CASE IV.
Hannah Howard (a female servant in my house) aged 25 years, became in September last the subject of Rheumatalgia. The shoulders, arms, back and hips, were the parts selected by the disease for its wandering peregrinations. Antimonials, Opium, Guaiacum, Hyosciamus, &c. relieved her occasionally, but at the end of three months, metastasis to the heart suddenly took place. I was called hastily to her at this time; she had fainted, and when recovered from the syncope, complained of violent pain about the region of the heart, which she informed me had troubled her more or less for several hours. Her pulse was hard, and beat somewhat about 106 in a minute; but from its extreme irregularity, it could not be measured with exactness; nor if it might, would it have been found, I believe, to have preserved an uniformity within any two given periods; as both its intermissions and its actions of rapid velocity were produced at uncertain and variable intervals. Copious bleeding, blistering, cupping, with the use of digitalis and colchicum, at length removed the disease; and in three weeks she was able to leave London, to try the effect of country air in restoring her health and strength. She returned to town after a short time, perfectly recovered; and continued so, until an exposure to wet brought on another attack of rheumatalgia; which, after variously shifting its seat for several days, now fixed itself on the left side. The remedies which had formerly been of service, were now taken without relief; and the colchicum[8] (which in most cases of rheumatism will be found, after bleeding, more valuable than any other article of the materia medica) was totally inert. The pain had now acquired such a degree of violence, that the slightest motion of the body gave the most exquisite agony; and so intense was this state of suffering, that the patient could not be urged to speak in a tone loud enough to be conveniently heard, through the fear of exciting an exacerbation of pain, which even such slight motions occasioned. I now had recourse to acupuncturation; having introduced a needle through the integuments covering the interstice of the 8th and 9th ribs, at the part corresponding to the junction, with their cartilaginous epiphises, I continued to press it gently forward, by rolling it freely between my fingers. When it had penetrated to about two thirds, its whole depth (an inch) I enquired if she experienced either pain from the puncture, or relief from the disease; she replied, “she scarcely felt the instrument, but that her rheumatism had suddenly abated of its violence;” and to my surprise, this reply was expressed in her natural tone of voice. She added, “that she could now speak and breathe freely,” so that I now found her former taciturnity, which I had attributed to moroseness, was banished. I continued the introduction of the needle, and in a few minutes the disease was dislodged, and fled to the back of the chest, near the angle of the ribs. The motions of the shoulder were now restored to their utmost freedom, and I withdrew the needle, and inserted it into the part which had become the seat of the pain, about two inches from the spinal column. The disease soon began to dissipate itself totally; the patient said she was free from uneasiness, and could make a deep inspiration without pain. The instrument having been retained in its place five or six minutes, was withdrawn; the chest had regained its full liberty of action, and the utmost variety of flexion of the body could be used, not the slightest inconvenience ensuing. The next day, however, the pain again visited the anterior part of the chest, and I again had recourse to the needle. The operation was completely successful; for excepting a slight darting pain, which occasionally troubled her for a few days afterwards, no symptoms of the disorder remained, and she continues at this time to attend to the duties of her station in my family.
Whilst occupied with the preceding pages, I received the following communication from my friend, Mr. Jukes; which I subjoin as the strongest corroborative evidence of the efficacy of the practice under our consideration.
“Great Peter-Street, Westminster,
xxxxxFebruary 27, 1821.
My Dear Sir,
In compliance with your request, I send you an account of the effect of Acupuncturation on our friend Mr.Scott.[9] I received an urgent message on the morning of the 18th inst. from that gentleman, requesting I would visit him instantly. I found him in bed; and, with a countenance expressive of much anguish, he informed me, that for three days he had been suffering severely from pain in the loins, which he attributed to leaving a warm room during one of the late foggy nights. Within the last 12 hours it had acquired such a degree of violence that even respiration was insupportable, except the body were fixed in such positions as permitted the least possible motion. An attempt to resume the erect posture, produced violent spasmodic action of the muscles of the back, which appeared to be communicated by sympathy to those of the abdomen and chest, impeding respiration with a convulsive effort; nor could any motion of the body be made without producing this distressing effect. Neither fever nor general derangement was present; the secreting organs of the body properly performing their function, proved the external locality of the disease. In this state of things, Acupuncturation presented itself to us as likely to afford relief, and it was therefore immediately resorted to.
“I applied an exhausted cupping glass upon the integuments, opposite to the second lumbar Vertebra, and midway between this bone and the edge of the Latissimus Dorsi muscle of the right side, which was the part referred to as the most concentrated spot of the disease. As soon as a needle had penetrated to the depth of an inch, a sensation arose, apparently from the point of the instrument, which the patient described as resembling that which is produced by the passage of the electric aura, when elicited to a metallic point, diffusing itself at first to some distance around the part, and then extending itself up the side to the Axilla. This sensation continued to be felt for the space of a minute, when a violent pain struck into the right iliac region, immediately above, and corresponding with the line of, the Crista of the Ilium. No pain was now felt in the back, except a dull aching of about two inches in breadth on the right side of the spine, extending from the lower part of the neck to the Sacrum; corresponding with the situation and course of the Longissimus Dorsi Muscle. The pain above the hip now began to subside and in the space of three minutes from its commencement, had ceased altogether.
“The uneasiness along the course of the spine still remaining, a needle was introduced about an inch from one of the upper Dorsal Vertebræ, and another in a corresponding situation to one of the lower Lumbar Vertebræ. The pain in the right side was in a few minutes entirely dissipated, and the patient arose, declaring, that, excepting a slight degree of uneasiness on the posterior part of the chest, near the angles of the inferior ribs of the left side, he was completely relieved from the disease. He, however, requested I would pass a needle in this last situation; on effecting which the pain soon left its last refuge, and the patient dressed himself, and left his house in the most perfect health. 1 have this day seen him, and he assures me that he has not experienced any return of the affection.
“I should have stated that the sensation, described as resembling somewhat an electrical effect, was experienced from two of the needles only; the first and the last of those which were introduced.
“I send you the history of this case without any comment upon the mysterious nature of this extraordinary operation; yet I am convinced there is something more in it than has been hitherto explained. I have, it is true, some notions (not however fixed) as to its nature; but I would not at present venture to detail them, lest the embers of animal magnetism might be rekindled in the discussion, and the operation from being associated with an exploded theory, sink into undeserved and premature oblivion, from preconceived prejudice.
I am, dear Sir,
xxxxxxxxxxYour faithful friend,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxEDWARD JUKES.”
Conceiving that the foregoing cases will be as satisfactory as a larger number would, I shall not trouble my readers with a more minute detail.
I could certainly add many others to the list; but to minds open to conviction and truth, no stronger impression would be made by multiplying examples; whilst the sceptical, would “not be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”