On the therapeutic application of electro-magnetism in the treatment of rheumatic and paralytic affections / By Robert Froriep ; tr. from the German by Richard Moore Lawrance.

  • Froriep, Robert, 1804-1861.
Date:
1850
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the therapeutic application of electro-magnetism in the treatment of rheumatic and paralytic affections / By Robert Froriep ; tr. from the German by Richard Moore Lawrance. 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.

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    A fold of skin pinched up looks tumid, thick, and smooth, and if more compressed has a shining appearance, which, in healthy skin, it is impossible to produce. The colour of these places is mostly lighter, whitish, or fallow, which marks the effusion very distinctly: they can also be recognised by the touch. The effect of stimulants (which pro- duce cutis anserina in healthy skin) is very pecu- liar on these places; for instance, the application of the electro-magnetic current, which of late I have very frequently used in the treatment of rheumatic affections. If, by applying a powerful current to the cutaneous nerves, cutis anserina appears on the skin of one of the limbs, those parts which are the seat of rheumatic effusion are not affected, but remain quite smooth. This is most striking when, owing to the treatment em- ployed, the effusion has decreased; then the cutis anserina may be seen encroaching on the former smooth surface in stripes or spots, giving a spotted appearance to the skin. These spots gradually disappear, and with them the complaint, except where the effusion is not confined to the cutis, but implicates deeper-seated structures. These effusions produce various changes in the