The principles and practice of midwifery with some of the diseases of women.

  • Milne, Alexander.
Date:
1884
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The principles and practice of midwifery with some of the diseases of women. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    has never been unwell, etc. And here let us say, in passing, that the young physician, when he has occasion to question a female in reference to her menses, should do so in the gentlest and gravest manner possible. He would not be rough to a queen; let him not be so to a pauper. The menstrual flow is a discharge that may be considered peculiar to the human female. A particular species of monkey is said to menstruate; but the discharge probably resembles that from the vagina during the time of heat in the mare, cow, bitch, and female elephant, and due to the engorgement of that canal. 6i. Some have denied (Roussel, etc.) that menstruation was an origi- nal function even in the female; they maintained that it was a result of her social condition, and not depending on her organization. It was said that man in a state of society fed over much—gluttonized, in fact, and thus became plethoric. The menstrual flow was, therefore, a drain, a safety-valve, an outlet for redundant blood. If it did not appear, one thing was clear—the female would burst like a high-pressure boiler. If this theory had been correct, what ought to have followed ? Why, man also should have menstruated. Hemorrhage should have attacked him periodically; for surely good feeding is not solely confined to the softer sex. Galen held that the flow was due to a plethora, but he differed from Roussel, who alleged that the congestion was artificially produced. Facts also are against the doctrine of its being an acquired habit, a re- dundancy springing from the mode of living. Moses stated it to have existed among the women of his period; and among the savage tribes who live in a primitive and simple manner, it has been found to exist. Besides, if it depended on the feeding, why should it be delayed just un- til the time when the female is approaching womanhood? 62. Period of Occurrence.—The time of its appearance marks that of puberty. They are then looked upon as women, says Dionis; and now the female is capable of conception. In this country, and in tem- perate latitudes, the menses appear about the ages of 14 or 15 years. In tropical countries—Hindostan, for example—it is one or two years ear- lier; while in cold climates, such as Labrador, it is a year or two later in making its appearance. There is thus a difference of from three to four years between the natives of the tropical and arctic regions. There have been occasional instances where the function has begun much earlier; for instance, at 9 months, at 19 months, at 3 years. Mr. Whitmore gives a case where it occurred at the extremely early age of 5 days. Another case of menstrtiatio prcecox is reported by Dr. Ashton in the Lattcet for March 11, 1871. The discharge began at the early age of 2 weeks. It was of red color, and continued. Nothing abnormal was detected about the genital organs. In all these cases the discharge was persistent at regular periods, and not desultory or ephemeral. 63. Mode of living, though not the cause of the discharge, probably affects the period of its appearance in a slight degree. Among the higher classes it appears a little earlier than among those of humble life. Raci- borski holds that race, apart altogether from climate, influences the time of the appearance of the discharge. For instance, if an Indian child is brought to England, she will still menstruate at the earlier period com- mon to the tropics; while, on the other hand, an English girl in India will have her catamenia at the same time that she would have had it at home. Jewish females also menstruate in high latitudes earlier than the native women. The period at which the discharge ceases, which is termed the '''change