Electro-physiology and electro-therapeutics : showing the best methods for the medical uses of electricity / By Alfred C. Garratt.
354/740
- Publication/creation
- Boston : Ticknor and Fields, 1861.
- Physical description
- 3 unnumbered pages, 716 pages, 2 leaves of plates : illustrations ; 26 cm
- Contributors
-
Garratt, Alfred C. (Alfred Charles), 1813?-1891
Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library
- Notes
-
3d ed. has title: Medical electricity
Includes index and testimonials
- Type/technique
- Electronic books
- Subjects
-
Electrophysiology
Electrotherapeutics
- Attribution and usage
-
This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.
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The image contains the following text:
Electro-Chemical Bath.
Sir Humphry Davy observed, as long ago as in 1807, that
if lie immersed his fingers in a glass vessel filled with dis-
tilled water, connected with the negative pole of a galvanic bat-
tery, alkalies were excreted from his body and deposited in the
pure water; but if the positive pole was in contact with the
water and fingers, then phosphoric, sulphuric, and hydrochloric
acids were deposited, and could be detected in the distilled water.
Electro-chemical baths, known as " Dr. Vergenn's," and which
figured in all the country for a while, were but the hasty result
of an idea, put forth to the world by M. Poey, who relates the
origin, treatments, and consequences. It seems that in 1852, a
man occupied with electro-silver plating in the city of New York,
having had his hands in a solution of the nitrate and cyanure of
gold and silver, a severe ulcer was produced, which proved very
obstinate of cure under the most active remedies. At last the
patient plunged his hand into the* electro-chemical bath, at the
positive pole, that was being employed at the time for silver
plating. After holding it there for a quarter of an hour, it was
found that the metal plate connected with the negative pole was
covered with a thin layer of gold and silver. Then, by a few
more such applications, repeated day after day, the electro-
chemical bath proved sufficient for the cure of the ulcer. Upon
that hint was based an idea which soon grew into an hypothesis
of great magnitude.
Dr. Poey, of some southern city, soon prepared a paper on the
subject, which, in 1855, was laid before the French Academy in
Paris, in which he asserted " that it is possible to extract metallic
substances out of the human body by the aid of electricity,—
whether such poisons had been taken as remedies, or had been
lodged in the body by absorption from exposure in some of the
different arts and trades."
The electro-chemical bath is administered as follows: The
patient is placed sitting upon a bench of wood, which is fixed
low in a deep and large metallic bath tub; all of which is in-