INJECTION, OR INJECTING, in surgery, the throwing in some liquor or medicine into a vein opened by incision. This practice, and that of transfusion, or the conveying the arterial blood of one man, or other animal, into another, were once greatly practised, but are now laid aside.
The method of injecting is this: A vein is to be opened in the arm with a lancet as in bleeding, and the small pipe of a syringe being introduced at the orifice, the liquor intended to be mixed with the blood, and contained for that purpose in the body of the syringe, is to be forcibly injected, or thrown into the vein upwards, or toward the heart; which done, the orifice is to be secured with compresses and bandage, as in bleeding.
The bold experiment of injecting medicated liquors into the human veins was first made in the hospital at Dantzick. One of the patients was a lusty robust soldier dangerously infected with the venereal disease, so that he had exostoses on the bones of his arms. While the liquor, (two drachms of a laxative medicine,) was passing into the vein of his arms, he complained of great pain in his elbows, and the valves of the vein swelled so visibly, that it was necessary to stroke them up with a finger towards the patient's shoulders. In four hours after, it began to operate by stool, and continued to do so till next day; so that the patient had in all five stools from it. The disease disappeared without any other remedy.
A married woman of 35 years of age, and a young woman of 20, had both been so grievously afflicted with epileptic fits from their infancy, that little or no hope could be entertained of their cure. Both of them underwent this singular treatment: into their veins were injected a laxative rosin dissolved in an antiepileptic spirit; but what the rosin and spirit were, we are not told. The married woman had several gentle stools some hours after the injection, and also next day; soon after which the disease vanished; the young woman, it is said, cast herself away by going into the air, catching cold, and not observing any diet. It was remarked that all the three patients vomited frequently and severely soon after the injection.
Whether this practice of injecting proper medicines into the blood may not be found of use in apoplexies, quinsies, hydrophobia, &c. is worthy to be tried by repeated experiments. The method of injecting liquors into the blood of living animals is said to be the invention of Sir Christopher Wren. His method was by making ligatures on the veins, and opening them on the side of the ligature towards the heart; then putting into them small syringes or quills fastened to bladders, in the manner of clyster-pipes, containing the matter to be injected. Mr Boyle soon made the experiment upon dogs with infusions of opium and crocus metallorum; all which he circumstantially described in his Usefulness of Experimental Philosophy, part ii. cff. 2.
The ingenious Dr Hales made a variety of experiments of this kind on different animals.
Many disorders of particular parts are noway curable, unless the parts affected are injected with a proper liquor, by means of a syringe and proper tube. The method of performing this is too obvious to need any directions; but these general cautions are necessary.
Injection
Kalmia. fary in regard to it, that the syringe or tube be applied tenderly and carefully to the parts, especially in very sensible or nervous parts, to avoid giving the patient any pain; and that the liquor to be injected be neither too hot nor too cold.
In ulcerations and inflammations of the uvula, tonsils, and fauces, injections are generally useful: but care must be taken to press down the tongue with a spatula, or with the flat end of a spoon; and having introduced the syringe two or three fingers breadth into the mouth, the injection is to be carefully and gently thrown in at several times. In gonorrhœas, injections are often necessary, to allay the heat and soreness of the urethra, and to wash out the matter. The safest and best injections on this occasion are warm milk and barley-water, sweetened with sugar, honey, or syrup of marshmallows; and towards the end a little saccharum saturni, dissolved in plantane-water.