Consumption

Disease of the lungs, in which there is destruction of their proper ti ue with the formation of cavities, occurrence of hæmorrhage, cough, wasting, lo of strength, hectic fever and night sweats. Three forms are recognized, with no well-marked differences in the symptoms; in one the exciting cause is the Bacillus tuberculosis; in another, Caseous Consumption, the exudation of pneumonia or the secretion of bronchitis degenerate and soften, causing destruction of the lung ti ue; in the third, Fibroid Consumption, there is a hyper IMG:content-0962.jpg:[graphic] IMG:content-0963.png:[graphic] From a section through a tubercle of the lung from a case of acute miliary tuberculosis in a child. Several alveoli are seen filled with debris; in the center of this are numerous nuclei, and among them the tubercle-bacilli. Magnifying power about 3.0. trophy of the connective ti ue and, as it were, a subsequent strangling of the proper pulmonary ti ue. The two first are by far the most fatal, few recoveries occurring after the disease is fairly established; death supervenes usually within two years, often in le than one, then being known as quick, rapid, or Galloping Consumption, or Phthisis Florida. In the prolonged for years. Consumption is not hereditary, but a type of lung ti ue particularly favorable to its development is inherited. It is more common in rapidly changeable climates, especially those which are damp with raw winds. It respects neither age nor sex, though more frequent before the age of thirty than later. It attacks those subjected to bad hygienic conditions, and those who follow up avocations in which large amounts of dust are given off. It often follows acute disease, such as measles, scarlet fever, or whooping cough, is liable to develop in the badly nourished, especially those of a strumous tendency, and when due to the tubercle bacillus is distinctly contagious. This micro-organism is contained in the expectoration and diseased lung ti ue, and when these are dry may be very widely di eminated; hence it is of the highest importance that they and all objects with which they come in contact should be disinfected as carefully as if the disease were of the most virulently contagious and epidemic type. It is generally agreed that each case of tubercular consumption is ion is always the source of many others, and that, if complete isolation of all cases were po ible, the disease would soon be a rarity. Cure occurs when the diseased portions of the lung are separated and expelled, a result po ible only when the disease is recognized early enough and the patient subjected to the proper climatic and hygienic conditions. The various symptoms, such as cough, night sweats, etc., must receive the proper medical treatment, and as large amounts of cod liver oil taken as can be digested and a imilated. Hæmorrhages by themselves are rarely fatal except in the last stages, and are usually controlled by a recumbent position and considerable doses of ergot or common salt. The localities in the U. S. best adapted for consumptives are the A dir on dacks, Colorado, California, New Mexico, and many inland points in the Southern States; but almost any locality is suitable in which there are no rapid changes of temperature or damp and chilling winds, and where proper food is procurable. Sufficient clothing must be worn, the living and sleeping apartments well ventilated, and the mind kept free from anxiety by whatever outdoor occupation is most agreeable to the patient.