the leg. ANKLE, SPRAIN OF THE The lower extremity, and par- ticularly the ankle joint, is the most frequent seat of sprain. In the slighter sprains of the ankle the ligaments are stretched or perhaps a little lacerated, but in severer ones they are completely tom. Se- vere sprains are often mistaken for fractures, and should the case be one when, from swelling and pain, there is any doubt, it should be treated as a fracture, bearing in mind that proper treatment of frac- ture is the best that could be adopt- ed for a sprain. The treatment of sprained ankle consists principally in keeping the affected part com- pletely at rest. In every case, even the mildest, the patient should keep to his bed, and should not under any circumstances whatever allow the affected foot to touch the ground. In the majority of cases the ankle should be firmly bandaged, and the foot raised by means of a pillow. This complete rest should be maintained until all signs of inflammation have disappeared and the swelling has begun to subside, after which time gentle manipula- tion with the hand may be prac- tised at intervals of a few hours. The joint should not however be called upon to bear any weight so long as any pain remains. The practice of pumping on a sprained ankle or a sprained wrist is very old, and its efficacy, in many cases, proved. ANODYNE FOMENTATION See Fomentations. ANODYNE LOTION. See Lotions. ANTHRAX Anthrax is an infectious disease widespread among animals, especi- ally among sheep and cattle. It occurs in man as a result of absorp- tion of the poison containing the specific bacillus. The disease occurs in various forms, these being classed into two groups, internal anthrax, and external anthrax. The princi- pal form of external anthrax is that named malignant pustule. At the site of the inoculation pain and irritation appear within a few hours, a pimple develops, and this soon becomes a vesicle. Local inflam- mation with considerable swelling follows, there is usually very high fever, and in bad cases death occurs in from three to four days. The two principal forms of internal anthrax are the intestinal form, in which the disease is contracted by eating the meat or drinking the milk of diseased animals, and the form known as wool-sorter’s disease. In the former the symptoms much resemble those of ordinary irritant poison; vomiting, diarrhoea, and fever being the symptoms most marked. Wool-sorter’s disease is contracted by swallowing or inhaling dust from hair or wool obtained from animals suffering from anthrax. The victim becomes seized with pains in the back and legs, extreme prostration, rapid breathing, and rise of temperature. Death may occur even within twenty-four hours. Anthrax is found only in persons who work among animals or animal