V.
2. 4. 11.

2. _Febris a pure clauso._ Fever from inclosed matter is generally of the
irritated sensitive kind, and continues for many weeks, and even months,
after the abscess is formed; but is distinguished from the fever from
aerated matter in open ulcers, because there are seldom any night-sweats,
or colliquative diarrhoea in this, as in the latter. The pulse is also
harder, and requires occasional venesection, and cathartics, to abate the
inflammatory fever; which is liable to increase again every three or four
days, till at length, unless the matter has an exit, it destroys the
patient. In this fever the matter, not having been exposed to the air, has
not acquired oxygenation; in which a new acid, or some other noxious
property, is produced; which acts like contagion on the constitution
inducing fever-fits, called hectic fever, which terminate with sweats or
diarrhoea; whereas the matter in the closed abscess is either not absorbed,
or does not so affect the circulation as to produce diurnal or hectic
fever-fits; but the stimulus of the abscess excites so much sensation as to
induce perpetual pyrexia, or inflammatory fever, without such marked
remissions. Nevertheless there sometimes is no fever produced, when the
matter is lodged in a part of little sensibility, as in the liver; yet a
white pus-like sediment in those cases exists I believe generally in the
urine, with occasional wandering pains about the region of the liver or
chest.

3. _Vomica._ An abscess in the lungs is sometimes produced after
peripneumony, the cough and shortness of breath continue in less degree,
with difficulty in lying on the well side, and with sensitive irritated
fever, as explained in the preceding article.

The occasional increase of fever, with hard pulse and sizy blood, in these
patients, is probably owing to the inflammation of the walls of the vomica;
as it is attended with difficulty of breathing, and requires venesection.
Mr. B----, a child about seven years old, lived about five weeks in this
situation, with a pulse from 150 to 170 in a minute, without sweats, or
diarrhoea, or sediment in his water, except mucus occasionally; and took
sufficient nourishment during the whole time. The blood taken was always
covered with a strong cupped size, and on his death three or four pints of
matter were found in one side of the chest; which had probably, but lately,
been effused from a vomica. This child was frequently induced to swin