A. A slight deposit of the membrane is visible on the Schneiderian membrane of the nose, on the B. Diphtheritic Cough, with or without Croup.......... 61 C. Characterized by a mucous diarrhoea and dysen- tery..... CHAPTER FIFTH. A. Cause miasmatic......................... B. Its appearance in animals..... C. Locality, cold air, damp air.................. D. Age, strumous constitution, etc............................. E. Chemical examination of the membrane.... F. Examination by the microscope..... G. Diagnosis between Diphtheria and Scarlatina.................. H. Diagnosis between Diphtheria and Croup............ CHAPTER SIXTH. PREFACE. IN January, 1861, I saw my first case of malignant Diphtheria, a malady then hardly known in Philadelphia. Never having met with the disease before, I had recourse to the treatment recommended by the British and French physicians, and was unsuccessful. I then determined to make myself, as far as possible, familiar with the nature of Diphtheria, by examining its records from the most ancient times. For this purpose I procured from the Library of the Pennsylvania Hospital all the works relating to the subject. Since that time, now over six years, I have attended about one hundred and eighty malignant or severe cases of Diphtheria and diphtheritic croup, and at least four hundred and twenty slighter cases of the disease; including in this latter class all where the membrane, or a few patches of it, could be distinctly seen in the throat. This treatise is the result of my researches and subsequent experience. The more I contemplate this disease in all its details, the more I am convinced of its identity with malignant scarlatina and membranous croup, and that these diseases are different manifestations of the same or a similar poison in the blood. I have contributed my share towards the solution of this important question, and furnished practical information for a successful treatment. My labors, I hope, will not have been in vain. PHILADELPHIA, March, 1867. C. NEIDHARD, M.D. [NOTE.--In order to obtain a clear and easy supervision of the remedies employed, it was my wish to have them printed in the margin of the text. By a misunderstanding they were printed as headings. Throughout the chapter relating my own experience this plan has been followed.] |