may be found out by the hand of a Skilful Midwife As to the prognostick if the Closure be in the Orifice of the Privities it is easily Cured by a small Section But if it be in the inner Parts the Cure is much more difficult When a Membrane shuts the passage it is easily Cured but when the Closure is from fleshy Matter as it happens after Ulcers then the Cure is much more difficult The Closure of the inner Orifice of the Womb is Incurable for Chirurgcial Instruments cannot work upon it If the Closure of the Womb be contracted from the Birth it must be opened by simple Section but if it takes its rise from an Ulcer as it often happens in the French-Pox we must consider whether it be an Excrescence of Flesh that does not wholly stop the passage and whether it quite stops For if it be only an Excrescence we must endeavour convenient Evacuations going before first to hinder the increase of the Flesh by drying and discussing Medicines and afterwards we must lessen the Flesh by Medicines made of Frankincense Birthwort the Bark of Frankincense Roses Balaustins Mastick Myrrh Aloes and the like and if these things are not sufficient we must use burnt Allom Unguentum Aegyptiacum and the like or the Flesh may be cut off by that Instrument that is used for extirpating a Polipus But if the Neck of the Womb be wholly shut we must endeavour to renew the Ulcer and to take off the superfluous Flesh by the foresaid Medicines or it must be cut If a Tumour shut the passage of the Womb it must be removed by proper Remedies If it be occasioned by a Compression of the Neck of the Womb that which causes the Compression must be removed namely a Stone in the Bladder a Tumour of the right Gut or the like When the passage is too narrow it most commonly proceeds from hardness and dryness and therefore you must use moistning emollient and relaxing things as half Baths Fomentations Liniments and Pessaries and so the part being relaxed you must put a leaden Pipe or white Wax fitted for the purpose moistened with Butter or some emollient Oyl and she must always wear it or at least a-nights and a-days let a Pessary made of Cotten be used anointed with Oyntment Marsh-mallows or the like CHAP. X. Of Suppression of the Courses THere is said to be a Suppression of the Courses when in Women of a mature Age that neither give suck nor are with Child the Evacuation of Blood by the Womb which is Naturally wont to be Monthly flows seldom or sparingly or is wholly stopt Because this Suppression proceeds from Natural and Preternatural Causes the signs of both shall be distinctly proposed lest the Practitioner should be deceived by Women being with Child by Illegitimate Coition and so rashly prescribe Medicines to provoke the Courses First therefore Women with Child most commonly retain their Natural Colour and others do not Secondly the Symptoms which do happen to Women with Child at the beginning abate Daily but on the contrary in Suppression of the Courses the longer they are stop'd so much the more the Symptoms are increased Thirdly In Women with Child after the third Month the motion and situation of the Child may be sensibly perceived by laying the hand on the Belly But in others the Swelling is not at all hard nor is it always contained within the Limits of the Womb. Fourthly If the inward Mouth of the Womb be touched by a Skilful Midwife she will find it not exactly closed as it is in Women with Child but rather hard contracted and somewhat painful Fifthly Women with Child are most commonly cheerful but on the contrary in a Suppression they are most commonly sorrowful and sad A Suppression of the Courses is very dangerous and many desperate Diseases arise from it The Cure of this Disease must be varied according to the variety of the Causes and first if it proceed from too great a quantity of Blood bleeding must be ordered in the Arm and a large quantity of Blood must be taken away afterwards it must be drawn downwards by opening the lower Veins about the time the Woman used to have her Courses before she was ill If by reason of want of Blood the Courses stop as after long Fevers after great Evacuations and when the Body is much wasted you must not endeavour to provoke the Courses till the Body is replenish'd and a sufficient quantity of Blood is bred which being done they generally flow of their own accord but if it happens that Nature forforgets her Office she must be rous'd up by opening the lower Veins and by Medicines proposed in the Chapter of Hysterick Diseases But the quantity of Blood must be moderate lest the strength should be dejected and the Sick should fall into a Consumption yet it must be carefully noted that every wasting of the Body does not shew a want of Blood but only that which succeeds great Evacuations and the like For sometimes it happens that the Courses being suppressed and detained in the Veins occasion an ill quality whereby the Blood is rendred unfit to nourish the Parts upon which account the Body wasts tho the Veins are full of Blood in which Case large bleeding is required As to the suppression of the Courses which happens by a preposterous motion of the Blood when it is evacuated by bleeding at Nose by Vomiting Spitting or Hemorrhoids and other parts the Cure of it is perform'd by repelling the Blood from the parts through which it flows contrary to Nature and by drawing it back to the passage of the Womb. The first is performed when the Blood rushes out of the upper parts by washing the Arms Head and Face with cold Water and by forbearing the exercise of those parts especially singing and speaking aloud The second is perform'd by opening the lower Veins three or Four days before the Blood breaks out and by Cuping-Glasses applied to the Thighs and Legs sometimes with sometimes without Scarification by provoking the Hemorrhoids by Running by Walking Fomentations and Baths made of opening Herbs but the Bath water is especially commended and the Sick must bath in them often a good while after Meals but the water must not rise above the Navel and at the same time the upper parts be cool'd by fanning them If the Blood flow by the Hemorrhoids the Cure is very difficult for if you use things to draw downwards they bring them also to the Fundament and if you use astringent things to it they by nearness of the parts repell what should be brought to the Womb so that the only way of Cure is to apply such things to the Womb as may allure the Blood thither after you have used such things as draw the Blood downwards CHAP. XI Of an Immoderate Flux of the Courses AN immoderate Flux of the Courses comes either in Child-bed or at other times as to the first that afflicts Women most on
naribus erumpere bonum est The cause of this Disease is most commonly some violent Passion of the Mind or some great disturbance happening when the Courses are near flowing it comes also from Obstructions of the Womb or by reason of violent Pains and great Diseases of the upper Parts also from the weakness of them when the VVomb and lower Parts are strong for the weak Parts always receive what the stronger put upon them It also comes from some external Cause as by drinking cold Water unseasonably or by washing the Feet and Legs unseasonably or by the use of Vinegar when the Courses are near The Scope of the Cure is Two-fold the First is the Evacuation of the Blood abounding the other is the Recalling of it to the lower Parts which is chiefly done by Cooling the upper Parts and by Heating Moistning and Opening the lower Parts but both may be well answered by Bleeding in the Foot three or four days before the Blood flows and by applying Cupping-glasses to the Thighs Legs and Hips sometimes Dry but most commonly with Scarification and also by provoking the Hemorrhoids by Frictions by Walking by hot Baths natural or artificial by Fomentations made of opening Herbs by Unctions Pessaries and uterine Glisters But see more of this in the Chapter of Suppression of the Courses The two following Remedies are peculiarly proper for this Disease viz. Bleeding in the Foot for several Months at the times we have mentioned and the Bath-waters wherein the Woman must be Bathed early in the Morning and must continue a while in them but this must be noted that the Waters must not reach above the region of the Liver and in the mean while the upper Parts must be â—anned CHAP. V. Of the Courses coming before their due time and of staying longer than they should IN many Women the Courses flow before their accustomed time and sometimes they stay longer than they should and this anticipation and delay are sometimes orderly and sometimes disorderly The Causes are either the Vice of the Womb as the ill Figure of it or a Solution of the Continuum and sometimes a hurt on some other account as a Vitious humour that irritates before the time by reason of plenty of Blood or the thinness or sharpness of it the quantity of humours occasioning it may be known by the dulness of the Body by the sanguine habit of the Woman by a sedentary and idle Life by excess in eating and drinking or by some other Evacuation stopped or lessened The Acrimony of the Blood may be known by the Heat Erosion and Pain in the Excretion or by the Vitious habit of the Womans Body and the course of her Life foregoing or by the Diet she was wont to use and the like But if it come leasurely and without pain the retentive faculty is weak it may also be occasioned by a blow or fall If it proceed by reason of the Loosness and fault of the retentive faculty it must be strengthened by proper Remedies if it come from a plenitude it must be remedied by a sparing Diet and moderate Exercise and by taking away so much Blood as is agreeable to the strength in the middle of the Month or a little before the Courses flow Frictions also in the Arms and in all the upper parts of the Body are proper the Woman must abstain from Wine and all Strong-waters and instead of them Chalybeats must be used and if these things do not do the business she must be blooded in the Arm but if it proceed from the Acrimony of the Humours she must eat freely Meat of good nourishment and must exercise a little and such Medicines must be used as attemperate the humours and she must be purg'd and Uterine Glisters must be injected made of two Ounces of Oyl of Violets and four Ounces of the Decoction of Mallows but care must be taken that the Courses be not quite stopped because it is dangerous Lastly if a blow a fall or difficult labour occasion this disease the following Cataplasm must be applied to the Womb and Neighbouring parts Take of the Powders of dragons-Dragons-blood Frankincense Mastich and of the greater Comfry each two Drams with a sufficient quantity of Turpentine make a Cataplasm If the Woman be of a hot Constitution apply the following Plaister Take of the Powders of Roses Myrtles and Balaustins and Mastich each one Drahom of fine Flour one Ounce with the Whites of Eggs make a Plaister The Courses stay beyond their time by reason of age when they are about to go away or by a vice of the whole Body or of the womb If it proceed on the account of age you must only endeavour to prevent those inconveniences which are wont to follow especially the Gout and a pain in the Hip which may be done by a spare Diet much exercise and by bleeding yearly till Nature has been accustomed to the want of the menstruous Purgation But if it proceed from a Vice of the whole Body it must be treated as a suppression of the Courses If it proceed from a peculiar disorder of the Womb it requires a peculiar Cure and is a Symptom of the kind of the vitiated action of Excretion either because it is hindred by the ill Formation or a gross Humour that Obstructs The Causes therefore are these three which are contrary to the anticipation of the Courses viz. the weakness of the Faculty the fault of the Humours and the dulness of the Sense The impotence of the Faculty is occasioned by the frigidity or moisture of the Temperament or by the depraved Figure of the Instrument the Humour is faulty upon the account of its thickness siccity and clamminess The Sense is rendred dull most commonly by moisture abounding The weak Faculty by reason of Frigidity is known by the Womans perceiving a weight and disturbance after the time of the coming of her Courses is past The fault of the Instrument may be known by what went before as by hard labour a tumour cicatrix leaping or a fall whereby the Womb or a part subservient to it is displaced or the figure of it deformed The fault of the Humour may be known by those things that are evacuated by the Blood as if it be whitish it may be seen if it be gross and clammy a sedentary life and a gross and flegmatic Diet went before the Woman is of a soft pale and leaden habit of body and is fat and by the Bloods flowing slowly and by the long continuance of the Courses sometimes and by their ending in a slime If when they stay a long time before they come the Woman does not perceive any disturbance in the Womb and neighbouring Parts the Sense is dull If the Disease arise from a thick and clammy Humour as it does most commonly it must be cured according to Galen with three sorts of Remedies First by a thin and heating Diet by moderate exercise and frictions of the Legs Secondly by
The Courses as was said before come sometimes drop by drop and sometimes plentifully sometimes by intervals and sometimes continually sometimes orderly and sometimes disorderly It is most commonly occasioned by the same Causes from whence a suppression of the Courses proceeds but gentler for there is not a total Suppression but an unequal Obstruction of the Vessels of the Womb by reason of thick clotted and feculent blood which stretches the Vessels and Nature violently endeavouing to Evacuate it a gross wind arises which distending the Vessels and the neighbouring parts occasions the violent pain which continues untill the clods are ejected Sometimes the Blood flows plentifully yet the Courses are counted difficult and lessened because tho a great quantity is evacuated yet it is not answerable to the plenitude The second Cause is an Ulcer or some preternatural Tumour in the Womb or neighbouring parts which are provoked and hurt by the commotion of the Blood The third is the acrimony of the Humours This Disease is known by a pain in the Head a pain in the Stomach Restlesness pains in the Loins and of the lower Belly just like the pains of Child-bearing coming with the Courses or eight days before There is often also fainting and convulsions and a palpitation of the Heart and by these you may know that the Blood is clotted or thick and a small swelling is sometimes perceived in one or both of the Groins by reason of clotted Blood contained in it and just before the evacuation of the clotted Blood the pain is most violent and at the same time if wind be joined with it it breaks from the Womb or backwards with a noise and there are wandring pains about the Loins and Hips If an Ulcer be the cause Sanies or Pus is mixed with the Blood and the Courses flow always with a fixed pain This Disease afflicts Virgins and those that are Barren The Cure is two-fold the first respects the Cause the second the mitigating the Pain If it proceed from feculent gross and clotted Blood a thin Diet and moderate Exercise must be ordered and Medicines that cause Revulsion and Evacuation must be used Blood therefore must be drawn from the Arm if there be a great quantity of it but if the quantity be small from the Foot and the clotted Blood that cannot be evacuated must be drawn out by Cupping-glasses applied to the Thighs and Legs with Scarification and by Ligatures upon the Legs and the Humour may be turned by applying Leeches to the Fundament if the pain continue after the Courses are stopp'd but they must not be used before Secondly Evacuation must be used with this distinction when feculent and grumous Blood is the cause you must Bleed when an Ulcer Wind or an Acrid Matter you must Purge most Thirdly The Passages must be Relaxed and Opened and the Pain mitigated wherefore if the matter be thick slatulent feculent or clammy a Dram of Venice Treacle or of Mithridate must be taken at Bed-time in three Ounces of Balm-water and Baths must be provided and Lotions for the Legs made of a Decoction of Marsh-mallows of the Seeds of Flax Fenugreek Dill Rhue and Mugwort and the Feet must be bathed in it hot a while and the vapours must be received and a Spunge dipt in it must be applyed to the Privities and the lower Belly must be Fomented afterwards with Flannel dipt in Wine and Oyl of Roses or with a Bladder half full of warm Oyl but it will be better to anoint the Navel and the region below it with Oyl of Saffron of White-lillies the Seeds of Flax of Capers of Yolks of Eggs or of sweet Almonds among which or with one of them must be dissolved a Drachm of Treacle a Pessary dipt in the same is also is of great use or the foresaid Parts may be annointed with Hens-fat and Butter or with Butter and some of the foresaid Oyls The following Oyntment is also very proper Take of the juice of Angelica one Drachm of Oyls of Capers and of White-lilies each one Ounce and an half of White-wine half an Ounce with Wax make an Oyntment The following Cataplasm is also very good Take of common Oyl of sweet Wine and fresh Butter each two Ounces of Bran three Ounces boyl them gently apply them hot and repeat them frequently But if acrid and eroding Matter be the cause you must use gentle Oyntments and Fomentation of warm Water or Purslain and Lettice Water with Emulsions of the cold Seeds and the Parts must be anointed with the Oils of sweet Almonds of Violets and of Roses If the Disease proceeds from an Ulcer you must endeavour the Cure of it and you must mitigate the Pain by injecting uterine Glisters made of four Ounces of warm Water and if the heat be very much the Water must be sweetned with Sugar and you must add one Drachm of the white Troches of Rhasis Or the Glister may be made with three Ounces of Allum-water which is of excellent use or with so much Barly-water with an Ounce of Syrup of Roses or with Milk-water with Sugar or with an Ounce and an half of Milk it self with the like quantity of a Decoction of the Leaves and Seeds of Plaintain to which may be added half an Ounce of the emulsion of the cold Seeds and if the Pain and Heat is very violent inject two Ounces of the Decoction of Henbane or white Poppies But if these things will not do the business some Opium must be mixed with the Decoction before mentioned Lastly if other remedies will not do the business an Issue must be opened in the Leg. CHAP. IX Of the Closure of the Womb. VIrgins labouring under this Disease are said to be Imperforate This closure is wont to be in three places viz. in the mouth of the Womb in the neck of it and in the Privities It is occasioned either in the first Formation when a Membrance covers the Orifice of the Womb or its Neck or by a Wound or Ulcer preceding which growing together stops the Neck of the Womb or joins the Lips or it is occasioned by Humours or a Compression If the Closure be in the Privities it may be easily known but if it be in the Neck or Orifice of the Womb it is not found out till the Courses begin to flow or till Women are Married for at the time of the menstruous Purgation Pains and Gripes are perceived in the region of the Womb at certain times with a sense of weight yet no Flux follows Moreover you may guess at it if the Maid be of good habit of Body not Cachetical and without Obstruction the Disease continuing the Womb swells so that Virgins seem to be with Child and sometimes the whole Body which looks livid But if the Neck of the Womb be closed it may be known in the first Copualtion because it cannot admit the Virile Member Lastly if the Orifice of the Womb be shut it is difficultly known but it
resting the Fore-finger of the same Hand extended and stretched forth along the string towards the entry of the Sheath always observing to draw it from the side where the burthen cleaves least Above all things care must be taken that it be not drawn forth with too much violence lest by breaking the string you are obliged to put the whole Hand into the Womb to deliver the Woman or the Womb be drawn down forth with it also by drawing it out with too much violence a great flooding may thereby happen To facilitate the expulsion the Woman may blow strongly into her Hands shut or she may put her Finger into her Throat as if she would provoke Vomiting or she may strive as if she were going to stool bearing always down and holding her breath When all these circumstances have been observed if you meet with difficulty you may if need be after that you know on which side the After-birth is situated command an experienced Nurse-keeper to press the Belly lightly with the flat of her Hand directing it gently downwards by way of Friction above all being careful not to do it too violently but if all this be in vain then must the Hand be directed into the VVomb to loosen and separate it As soon as the VVoman is delivered of both Child and Burthen it must then be considered whether there be all and care had that not the least part of it remain behind not so much as the skirts or clods of Blood which ought all to be brought away with the first for otherwise being retained they cause great pains When the Woman has two Children you must not fetch the Burthen as was said before till both the Children are born and then it may be done without danger shaking and drawing it always gently sometimes by one string sometimes by the other and sometimes by both together and so by turns till all is come When the Infant comes right and naturally the Woman is brought to Bed and delivered with little help for which the meanest Midwifes are capable and oft-times for want of them a simple Nursekeeper may supply the place But when it is a wrong Labour there is a great Mystery belongs to it for then the skill and prudence of a Surgeon is for the most part requisite Immediately after the Woman is delivered and the Burthen come away care must be taken that the loosening of it be not followed with a Flooding if it be not a soft closure must be immediately applied to the Womb five or six times double to prevent the cold Air entring in and stopping the Vessels whereby the Womb should cleanse by degrees when the VVomb is so closed If the VVoman was not delivered upon her ordinary Bed let her presently be carried into it by some strong Body or more if there be need rather than to let her walk thither which Bed must be ready warmed and prepared as is requisite for the cleansings But if she were delivered on it which is best and safest to prevent the danger and trouble of carrying her to it then all the soul Linnen and other things put there for receiving the Bloud VVaters and other filth which comes away in Labour must be removed and she must be placed conveniently in it for her ease and rest which she much wants to recover her of the Pains and Labour she endured in Travail she must be placed with her Head and Body a little raised for to breath the freer and to cleanse the better especially of that Blood which then comes away that so it may not clod which being retained causes very great pains All this will happen if they have not liberty to come freely by this convenient Situation in which she must put down her Legs and Thighs close together having a small Pillow for her greater ease if she desire it under her Hams upon which they may rest a little Being so put to Bed let her lie neither on one side nor the other but just on the middle of her Back that so the VVomb may repossess its natural and proper place It is an ordinary custom to give the VVoman as soon as she is delivered two Ounces of Oyl of Sweet Almonds and as much Syrup of Maiden-hair which is good to sweeten and temper the inside of the Throat which was heated and hoarse by her continual cryes and holding her breath to bear down her Throws during her Labour it is also good to prevent the Grips but this Potion goes so much against the Stomachs of some VVomen that being forced to take it with an aversion it may do them more hurt than good therefore let none have it but those that desire it and have no aversion for it But good Broath taken after she is a little setled may be more beneficial Having thus accommodated her and provided for her Belly Breasts and lower parts leave her to rest and sleep if she can making no noise the Bed-Curtains being close drawn and the Doors and VVindows of her Chamber shut that so seeing no light she may the sooner fall asleep As soon as the Bed is cleansed from the foul Linnen and other impurities of the Labour and the Woman therein placed let there be outwardly applied all over the bottom of her Belly and Privities the following anodyne Pultiss made of two Ounces of sweet Almonds with two or three new laid Eggs yolks and whites stirring them together in an earthen Pipkin over hot Embers till it comes to the consistence of a Pultiss which being spread upon Cloath must be applyed to those parts indifferently warm having first taken away the Closures which were put to her presently after her Delivery and likewise such clods of Blood as were there left This is a very fit Remedy to appease the Pains which Women commonly suffer in those Parts by reason of the violence then endured by the Infants Birth it must lie on five or six hours and then be renewed a second time if there be occasion Afterwards make a Decoction of Barly Linseed and Chervil or with Marsh-mallows and Violet Leaves adding to a Pint of it an Ounce of Honey of Roses wherewith being luke-warm Foment three or four times a-day for the first five or six days of Child-bed the bearing place cleansing it very well from the Clods of Blood and other Excrements which are there emptied Some Persons only use for this purpose luke-warm Milk and many Women only Barly-water Great care must be taken at the beginning that no stopping thing be given to hinder the cleansings but when ten or twelve Days are past and she has cleansed sufficiently Remedies may then be used to fortifie the Parts for which purpose a Decoction is very proper made of Province Roses Leaves and Roots of Plantain and Smiths water and when she has sufficiently and fully done Cleansing which is usually after the eighteenth or twentieth Day there may be made for those that desire it a very strong astringent
the assaults of this Disease tho they are not hollow and tho there is no apparent Defluction that may occasion the pain yet it is no whit gentler nor shorter nor easier Cured But the pain of the Back is most common which most certainly all feel how little soever they are afflicted with this Disease Moreover this is common to the foresaid pains that the place whereon they were is tender and akes as if it were soundly beaten but this tenderness goes off by degrees And this is worth observing that often a notable coldness of the outward parts makes way for these Symptoms which for the most part does not go off till the fit ends which coldness is almost like that wherewith a Carcass grows stiff yet the Pulse is good Moreover all Hysteric Women complain of a dejection and sinking of the Spirits and sometimes laugh excessively and at other times cry as much without any real cause for either But the most proper and almost inseparable Symptom is a Urin as clear as Rock-water Sometimes ill fumes are belched up and sometimes the Wind that comes from the Stomach is sower just like Vinegar But their Minds are more affected than their Bodies for an incurable Desperation is mixt with the very nature of the Disease A day would scarce be sufficient to reckon up all the Symptoms belonging to this Disease and I think Demetrius reckn'd pretty right tho he mistook the cause of the Disease when he said in an Epistle to Hippocrates that the Womb was the cause of Six hundred Miseries and of innumerable Calamities The external causes of this Disease are either violent motions of the Body or which is much oftner vehement disturbances of the Mind to these disorders of the Mind which are usually the occasion of this Disease is to be added emptiness of the Stomach by reason of long fasting inmmoderate Bleeding a Vomit or Purge that works too much In order to the cure I order that eight Ounces of Blood be taken from the right Arm and that the following Plaister be apply'd to the Navel Take of Galbanum dissolved in Tincture of Castor and strain'd three Drachms of Tacamahaca two Drams mix them make a Plaister The next Morning let her use the following Pills Take of the Pill Coch-major two Scruples of Castor powder'd two Grains of Peruvian Balsam four drops make four Pills let her take them at five in the Morning and sleep after repeat them twice or thrice every Morning or every other Morning according to the Womans strength and as they work Take of the Waters of Black-Cherries Rhue and Compound Briony each three Ounces of Castor ty'd up in a rag and hanged in the Viol half a Dram of Fine Sugar a Sufficient quantity make a Julep whereof let her take four or five Spoonfulls when she is faint dropping into the first dose if the fit is violent twenty drops of the Spirit of Harts-horn After the Purging Pills just described are taken let her use the following Take of the filings of Steel eight Grains with a sufficient quantity of extract of Wormwood make two Pills let her take them early in the Morning and at five in the Afternoon for Thirty days drinking upon them a draught of Wormwood Wine Or if she like a Bolus better Take of the Conserves of Roman Wormwood and of the yellow peel of Oranges each one Ounce of Angelica and Nutmegs candied and of Venice Treacle each half an Ounce of candied Ginger two Drachms make an electuary with a sufficient quantity of Syrup of Oranges Take of this electuary one Drachm and an half of the filings of Steel well rub'd eight Grains make a Bolus with a sufficient quantity of Syrup of Oranges to be taken in the Morning and at five in the Evening drinking upon it a Glass of Wormwood-wine Take of choice Myrrh and Galbanum each one Drachm and an half of Castor fifteen Grains with a sufficient quantity of Balsam Peru make twelve Pills of every Drachm let her take three every Night and drink upon them three or four Spoonfuls of Compound Briony Water through the whole course of this process But if these Pills move the Body which sometimes they do in Bodies that are very easily purged the following may be used instead of them Take of Castor one Drachm of Volatile Salt of Amber half a Drachm with a sufficient quantity of extract of Rue make twenty-four small Pills let her take three every Night But Steel Medicines which must be noted occasion sometimes in Women great disorders both of Body and Mind and not only on the first days which is usual almost in every body but also all the time they are taken In this case the use of Steel must not presently be interrupted but Laudanum must be given every night for some time in some Hysteric water that they may the better bear it But when the Symptoms are mild and it seems the business may be done without Steel I think it sufficient to Bleed and to Purge three or four times and then to give the altering Hysteric Pills above-mentioned morning and evening for ten days which method seldom fails when the Disease is not violent yea the Pills alone Bleeding and Purging being omitted do often a great deal of good But some Women can't bear Hysteric Medicines and are much injured thereby therefore they must not be given to such If the Blood is so very feeble and the confusion of the Spirits so great that Steel ordered to be used according to the method prescribed is not sufficient to cure the Disease the Sick must drink Tunbridge-waters or the like for they cure Diseases more efectually than any preparation of Iron but if in drinking of them any Sickness happen that belongs to Hysteric Symptoms the Sick must forbear drinking them a day or two till that Symptom that hindred their passage is quite gon And it is to be noted that Purging must be avoided all the time the Woman drinks these waters But if this Disease does not yeild to Steel-waters the Sick must go to the Bath and when she has used the waters of it three mornings following the next day let her go into the Bath and the day following let her drink them again and so let her do by turns for two months for in these and others of what kind soever they are the Patient must persist in the use of them till she is quite well Venice-treacle used often and a long time is a great remedy in this Disease Spanish-wine with Gentian Angelica Worm-wood Centory and other strengthening things infus'd in it does a great deal of good some spoonfuls of it being taken thrice a day if the Woman be not thin and of a cholerick habit of Body And truly a large draught of Spanish-wine taken by it self at bed-time for some nights has been very beneficial to some Women Jesuits-powder also wonderfully comforts and invigorates the Blood and Spirits a Scruple of it being taken morning and
evening for some weeks But if the Remedies above-mentioned don't well agree which often happens in thin and choleric Constitutions then a Milk-dyet may be used for some Women which one would wonder at at first that have been a long while afflicted with Hysteric Diseases and could be relieved no other way have been recovered by Dieting themselves for some time only with Milk and especially those that Labour with an Hysteric Cholick which can't be appeased by any thing but Opiates to which repeated Women are much accustom'd the pains returning as soon as the vertue of the Opiate fades But riding on Horse back or in a Coach every day for a long while is the best remedy This is the general way of Curing this Disease which is apply'd to the original cause namely the weak constitution of the Blood and so is to be used only when the Fit is off therefore as often as the Fit comes join'd with any one of the fore-said Symptoms if the Disease be such or so great an one that it will not bear a Truce till it may be cured by Medicines that strengthen the Blood and Spirits we must presently make use of Hysteric Medicines which by their strong and offensive smell recall the disorderly and deserting Spirits to their proper Stations whether they are taken inwardly or smelt to or outwardly apply'd such are Assa-faetida Galbanum Spirit of Sal Armoniac and lastly whatever has a very ungrateful and offensive smell In the next place you must take notice that if some intollerable pain accompanied the fit or violent Vomiting or a Loosness then besides the Hysterics above-mentioned Laudanum is to be used which is only able to restrain these Symptomes But in quieting the pains which Vomiting occasion we must take great care that they are not mitigated either by Laudanum or any other Opiat before due evacuations have been made unless they exceed almost all humane patience Therefore in lusty Women and such as abound with Blood a Vein must be opened and the Body purged especially if they have been lately seized with the fit But if weak Women and those of a quite contrary Constitution labour with such a fit and pain and have been afflicted with it not long ago it will be sufficient to cleanse their Stomachs with a gallon of Posset drink taken in and ejected by Vomiting and then to give a large Dose of Venice-Treacle and a few spoonfuls of some Spirituous Liquor that is pleasing to the taste with a few drops of Liquid Laudanum to be taken presently after But if the Sick has Vomited a great while and there is danger lest by a further provocation by Vomits the Spirits should be put into a rage and the Sick too much weakened in this case you must give Laudanum without delay and such a Dose that is sufficient to vanquish it But here two things are to be chiefly noted first that when you have once begun to use Laudanum after due and necessary evacuations it must be taken in the same Dose and must be often repeated till the Symptom is quite conquered only such a space must be betwixt each Dose that we may know what the former has done before we give another and then when we treat the Disease with Laudanum we must do nothing else and nothing must be evacuated for the gentlest Glister of milk and sugar is sufficient to spoil whatever has been repaired by the Laudanum and to occasion a return of the Vomiting and pain But though the Pains above mentioned are apt to overcome the vertue of the Laudanum yet violent Vomiting indicats the largest Dose of it and that it should be very often repeated for by reason of the Vomiting the Laudanum is cast up before it can do any good unless it be given afresh after every time the Sick Vomits and chiefly in a solid form and if it be given in a liquor the quantity must be so small that it must but just wet the Stomach so that by reason of the small quantity of the matter it cannot be cast up for instance some drops of Liquid Laudanum in one spoonful of strong Cinnamon-water or the like and the Sick must be admonished to keep her self quiet presently after taking the Laudanum and that she keep her Head as much as is possible immoveable for the smallest motion of the Head provokes Vomiting more than any thing else and when the Vomiting ceases and is as it were tam'd it is expedient to give a Dose of Laudanum morning and evening to prevent a relapse which also ought to be observed after a Loosness or Hysteric pains And because frequent mention has been made of Liquid Laudanum in this Chapter and it is much used in other Diseases Women are subject to I will here set down the best way of making it Take of Spanish-wine one pint of Opium two ounces of Saffron one ounce of the Powders of Cinnamon and Cloves each one Drachm let them be infused together in a Bath for two or three days till the liquor comes to the consistence of a thin Syrup strain it and keep it for use The Dose is sixteen or twenty Drops to be taken in a small draught of Beer or in some distilled-water CHAP. II. Of the Green-Sickness THE Green-sickness is an ill habit of the Body proceeding from Obstructions it is accompanied most commonly with a beating of the Heart difficulty of breathing and a longing for absurd things and an unfitness for motion and other Symtoms the Face and whole Body are pale and sometimes of a leaden and green colour there is an inflation and as it were a swelling upon the Eye-lids the Legs also swell especially about the Ankles there is a heavy and often a lasting pain of the Head the Pulse is quick the Sick are drowsie and have an aversion for wholsome food lastly the Disease increasing and the Obstructions being multiplied a suppression of the Courses at length follows which shews the Disease is confirmed This Disease most commonly is not dangerous but if it be neglected too much it occasions great Diseases as hard Swellings a Dropsie and other grievous Diseases which at length kill the Patient When the Disease is small and chiefly arises from Obstructions of the veins of the Womb it is easily cured by Marriage in young Virgins Those that have had this Disease a long while are either Barren or bring forth Children that are Sickly and short lived The Cure is to be perform'd by the same Method and Medicines proposed in the foregoing Chapter for the cure of the Hysteric Diseases CHAP. III. Of Women that never had their Courses THE flux of the Courses is an undoubted sign that a Woman is mature yet there are some Women that never had them tho' they have had conversation with their Husbands and some of them have had Children and others not some of them have enjoyed good health and others have been sickly the cause of this defect is in general two-fold
Vomits and Sudorisicks must be deferred till the Courses are over or you must use those that are very gentle lest Nature should be hindred or diverted for if so the Blood may be unseasonably detained or may rush upon some principal part or increase the Disease But if it happen that the Womans Courses are procrastinated it is lawful to Purge for sometimes we see that Purging brings the Courses If the Disease be Chronical it is best to Purge eight days after the Courses are gon off But if the Courses come before their due time in Diseases which is the second way of complication nothing in curing Womens Diseases is so difficult and dangerous especially at the beginning of the Disease before universal Remedies have been given for at other times if we do nothing there is the less perplexity but if at the beginning you Bleed or Purge you hinder the menstruous Purgation and if you do neither the Disease increases Those things that are proper for the Disease stop the Courses and if they flow they do not relieve the Disease because they are then Symptomatical for such an evacuation is almost always pernicious at the beginning of the Disease for Nature at that time seldom promotes any useful evacuation wherefore we must diligently consider what good or hurt comes from it and from what cause the anticipation of the Courses in Diseases proceeds for in the beginning and in the increase as we said it is full of danger but in the state and declination the cruption of the Courses if they flow easily is wont to be advantageous by reason of the fitness of the Season for evacuation if it be not complicated with some other evacuations of Nature The Anticipation of the Courses proceeds from many causes but from whatever cause it come if there be a plenitude the Cure must be begun by bleeding in the Foot But if the Courses flow at their accustomed time and happen to come at the beginning of the Disease you must first wait on Nature and if after twelve hours the Flux is not or is not like to be sufficient you must bleed in the Foot to compleat the natural evacuation of the Woman and moreover you must take away so much Blood as the Disease requires for we must respect Custom and the Disease too and this may be understood of violent Diseases yet it is chiefly to be used in small ones and therefore that they should not grow to be violent you must incourage the Courses by all means by Ligatures Frictions Suppositories Glisters and other things which are sufficient to provoke the parts near the Womb and if the Disease arise from a cold cause you must give such Medicines as promote the Courses and also respect the Disease But if a Purge be necessary you must defer it till the Courses are over lest the Blood being moved and disturbed thereby greater mischief should be occasioned But if the Disease be one of the greatest as a Quinsey Frensy Plurisie or an acute Fever you must first bleed in the Foot afterwards the same day you must bleed in the Arm but in the mean while you must apply Ligatures to the Legs whilst the Blood flows and this is good Practice for the Indication of the most violent Disease is always to be respected before that Indication which is taken from the Courses and in the same manner you must proceed in the other Seasons of the Disease wherein you ought to defer Purging Vomiting and Sweat if the Disease requires them till the Courses are gone off for the Indication of the Courses is greater than the Indications of these helps unless a Sanies flow beyond the appointed time which is not to be accounted at that time to proceed from fulness and in this case an Indication for purging being urgent you may Purge The Fourth Case was when upon the Courses stopt a Disease came In this case we must first consider whether the Courses are but now stopt or whether they have been stopt a long while and moreover whether the Disease proceeds from this suppression for if it arise from hence you must without doubt bleed in the Foot first nor must we Purge Vomit or Sweat before and afterwards in the Arm if the Disease require it especially if it be four days past the accustomed time of the Courses But if the suppression be new and the Disease not urgent before you use other means you must expect a while the flowing of the Courses especially if you do not understand rightly the nature of the Disease for it is more secure the Courses being stopt to bleed in the Foot than to Purge Vomit or Sweat But if notwithstanding bleeding in the Foot the Courses flow but slowly you ought to give such Medicines as move them and it will be proper to give them before they begin if you suspect that Nature will not do the business throughly her self But if the Courses delay and the Disease grows worse thereby most affirm that the Cure must be begun by those helps which the Disease and its Cause require without respect to bleeding in the Foot But I am not of the same Opinion for in slight Diseases and in such as will bear a Truce experience has taught me that it is best to bleed in the Foot for the indication from the Courses stopt is more to be minded than a small Disease and therefore they ought to be provoked first by Ligatures Cupping-glasses Frictions and Medicines and afterwards you must provide for the Disease But if the Disease be violent as a Quinsie Pleurisie or the like then certainly those Remedies must be given which the Disease requires without consideration of the Veins of the Foot But when the Courses should come at the time of the Disease and are stopt by reason of the Disease and its Cause without doubt we ought to bleed in the Foot and to take away so much Blood as the plenitude of the Womb requires or till the Courses flow and if there be occasion we may Purge gently and not divert the Course of Nature Lastly if when the Disease is present the Courses flow by drops before their time you must proceed as in the second Case concerning the Anticipation of the Courses in Diseases Or if it happen at their due time you must treat them as in the third Case when the Courses happen with the Seasons of the Disease only the dropping of the Courses signifies a greater oppression of Nature and therefore requires larger bleeding CHAP. VIII Of the Courses coming difficulty and with violent Symptoms THis Disease is like a Dysury or adifficulty of Urine for it is accompanied with Pain and a great disturbance the Symptoms often come before the Courses and sometimes with the Courses the Blood comes by drops and is attended with violent Pain This Symptom comes upon an Obstruction of the Courses sometimes upon Solution of the Continuum an Ulcer Erosion and painful disorders in the neighbouring parts
it proceeds from a fermentation at appointed times for if a Woman feeds high and so breeds much Blood the Courses flow never the sooner tho' perhaps they may be in a greater quantity and if she use the greatest abstinence and spareness of Diet they will not be the longer before they come so that when through such effervency the Blood flows plentifully into the Vessels of the Womb and the Veins of the Womb are not able to carry it all back again by Circulation it flows out of the extremities of the Arteries so long till the too great quantity of the Blood is lessened and the fermentation ceases which it does usually after three or four days The Courses seldom flow in Women with Child and the wanting of them is their first item of having Conceived The Veins spring from the Preparantes and from the Epigastrick the Nerves from the greatest plexus of the mesentery of the Intercostal Pair and from the lowest plexus of the same and also from the Nerves of the Os Sacrum and the same run also to the Testes or Ovaria These plexus of Nerves are chiefly affected in Hysterick Fits and are Convulsive and often happen when the Womb is not at all in fault and the Ball that seems to rise from the bottom of the Belly in these Fits and to beat strongly about the Navel which is usually supposed to be the rising of the Womb is nothing but a Convulsion of these Nerves for some Men are troubled with the same Symptom The use of the Womb is to receive into its capacity the principals of the formation of the Fetus to afford it nourishment and to preserve it from injuries and at length to expel it The neck of the Womb seems to be a part of the Fundus only it is much more narrower for its cavity is no wider in Virgins than a small Quill and in Women with Child its inner orifice does either quite close its sides together or is daubed up with a slimy yellowish Humour so that nothing then can enter into the Womb. It has the same Membranes and the same Vessels with the Womb. Womens Testicles differ much from Mens their situation is within the Body on each side two fingers breadth from the bottom of the Womb to the sides whereof they are knit by a strong Ligament they are flat on the sides in their lower part oval their Superficies is more rugged and unequal than in those of Men they differ in bigness according to Age in those newly come to Maturity they are about half as big as those of Men but in such as are in Years they are less and harder tho' they sometimes grow preternaturally to a vast bigness for several Quarts of Liquor has been found contained in them in a Dropsie of the Womb they have but one Membrane that encompasses them round but on their upper side where the preparing Vessels enter them they are about half way involved in another Membrane that accompanies those Vessels and springs from the Peritoneum when this cover is removed their substance appears whitish but is wholly different from Mens Testicles for Mens are composed of Seminary Vessels which being continued to one another are twenty or thirty Ells long if they could be drawn out at length without breaking but Womens do principally consist of a great many Membranes and small Fibres loosly united to one another among which there are several little Bladders full of clear water the liquor contained in those Bladders has been always supposed by the followers of Hippocrates and Galen to be Seed stored up in them but Dr. Harvey and many Learned Physicians and Anatomists suppose these little Bladders to contain nothing of Seed but that they are truly Eggs analogous to those of Fowl and other Creatures and that the Testicles so called are not truly so nor have any such Office as those of Men but are indeed an Ovarium wherein those Eggs are nourished by the sanguinary Vessels dispersed through them and from whence one or more as they are fecundated by the Man's Seed separate and are conveyed into the Womb by the Tubae Falopianae If you boyl these Eggs their Liquor will have the same colour tast and consistency with the white of Birds Eggs and they do not want shells because they are sufficiently defended by the Womb. These Eggs in Women are commonly about the number of twenty in each Testicle whereof some are far less than others The Spermatick Vessels are of two sorts Arteries and Veins the Arteries are two as in Men. They spring from the great Artery a little below the Emulgents very rarely either of them from the Emulgent it self and pass down towards the Testes not by such a direct course as in Men but with much twirling and winding among the Veins with which they have no inosculation as has been generally said But for all their Winding when they are stretched out to their full length they are not so long as those of Men. The Veins are two arising as in Men the right from the Trunk of the Cava a little below the Emulgent and the left from the Emulgent it self but they are much shorter than in Men both the Arteries and Veins as they pass down are covered with one common Coat from the Peritoneum and near the Testes they are divided into two Branches the upper whereof is implanted into the Testicle by a Triple-root and the other is subdivided below the Testes into three twigs one of which goes to the bottom of the Womb another to the Tuba and round ligament the third creeping by the side of the Womb under its common Membrane ends in its Neck where it is Woven with the Hypogastrick Vessels like a net By this way it is that the Courses sometimes flow in Women with Child for the first Months and not out of the inner Cavity of the Womb. The use of these Spermatick Vessels is not to Minister to the Generation of Seed according to the Ancient Doctrine but to the Nutrition of the Eggs in the Ovaria or Testes according to the new and to the nourishment of the Fetus and of the solid parts and the expurgation of the Courses The carrying Vessels that go straight from the Testes to the bottom of the Womb and were supposed to emit the Seed from the Stones into the bottom of the Womb are accounted by de Graef only Ligaments of the Testicles to keep them in their place for they come not to the Inner Cavity of the VVomb The Fallopian Tubes are very slender and narrow Ducts nervous and white arising from the horns or sides of the VVomb and at a little distance from it they become larger and twist like the tendrel of a Vine till nearer their end where ceasing their winding they turn very large and seem membranous and fleshy which end is very much torn and jagged like rent Cloths and has a large Foramen which lies closed because those jaggs
with Blood she must be blooded in the Arm and if her Body is Costive the emollient Glyster mentioned above must be used and afterwards to ease the Pain they must be anointed often with Populean Ointment mixt with a few Grains of Opium For instance Take of Populean Ointment one Dram of Opium five Grains beat them well together in a Mortar and anoint the Piles with it twice or thrice a day But if the Inflammation and the swelling are much you must apply Leeches to the part affected and let her keep her Bed If the Piles bleed of themselves immoderately for if the Flux be moderate at this time the Woman being full of Blood she may be relieved thereby a cooling and thickening course of Diet must be order'd as three parts of Fountain water and one of Milk boyl'd together and drank cold roasted Apples Barly-broths and the like also thickning and cooling Juleps and Emulsions Take of the Waters of Plantain and Cinnamon hordeated each four Ounces of distilled Vinegar half an Ounce of True-bole and dragons-Dragons-blood each half a Dram of the Liquid Laudanum mentioned in the Chapter of Hysteric Fits thirty drops of Syrup of Myrtles one Ounce and an half mix them and make a Julep let her take four or five Spoonfuls every night at Bed-time Take of the four greater cold Seeds each one Dram and an half of sweet Almonds number four of the Seeds of white Poppies two Drams Plantain Water eight Ounces of red Poppy Water four Ounces of Cinnamon Water hordeated one Ounce and an half make an Emulsion to which add three Drams of pearled Sugar and half an Ounce of the Juice of Cevil Orange mingle them let her take four Ounces thrice a day Bleeding in the Arm is also proper in this case to turn the Flux If a loosness comes upon a Woman with Child and continues above five days she must use Food of easie digestion and little at a time and let her Drink be Claret Wine mixt with Water wherein Iron has been quenched and now and then Milk boyl'd with thrice the quantity of Water or the white Decoction made in the following manner Take of Calcined Harts-horn powder'd two Ounces of Fountain water two quarts boyl it till half is consumed strain it gently through a linnen rag and add to it three Ounces of Syrup of Quinces And before Meals she may eat a little Marmalade of Quinces But note that before she uses these astringents it will be convenient to purge off the ill humours with the following Potion Take of Rubarb one Dram and a half of Sena two Drams boyl them in a sufficient quantity of Water to three Ounces of strain'd Liquor add one Ounce of Syrup of Succory with Rubarb and two Drams of Cinnamon-water Let it be taken in the Morning But if the Loosness turn to the Bloody-flux the case is very dangerous and therefore after the use of the purging Potion above mention'd if the Woman has strength enough to bear it you must immediately give sixteen drops of the Liquid Laudanum so often mentioned in this Treatise in two or three Spoonfuls of Cinnamon-water hordeated or the like which must be repeated every night at bedtime and in the Morning too if the Flux continue violent and to keep up the strength four or five Spoonfuls of the following Julep may be taken often Take of the Waters of Black-cherries and Strawberries each four Ounces of Epidemic water and Compound Scordium-water and of Cinnamon-water hordeated each one Ounce of Pearls prepared one Dram and an half of Chrystaline Sugar a Sufficient quantity make a Julep The VVomans Drink in this case must be the Milk water or the white Decoction above described and when she is very weak she may take for her ordinary Drink a quart of Fountain water boyl'd with half a pint of Sack and she may eat sometimes Panada and sometimes Broth made of lean Mutton and she must be kept in Bed Moreover a Glister made of half a pint of Cows Milk and an Ounce and an half of Venice-treacle must be injected daily If the VVoman has her Courses after the fourth or fifth Month of her being with Child for some VVomen have them till the Fifth Month without any manner of prejudice to themselves or their Children you must endeavour to stop them then and before too if you suppose they slow by reason of the heat and acrimony of the Blood or the weakness of the Vessels and not from an abundance of Blood which may be known by her having her Courses much when she was not with Child To stop this Flux the VVoman must be kept in bed and forbear all things that may heat the Blood especially anger she must use a strengthening and cooling Diet feeding on Meat that breeds good blood and thickens it as Broths made of Poultry Necks of Mutton Knuckles of Veal wherein may be boyl'd cooling Herbs she may eat new lay'd Eggs Gellies Rice-milk Barly-broth and the like and Iron must be quenched in her Beer and she must forbear Copulation and the Belly must be bathed about the region of the VVomb with Tent wherein Pomegranate-peel Provence Roses and Cinnamon has been boyl'd But if the VVoman be taken with Flooding the case is extreamly hazardous and if it continues violent she must be deliver'd without delay for otherwise death will necessarily follow Yet it is to be noted that it must not be done presently as soon as the Flux is perceived because some small Floodings have been sometimes suppressed by keeping quiet in bed by bleeding in the Arm and the use of Remedies above mention'd If therefore the Blood flows but in a small quantity and continues but a little while she must not be delivered but if it flows in so great abundance that she falls into Convulsions and Faintings the Operation must not be deferred whether she has pains and throws or not And because in Floodings weakness and faintings ever follow we must endeavour to preserve that little strength the VVoman has left and to increase it if possible that so she may be able to bear the Operation to which purpose there ought to be given her from time to time good strengthening Broths Gellies and a little good VVine she must always smell to Vinegar and have a warm toast dipt in VVine and Cinnamon appli'd to the region of her heart which do her more good than solid Food and to prevent the Blood from flooding in great abundance before she can be delivered a Vein in her Arm may be open'd to turn the course of it and Napkins dipt in VVater and Vinegar may be apply'd all along her Reins If the Woman be troubled with a bearing down of the Womb her best way is to keep in Bed but if she cannot conveniently do so she must wear a broad Swaith to keep up her Belly but if the bearing down proceeds from humours that relax the Ligaments of the VVomb she must be kept to a drying Diet
and a very considerable abscess follows in which Case it must be opened just below the Swelling in the most convenient place and after the Matter is evacuated a detersive Decoction must be injected into the Cavity made of Barly-water and Oyl of Roses to which Spirit of Wine may be added if there be any danger of Corruption and afterwards the Ulcer must be Dressed according to Art Sometimes it happens that the Perineum is so rent that the Privities and the Fundament is all in one in this case having cleansed the Womb from such Excrements as may be there with Red-wine let the Rent be strongly stitched together with three or four stiches or more according to the length of the separation taking at each stich good hold of the Flesh that so it may not break out and then dress it with Linimentum Arcaei or the like claping a Plaister on and some Linnen above to prevent as much as may be the falling of the Urine and other Excrements upon it because the acrimony of them would make it smart and cause Pain and that these parts may close together with more ease let the Woman keep her Thighs close together without the least spreading until the Cure be perfected but if afterwards she happens to be with Child she will be obliged to prevent the like mischief to anoint those parts with Emollient Oyls and Oyntments and when she is in Labour she must forbear helping her Throws too strongly at once but leave Nature to perform it by degrees together with the help of a Midwife well Instructed in her Art for usually when these parts have been once rent it is very difficult to prevent the like in the following Travail because the Scar there made does straighten the parts yet more wherefore it were to be wished for greater security against the like accidents that the Woman should have no more Children CHAP. XXII Of hard Labour MAny Causes may be assigned that occasion hard Labour as the natural weakness of the Mothers Body or her Age she being too Young or too Old or it may be occasioned by Diseases that she had with her big Belly leanness or too much dryness of the Body or Fat compressing the passages of the Womb the ill conformation of the Bones encompassing the Womb as in those that are Lame may also occasion it Wind swelling the Bowels a Stone or Preternatural Tumour in the Bladder that presses the Womb may be the occasion so may the ill constitution of the Lungs or of the parts serving respiration for the holding of the Breath conduceth much to the Exclusion of the Child Various Diseases of the VVomb may also render the Delivery difficult as swellings Ulcers Obstructions and the like The hard Labour is occasioned by the Child when by reason it is Dead or Putrified or any way Diseased it cannot confer any thing to its own exclusion also when the Body or Head is too large or when there are more than one so Twins most commonly cause hard Labour or the ill situation of the Child is the cause or when the Hands or the Feet offer first or when one Hand or one Foot comes out first or when it is doubled or when the Membranes break too soon so that the VVater flows out and leaves the Orifice of the VVomb dry at the time of Exclusion or when the Membranes are too thick so that they cannot be easily broken by the Child Cold and dry Air and a North-wind are very injurious to VVomen in Labour because they bind the Body and drive the Blood and Spirits to the inner parts and they are very injurious to the Child coming from so warm a place And hot Weather dissipates the Spirits and weakens the Child Crude Nourishment and such as is difficultly concocted and binds taken in a great quantity before Labours renders it difficult the Stomach being weakned and the common passages contracted which ought to be open in this Case Drowsiness hinders the action of the Mother The unseasonable motion of the VVoman much retards the Delivery as when she refuses upon occasion to stand walk lie or sit or slings her self about unadvisedly so that the Child cannot be Born the right way being turned preposterously by the restlesness of the Mother Urine in the Bladder or Excrements in the right Gut or the Piles when they are much swell'd hinder Natures endeavours by narrowing the Neck of the VVomb Fear Sorrow Anger make the Labour difficult A Blow a Fall or a Wound may also much obstruct the Labour Want of good assistance to lift the Woman up just at the time of Delivery and an Ignorant Midwife who orders the Woman to endeavour an expulsion and to stop her breath when the ligaments of the Fetus stick firmly to the Womb so that the Woman is tired before the time of her Delivery In hard Labour Women commonly give a Spoonful or two of Cinamon-water or Cinnamon powder'd with a little Saffron or half a Dram of Confection of Alkermes in Broth or half a Scruple of Saffron alone in some Broth or every hour a lit-VVine If these things are not sufficient the following may be used which have been frequently found very effectual Take of Dittany of Creet and both the Birthworts and of Troaches of Mirrh each half a Scruple of Saffron and Cinnamon each Twelve Grains of confection of Alkermes half a Dram of Cinnamon-water half an Ounce of Orange-flower-water and of Mugwort-water each one Ounce make a Potion Oyl of Amber and of Cinnamon and extract of Saffron are very effectual in a small quantity namely five Grains of extract of Saffron four or five drops of Oyl of Cinnamon twelve or fifteen drops of Oyl of Amber in Wine Broth or some other Liquor and let the Woman take Sneesing Powder for it hastens delivery The Midwife must frequently anoint the Womb with the Oyls of Lilies or of Sweet Almonds and the Belly must be fomented with a Decoction of the Roots of Marshmallows and Lilies of the Leaves of Mallows Violets Mugwort of the Seeds of Fenugreek and Flax of the Flowers of Camomile and Melilote Sharp Glisters must be also injected to stimulate the Womb and to carry off the Excrements Anoint the Navel with Oyl of Amber If the Child begins to come forth preposterously as with one Arm or Foot the Midwife must thrust them back and turn the Child right which may be done by placing the Woman on her Back upon a Bed with her Head low and Feet high CHAP. XXIII Of a dead Child WHEN the Child is dead the motion of it ceases which either the Woman felt before in the Womb or the Midwife with her Hand a sense of weight with pain afflicts the Belly and the Child falls like a Stone from side to side the Belly feels cold the Eyes are Hollow the Face and Lips pale the extream parts cold and livid the Breasts flaccid and at length the Child putrifying stinking matter Flows from the Womb
abide in such a posture or use such endeavours as are requisite the weight of the Child whereby the Navel is broken the After-birth remaining within the unskilfulness of the Midwife who cuts the Vessels of the Navel too soon or does not hold them in her Left Hand as she ought for if she let them go they are drawn back into the Womb and are hid there with the Secundine It is easie to know when the Secundine is retained in the VVomb but sometimes a piece of it is separated and remains in the Womb which is not so easily perceived yet it may be known because the Womb after Delivery endeavours to eject something but tho its endeavours are but small a sense of heat and pain is perceived in the Womb and after a few days a cadaverous smell exhales from the Womb. The retention of the Secundine is very dangerous and if it continues some days an acute Fever Nauseousness Faintings difficulty of Breathing Coldness of the extream Parts Convulsive Fits and at length Death follows The Secundine retained is expelled by the same remedies which are proposed for a dead Child to which may be added some Specificks deliver'd by Authors Rulandus says he has given with success thirty drops of Oyl of Juniper Some order the Woman to bite an Onion three or four times and to swallow the Juice and presently after to drink a small draught of Wine The Juice of green Lovage drank in Rhenish-wine is also commended Sneesing is also good but the best way is to have it drawn out by a skilful Chyrurgeon before the Inflammation is increased If the Secundine cannot be ejected by any means but sticks firmly to the Womb and putrifies there Suppuraratives must be injected to this purpose Basilicon may be dissolved in the following Decoction Take of the Leaves of Mallows with the roots three handfuls of the roots of both the Birthworts each six Drams of Flax Seeds and Fenugreek Seeds each half an Ounce of Violets one handful of the Flowers of Camomile and the lesser Centory each half an handful make a Decoction in Water mingled with Oyl if you would have it suppurate much but to cleanse add a little Vngentum Aegyptiacum CHAP. XXVI Of the Flooding of a Woman new laid FLooding is a more dangerous accident than any other which may happen to a Woman newly laid and which dispatches her so soon if it be in a great quantity that there is not often time to prevent it wherefore in this case convenient Remedies must be speedily applied to stop it to which purpose it is fit to consider what causes the Flooding and if it be a false Conception a piece of the burthen or clodded Blood remaining behind all diligence must be used to fetch them away or to cause a speedy expulsion of them But if when nothing remains behind in the Womb the Blood notwithstanding continues to flow you must Blood in the Arm to make diversion and let her Body be laid flat and not raised that so the Blood may not be sent down to the lower Parts Let her keep her self very quiet and not turn from side to side the upper part of her Belly must not be Swathed or Bolstered and her Chamber must be kept a little cool and the Coverings of the Bed must not be many that so the Flooding may not be promoted by the heat But if notwithstanding all this the Blood flows continually the last remedies must be tryed which is to lay the Woman upon fresh Straw with a single Cloath on it and no Quilt that so her Reins may not be heated applying along her Loins Cloaths wet in cold Vinegar and Water unless it be Winter and then it must be a little warmed and to the end her strength may be preserved which is extreamly wasted let her take every half Hour a little good strong Broath with a few Spoonfuls of Gelly and between whiles the Yolk of a new laid Egg but too much Food must not be given at a time because her Stomach cannot digest it Her Drink must be Red Wine with a little Water wherein Iron has been quenched and if there is the least appearance of Excrements contained in the Guts make no Scruple to give a Glister to evacuate them But if notwithstanding the Blood continues Flooding then the Woman will often have Fainting Fits and be in great danger of losing her Life because we cannot apply in those places the Remedies fit to stop the opening of the Vessels as we can in another CHAP. XXVII Of a Suppression of the Child-bed Purgations and After-pains THE Suppression of the Lochia is one of the worst Symptoms that can befall a Woman in Child-bed especially if they happen to be totally and suddenly stopt the first three or four days which is the time they should come down plentifully To bring the Lochia well down let the Woman avoid Passion and all disturbances of the Mind which may stop them let her lie in Bed with her Head and Breast a little raised keeping her self quiet that so the Humours may be carried downwards by their natural tendency Let her observe a good Diet somewhat hot and moist and apply an Hysteric Plaster to her Navel Take of the Conserves of Roman Wormwood and Rue each one Ounce of the Troches of Myrrh two Drams of Castor English Saffron Volatile Salt of Armoniac and of Assa fetida each half a Dram with a sufficient quantity of the Syrup of the five opening Roots make an Electuary Let her take the quantity of a Large Nutmeg every third Hour drinking upon it three or four Spoonfuls of the following mixture Take of the Water of Penny royal and Balm each three Ounces of Compound Briony water two Ounces of Syrup of Mugwort three Ounces and an half of Saffron two Drams of Castor tied up in a rag and hanged in a Glass one Scruple mingle them If these things are used presently upon the Suppression they generally take it off but if they have been used so long that all the quantity is taken and the Lochia are still stopt in this case we may use Laudanum for once but it is best to mix it with Hesterick things For instance take sixteen drops of Liquid Laudanum in a Spoonful of Compound Briony or Water But it must be carfully noted that if after having once taken it the business is not done Opium must not be repeated again but having waited a while to see what it will do we must return again to Emmenagoges mixt with Hystericks and afterwards we must inject a Glister but what was said before of Opium is to be taken notice of in respect of Glisters for unless the first bring down the Lochia nothing is to be hoped for from more These things therefore being done it is safest and the duty of a prudent Physician to wait and see what time will do for if the Woman live over the twentieth day she will be in a manner out of danger
Delirium and Epilepsie of Women in Child-bed THese Diseases happen in Child-bed for want of a sufficient evacuation by reason of the fault of the Blood the Suppression of it or too great an Evacuation or by Fevers an ill Vapour rushing upon the Brain whereof Lusitanus mentions an observation of a very Beautiful Lady that presently after delivery fell Melancholy and was mad for a Month but by the use of a few Medicines recovered her Senses and I says Rodericus a Castro have often cured a Dutch Merchants Wife who was frequently distracted after delivery These Diseases are thus distinguished Melancholy is a Delirium without a Fever occasioned by a Melancholy humour possessing the Seat of the Mind Madness is more outragious and a hot Intemperies is the occasion of it whereas Melancholy proceeds from a cold Intemperies An Epilepsie is a Convulsion of all the parts of the Body not perpetual but by intervals with a depravation of Sense and Jugdment Lastly a Delirium is an alienation of the Mind and proceeds most commonly from a bilious Fever and therefore is not a Disease but a Symptom These are the general Indications if these Diseases proceed from an immoderat Flux it must be stopt the strength must be kept up and the cold and dry Intemperies must be corrected If they proceed from a Suppression of the Child-bed Purgations they must be forced if they are occasioned by a fault in the Blood they must be treated as the Melancholy of Virgins and Widows The most Grievous Symptom of these Diseases are obstinate Watching in this case apply often to the Temples the following Oxyrrhodine Take of the Waters of Roses and Plantain each four Ounces of Oyl of Roses three Ounces of Vinegar of Roses one Ounce the Powder of Red Sanders one Drachm mingle them apply it in a Rag or Populeon Oyntment mixed with Oyntment of Roses three Grains of Opium and one Scruple of Saffron or a live Pigeon cut in two may be applied hot to the Head And if these things do not do one Dram of Philonium may be given in Lettice Water and a little Wine at Bed-time Note that in an Epilepsie the Oxyrrhodine above mentioned is not so proper because it cools the Head too much and in Melancholy such things must be added to it as moisten more CHAP. XXX Of driving away the Milk of Tumors from Milk of want of Milk and of Chaps of the Nipples IF the Milk flow too freely into the Breasts a Thin and Spare Diet must be ordered and the Breasts must be often sucked to prevent the Inflammation of them and the immoderate effervescence of the Blood and if it be not thought convenient that the Woman should give suck it is customary on the first or third day of Lying in to apply over the Breasts moderately astringent Cerecloths or the Populean Oyntment and Galens cooling Cerate equally mixt and spread on Linnen some use Linnen dipt in Luke-warm Verjuice wherein a little Allom has bin dissolved that so it may be more astringent but great care must be taken in the application and change of these things that the Woman catch not the least cold as also that no Inflammation or Impostume be caused instead of driving back the Milk Wherefore things are to be applyed according to the variety of the case But the best way to drive away the Milk is the causing an ample Evacuation of the Lochia which is much further'd by keeping the Belly open with Glisters Milk is the occasion of many tumours of divers kinds The differences may be thus enumerated if the Ferment of the Breast be over active it separates the Milk with too great violence causing thereby an over Fermentation in the part which usually produces a Tumor called a Phlegmon if the Serum be hot or partakes much of Blood otherwise it raises a Tumor called an Oedema or if the matter be disposed to Coagulate the Kings Evil And these are the most frequent Species of Tumors generally reputed to arise from Milk and either of them may degenerate into a Scirrhus and that Scirrhus into a Cancer The Signs are Visible if the first happen there are all the Symptoms of a Phlegmon Heat Redness Tension Pulsation and the like if the Second large distension with pain but no heat if the Kings Evil then hard Kernels are easily felt Swellings made by the over eagerness of the milky Ferment go easily off if no other Symptom attend them Sucking and drawing the Breast for the most part discharges the Milk as fast as it can be generated and then all goes off well But if the Fermentation produce any disorder in the Blood there is more or less danger according to the quality of the Tumor produced viz. A Phlegmon is apt to occasion a Fever Oedematous Tumors are apt to grow Ulcers and sometimes Scrophulous and Scirrhous and require a long time for their Cure Because it frequently happens to Women in Child-bed that their Breasts do swell extraordinarly by reason of abundance of Milk which flows into them and occasions Inflammations Impostumations and the like therefore their Diet ought to be slender and of such a quality as may less dispose the Humours to ferment as Water-gruel Panado and the like But if the Inflammation be not violent or the Patient weak Chicken Broath may be allowed with Wood-sorrel Purslain Lettice boiled in it or a boiled Chicken a Potched Egg and such sort of Meats of easie digestion The Medicines proper to diminish the Milk are Lettice Purslain Endive Succory Smallage and the like the Seeds of wild Rue Cummin Basil powdered and given to the quantity of one Dram daily in Broath will dry up the Milk as Authors write The Milk is usually drawn out of the Breasts by the Infants sucking them But if the Child be so weak it cannot suck or does not discharge them enough some body else must do it or young Whelps may suck them or the Mother may draw her own Breasts her self by an Instrument sold for that purpose The swelling made by the Milk is restrained by the application of Night-shade Lettice Plantain Vine-tops Bramble-buds Horse-tail and the like or with the Oyl of Myrtles and Vinegar It may be discussed by the application of Mints Catmints Rue the Seeds of Fenugreek Cummin Fennel and the like or dried up by applying Cloaths dipt in Lime water or a Solution of Sacharum Saturni in the Water of Frogs Spawn during which time fine Tow may be sprinkled with Ceruss and applied to the Arm-pits But these things must be only used at the beginning of the Fluxion But if the Inflammation be gon too far towards Suppuration then it must be promoted with Suppuratives and opened by Incision or a Caustick Where the swelling has been hard and not inflamed use the following Cerat Take of the tops of Wormwood powdered two Drams of the Seeds of Fenugreek and Fennel each one Ounce and an half of the Juice of Henbane and Hemlock each
three Ounces of Oyntment of Marsh-mallows two Ounces of Ducks Fat and Goose Grease each one Ounce of Deers Suet two Ounces of Liquid Storax half an Ounce with a sufficient quantity of Wax make a Cerat Hemlock boyled in Wine and beaten up with Hogs Lard resolves the hardness of the Breasts Green Mints or Chickweed are common applications and of good use either alone or mixed with other Medicines in all the hard Swellings of the Breast occasioned by Milk All Plasters applied to the Breasts must have a hole sniped in them for the Nipples lest they be fretted by them especially that the Milk may be drawn forth whilst the Medicines lye on But it is best to prevent such Swellings at the beginning by procuring an ample and large Evacuation of the Lochia For the Chaps and Excoriations of the Niples Rags dipt in Plantain-water may be applied or the Oyntment called Diapompholigos may be used But great care must be taken that nothing be applied to disgust the Child wherefore some only use Honey of Roses But if the Excoriation and Pain be much the Woman must forbear giving the Child suck If the Child has wholly sucked off the Nipples the Milk then must be quite dried away that so the Ulcers which remain may be the sooner healed CHAP. XXXI Of want of Milk THE cause of want of Milk is a Vice of the Blood the weakness of the Body or of the Child the smallness of the Breasts the narrowness of the Vessels any immoderate Evacuation by another part as by the Mouth by the Courses by the Nostrils or by the Hemorrhoids by immoderate Cold ill Diet Fasting great Labour or Sorrow The whole Cure in a manner consists in Diet. If therefore it be occasioned for want of Blood or by a dry Intemperies from whence it chiefly proceeds it must be cured by a hot and moist Diet and the Air must be moist and moderately warm Sleep is better than immoderate Watching The Bread must be Wheaten and well fermented Goats or Sheeps Milk boil'd with Yolks of Eggs and sweetned is good so is Rice boild with Milk and Honey Potched Eggs Chicken Broath Mutton or Veal Broath or Broath of Phesants or the Flesh of them with a Sauce made of Rocket and Honey the Udders of Animals are also good Of Fishes a Trout Mullet a Salmon Soles Place Pikes and the like are good and for the second Course Sweet Almonds Raisins of the Sun Pistaches Pine Nuts Rocket Parsnips roasted under the Embers or prepared with Honey Diascorides and Avicenna commend Fennel and Smalage Lettice is also good so are Cabbage Wild Thime Leeks Rocket Fennel Let her drink be sweet Wine or White-wine or Barley water with the Seeds of Fennel or Ale wherein if you boyl Butter Sugar and Bread you 'll Scarce find a better Diet for this purpose The German Women use this for their Meat and Drink almost all the time they give suck All things that are acid acrid bitter and very hot must be avoided But if this defect proceed from heat or choler you must use cooling things and the Body must be purged according to the Nature of the Humour But if the Blood be Flegmatick and the Vessels obstructed you must open the Obstructions and attenuate the Blood therefore you must give hot things as Smallage Dill Penny-royal with Wine But you must be careful not to give things that are too hot for they dry up the Milk And as those things which Moderately provoke the Courses breed Milk so those that violently force them lessen it Blood is never to be drawn nor are strong Purges to be used But if it be necessary to use Purging by reason of the fault of the Humours the Nurse must take four days before such things as increase the Milk and such Medicines must be given as increase the Milk As Take of thee Seeds of Fennel of Leeks and Rocket each two Drams of Mace one Dram of the Leaves of Mallows half a handful boyl them in Chicken Broath and let her take six Ounces of the Broath and wash the Breasts with the Broath But if the want of Milk proceeds from the smallness of the Breasts foment them with a Decoction of Fenugreek and Camomile made in Wine or with hot Beer and Butter But if these things do not good you must chuse another Nurse but you must try all things first for change of Milk is very injurious to the Child CHAP. XXXII Of a Woman suckling her own Children and of chusing a Nurse THE Mothers Milk is fittest for the Child because it is most agreeable to it Nature Besides the Mother will be more vigilant and careful than a hired Nurse for none can love the Child so well as the own Mother who upon the account of her affection is unwearied in the attending of the Child and thinks she never does enough for it and is presently awaked by its crying whereas mercenary Nurses often overlay Children and suffocate them Moreover the Body and the disposition of the Mind are more framed by the Milk and Nourishment than by the nature of the Seed and as you often observe that the Child is purged when the Nurse is Purged so the Body and Humours are in a manner the same with hers as Trees partake of the nature of the Soil they are planted in Besides it is the duty of a Mother to nurse her own Child for those that do not are but half Mothers and to be sure cannot love them so well as those that do Upon this account a Roman Youth of the Family of the Gracchi returning Rich and Victorious from the Wars being met by his Mother and his Nurse gave his Mother a Silver Ring and his Nurse a Gold Chain whereat his Mother being offended You said he nourished me only Nine Months in the Womb and then rejected me this Woman received me into her Arms and suckled me two Years and taught me to be orderly The Water nourishes what is bred in the Water and the Earth nourishes what is bred in the Earth Nor is there any Beast so cruel as not to nourish its young ones Tygers Lions and Vipers take care of their young ones and only Man makes Foundlings of his Oh! incredible and execrable Villany what can be more cruel than to expose a tender Infant that implores his Mothers help as soon as possibly she can get rid of it But God in his Providence often punishes their Inhumanity for their Milk often curdles in their Breast and occasions dreadful pains so that those Breasts which were denied their Children are forced to be suckt by Puppies nor is this all for their Breasts are often Inflamed and Suppurated and must be cut with Knives or burnt with red hot Irons or becoming Cancerous the rotten Flesh drops from them piece-meal But some will object in their excuse that they are either too young or too weak yet without doubt if they are able to Conceive they may Suckle too
the first is common to the whole Body namely because a Woman is fleshy laborious and her parts are so disposed that every Member takes up and expels what is convenient for it so that there is no room for a menstruous purgation these are of a hot Constitution and such as are termed Virago's they are of a brown Colour of a compact Body and their Loins and Buttocks are large so are the Breasts and Shoulders they have a great voice are strong and hairy and this Constitution tho' it be the reason that Women are in health yet it is contrary to their Sex and the Course of Nature and therefore to be accounted vitious But other Women are sickly upon this account If this Disease proceed from an hot Intemperies of the Womb it may be known by a great pain in the part and by the heat of the whole Belly a dry Imtemperies may be known by long Fevers going before and a thin habit of Body but in time they grow Gross and Cachectical by reason of the want of this evacuation If it proceed from an ill Formation there are swellings of the Belly pain and a weight If it arise from a hot Intemperies as it doth most commonly it must be Cured by four kinds of Remedies first by cooling Diet they must eat Chicken Veal or the Broth wherein hath been boiled cooling Herbs as Endive Sorrel Lettice Spinage and the like Oranges are also good and roasted Apples and stewed Prunes their Drink must be small Beer their Sleep and Exercise must be moderate for violent Exercise and frequent walking are plainly injurious and so are disturbances of the Mind Secondly they must Bleed twice or thrice a Year in the Foot and for some days they must take such things as are proper to qualifie the hot and bilious Humours as the waters and syrups of Purslain Succory Endive Violets and the like and let them be Purged with the following Medicines Take of the best Rhubarb two Scruples infuse it a whole night in four ounces of Endive water strain it in the morning and add to it an ounce of Manna or of the pulp of Cassia and an ounce of syrup of Roses solutive Thirdly let them use such things as leisurely attemperate the heat of the Humours and Part as Conserve of Roses or of Violets with Endive-water or a Ptisan before Meals or Goats-milk in the morning with the flowers of Violets and Borrage But the use of Cooling Apozems is much praised in this Case Take of cleansed Barly three pugils of the Roots of Borrage and Succory each Ounce of the leaves of Burrage Succory Endive Fumitory and Sorrel each one Handfull of the Cordial Flowers and of the Cold Seeds each one Pugil of Anniseeds one Dram of Prunes Twelve of Raisons one Ounce Boyl them in a sufficient quantity of Water to one Pint and an Half to the strained Liquor add a sufficient quantity of Sugar make a clear Apozem aromatize it with a Drachm of the Species of the three Sanders But if you intend to have it Purge a little add towards the latter end the Leaves of Senna and of the Pulp of Tamarinds each one Ounce and after it is boyled three Ounces of Syrup of Roses solutive or of Succory with Rhubarb Fourthly Topicks must be applied to the lower part of the Belly Take of Oyl of sweet Almonds washed with the Waters of Barly Gourds and Roses each a like quantity one Drachm of Hens-fat Butter and Goats-milk each half an Ounce of the Juice of Gourds Endive or Violets each six Drachms with Wax make a Liniment Oyntment or Plaister as the Woman likes best But it will do most good if the Part be Fomented before with a Decoction of Lettice Violets Marsh-mallows Fumitory Mallows and the like and to open the Passages add the Leaves of Maiden-hair Mercury and Mugwort a Bath may be also made of these Night Glisters also wonderfully Cool the Womb and the whole Body Take of Chicken-broath altered with the foresaid Herbs six Ounces of the Oyl of Sweet-almonds and Violets each two Ounces of Suggar one Ounce Yolks of Eggs two mingle them let it be retained if she can all the Night and when the Heat is very much stuff the Chicken for this Decoction with Conserve of Roses If the Disease proceed from Dryness it must be Cured with moistning Meats of good Nourishment and with Drinks and the Woman must walk often but not so much as to tire her self and Frictions must be used above the region of the Womb that the parts may be dilated so that the menstruous Blood may be allured to the Womb. Baths are also proper and Oyntments made of mucilages of the Seeds of Psyllium and Quinces and the like and Glysters also do good Take of the Decoction of Marsh-mallows Mallows and Violets six Ounces of fresh Butter three Ounces mingle them make a Glyster But all Evacuations must be avoided for they increase the Dryness If the Disease proceeds from an ill Formation Medicines are most commonly unprofitable and therefore you must endeavour to lessen the Blood if it abound or to divert it another way therefore you must Bleed three or four times a Year in the Arm or in the Foot if Blood seem to abound in the Womb. But if the strength of the Woman cannot bear Bleeding then she must use a thin Diet and frequent Exercise and Frictions all over the Body especially early in the Morning for so the Blood may be turned from the Inner Parts to the Outward and part of it discussed Baths moderately hot are also good and these things may be sufficient for Married Women which by conversation with their Husbands are somewhat discharged but they will not be sufficient for Maids and Widows and therefore it will be necessary to provoke the Hemorrhoids or to open Issues But if the Disease proceed from obstinate Obstructions it must be treated as is proposed in the Chapter of the Suppression of the Courses CHAP. IV. Of the Courses breaking out by places not Natural THE Menstruous Flux happens to break out by contrary wayes upon two accounts for either Nature providing for the safety of the Womans Body when she knows there is any Impediment in the Womb and the Veins of it that hinder the Blood from passing seeks another passage whereby she may be unburthened and the health of the Woman preserved or forgetting the Natural passages she either accustoms her self to another or wandring about she sometimes uses this passage sometimes that for in some the menstruous Blood is discharged by the Mouth in others through the Nostrils by the Eyes and Bloody Tears by the Dugs and Piles also by the Fingers and Urine and sometimes by a Redness in one of the Cheeks and if there be an Impediment in the Womb that hinders the passage of the Blood that way it is better it should flow these ways than not at all for so says Hippocrates Menstruis deficientibus sanguinem e
Member the more closely It s outward end is like the Glans of a Men's Yard and as the Glans in Men is the seat of the greatest pleasure in Copulation so is this in Women There is as it were a hole in it tho indeed there is really no such thing most of it is covered with a thin Membrane from the Conjunction of the Nymphs It has two pair of Muscles the upper are round and spring from the bones of the Hip these by straitening the roots of the Nervous Bodies that arise on each side from the bunching of the Os Ischium detain the Blood and Spirits in them and so erect the Clitoris even as those in Men do the Virile Member the other rise from the Sphincter of the Fundament and these serve to straiten and narrow the Orifice of the Sheath It has Veins and Arteries and Nerves which are somewhat large In some Eastern Countries the Clitoris is wont to be so large that for its deformity and the hindrance it causes in Copulation they used to cut it quite out or to sear it to hinder its growth The Sheath is so call'd because it receives the Virile Member like a sheath it is soft and loose uneven and wrinkly of a nervous but somewhat spongy Substance which is puft up in Copulation to embrace the Yard the better It s about seven fingers breadth long and as wide as the strait Gut but the length and width differ in respect of Age and as the Woman is more or less provoked to Copulation The wrinkles are much more numerous and close in Virgins than in those that have Born many Children and in Whores that use frequent Copulation and in Women that have had the Whites a long while It has very many Arteries and Veins some whereof inosculate one with another and others not By the Arteries that open into it the Courses sometimes flow in Women with Child that are full of Blood These Vessels bring plenty of Blood to it in Copulation which by heating and puffing up the Sheath increases the pleasure and hinders the Man's Seed from cooling before it is conveyed to the Womb. All along the Sheath there are abundance of Pores from whence a thin Humour always flows especially in Copulation and increases the pleasure of the Woman and is that which is supposed to be her Seed Near its outer end under the Nymphs in its upper part it receives the Neck of the Bladder In Virgins its passage is so narrow that at their first Conversation with a Man they have commonly more pain than pleasure by reason of the extension of it by the Virile Member which breaks some small Vessels from whence Blood issues The Hymen is a thin nervous Membrane interwoven with fleshy Fibres and endowed with many little Arteries and Veins behind the insertion of the Neck of the Bladder with a hole in the midst that will admit the top of ones little finger whereby the Courses flow it is also called the Girdle of Chastity But it is broken and bleeds at the first Copulation and never closes again But tho' a Man when he finds these signs of Virginity may certainly conclude he has Married a Maid yet if they are wanting it does not necessarily follow that Virginity is wanting for the Hymen may be corroded by sharp Humours flowing through it with the Courses and from other Causes or if a Maid be so indiscreet as to become a Bride while her Courses flow or within a Day after then the Hymen and the wrinkled Membrane of the Sheath are so relaxed that the Virile Member may enter without any obstruction and so give suspition of Unchastity when there is really no occasion for it Sometimes in old Maids the Hymen is so strong that it cannot be penetrated without difficulty and in some it is naturally quite closed up and so their Courses are stopt which much endangers their Life if it be not opened with a Chirurgical Instrument The Myrtle-berry Caruncles lie close to the Hymen the largest of 'em is uppermost standing just at the Mouth of the passage of the Urine which it shuts after making water opposite to this at the bottom of the Sheath there is another and in each side one But of these there is only the first in Maids the other three being made by the broken Hymen These three when the Sheath is extended disappear in Labour and cannot be seen till the Sheath is contracted to its natural straitness The Sheath near its outer Orifice has a Sphincter Muscle about three fingers broad that contracts it as the case requires and therefore Men and Women need not doubt but that their Genitals will be proportionable for the Sheath is so artificially made that it can suit with every Penis The Womb is seated in the lowest part of the Belly betwixt the Bladder and straight Gut its hindmost part is loose that it may be extended as the Child increases but its sides are tied fast by two pair of Ligaments It s substance is whitish nervous and compact in Virgins but a little spongy and soft in Women with Child It has two Membranes the outer is strong and double arising from the Peritoneum the inner being proper is Fibrous and more Porous Betwixt these Membranes there is a certain fleshy and fibrous contexture which in Women with Child together with the said Membranes imbibes so much of the nutritious Humours that then flow thither that the more the Child increases the more fleshy fibrous and thick does the Womb grow so that in the last months it is an inch thick and some times two fingers breadth tho' it be extended to so much greater compass than it has when a Woman is not with Child and yet within three weeks after Delivery it is as thin as before and contracts so wonderfully that it may be held in ones hand In Virgins it is about two fingers breadth broad and three long in those that have Copulated it is a little bigger it is like a Pear only a little flattish above and below but in Women with Child it becomes more round In Maids its cavity is so small that it will hardly contain a large Hazel-nut it is divided be a Line that goes length-ways much like that in a Man's Cod. Its Arteries spring partly from the Spermatick and Hypogastrick they run along the Womb bending and winding that they may be extended without danger of breaking when the Womb is stretched with the Child The monthly Courses flow by these Arteries in greatest quantity into the Womb it self But in less quantity by the Branches that open into the Neck of the Womb and a small quantity of the Courses come out of the Sheath It is much disputed what is the reason of the Courses whether they flow by reason of too great quantity of Blood or whether at set times there is also a fermentation of the Blood which opens the orifices of the Arteries But it is most probable that