Part 6
Several reasons have induced me to prefer the medical administration of Galvanism by means of the pile, to that of artificial electricity. In regard to the action of the common electric machine, the difficulty of calling it forth properly during damp weather; the time required for exciting it; the necessity of charging the jar every time it is applied to the patient, are so many obstacles which render the administration of common electricity inconvenient; and on this account it is now much less used than formerly. On the other hand the pile, according to the observations which I have had an opportunity of making, acts in a uniform manner; is not sensible to the effects of moisture; and forms a sort of Leyden flask, which has a continued action that may be a long time employed. It may be considered as an apparatus, which in itself contains a series of jars charged in succession with different degrees of electricity.
I might here enumerate many differences which are found between the administration of Galvanism and that of electricity. If electricity be administered to a patient directly from the conductor, he receives very little of its action; if a shock be given with the Leyden flask, the action is exceedingly strong, but not permanent. On the other hand, the pile has a strong and continued action, and occasions a powerful circulation of the Galvanic matter, which after some time produces very striking effects on the animal fluids. I might here refer, by way of example, to the experiments made with Galvanism on the blood, the bile, and the urine, which gave results I was never able to obtain by common electricity. I shall mention, in the last place, the great convenience of the pile, and the short space of time in which Galvanism may be administered by it to a great number of persons; and this advantage is sufficient, cæteris paribus, to render it preferable in this respect to common electricity.
SECTION II.
_Application of Galvanism to the organs of hearing and of sight._
By applying Galvanism to different parts of the face, a flash of light is excited in the eyes, which is stronger or weaker according to the nature of the parts to which it is directed. These organs, though delicate, are always affected in such a manner that the mechanism of the eye sustains no injury from the metallic arcs when they are made to communicate with only two plates of different metals. I received an account of this phænomenon at Milan, several years ago, from the celebrated Volta, who produced it by applying a conductor of zinc in such a manner, that one end of it touched the bulb of the eye, and the other the tip of the tongue armed with a plate of tin. In administering Galvanism for diseases of the eyes, it is much better to employ the pile. To excite the appearance of a flash of light, it is not necessary that the eyes should be open; it takes place even if they are shut, and covered with a bandage in a darkened apartment. Some of the partisans of Euler, perhaps, may here maintain, that this phænomenon of Galvanism is a deception, and that no light can be really excited in such cases, as the production of light depends on the emanation of rays from a luminous body which penetrate into the interior part of the eye. But without entering into the examination of this question, which is foreign to my principal object, I shall only observe, that long before the theory of Galvanism was known, the celebrated Darwin had found that when the eyes are shut, there are certain internal stimulants which are capable of producing the appearance of light and of colours.
In no case is the difference between Galvanism and electricity more apparent than in the application of the former to the sight. Very little benefit had been obtained by means of a metallic point inclosed in a glass tube, which directed the electric charge from a jar to the cornea; and besides, the shock of a Leyden jar applied directly to so delicate an organ as the eye could not but be attended with danger. Galvanism applied to the exterior part of the eye, in the same place where a stream of electricity would have had no influence whatever, has always produced a certain effect on the organ of sight, as is proved by the following experiments.
EXPERIMENT I.
If you touch with one hand the bottom of the pile, and at the same time apply to the summit different parts of the face moistened with salt water, a flash of light will be excited in the eyes. The same result will be obtained, if instead of touching the bottom of the pile with the hand you touch it with the sole of your foot. No flash of light is observed when the Leyden flask is employed in the same manner.
EXPERIMENT II.
Having observed the preceding phænomenon in myself, and excited it in others, I was desirous of proving it in regard to several persons at the same time during the course of my public lectures, and for that purpose I made use of the following apparatus. I arranged two metallic plates in a horizontal position, at the distance of nine inches from each other, so that six persons with their hands dipped in salt water could touch the lower plate, and the upper one with the tips of their tongue. A charged Leyden flask placed between the two plates being then discharged, the whole of the persons experienced a violent shock, but perceived no flash of light. It is well known however that, when a similar arc is formed with the interposition of a very strong pile, a flash of light is constantly observed; though the force in the second case is much less than that excited by the explosion of the Leyden flask. The same result will be obtained by bringing the upper plate into contact with the nose.
EXPERIMENT III.
As my pupils took much interest in this research, some of them suspected that the light of the apartment might perhaps have effaced that excited by the electricity. I therefore made the apartment entirely dark; and one of them taking a Leyden flask applied it to the point of the nose of another person with whom he was in communication, by laying hold of him with the other hand. By these means a very strong shock was given, but no flash of light was observed. This experiment was repeated, making the person who received the shock of the Leyden flask to remain some time before in the dark, that his eyes might be better enabled to perceive any faint light that might be excited: but the result was still the same. To those who refer Galvanism to the common laws of electricity, it will be difficult to comprehend the cause of the different action exercised by the latter on the organ of sight. But as it is not my intention at present to enter into any discussion on this subject, I shall leave it to philosophers to assign a reason for this phænomenon, and only observe, that the properties above indicated will be sufficient to authorize medical practitioners to prefer, in certain cases, the administration of Galvanism by the pile to that of common electricity.
Before I proceed directly to the medical administration of Galvanism to the organ of sight, I think it necessary to distinguish four classes of blind persons whose cases ought to be considered separately.
The first belongs to those who from their birth have been deprived of the valuable blessing of sight.
The second comprehends those become blind in consequence of some great læsion, or some derangement in the solids or in the fluids which constitute the mechanism of the eye.
The third, those who have become blind by some morbid action, though the mechanism of the eye has been little affected, and though no impediment has occurred but in regard to the action of the optic nerve.
The fourth class comprehends those who, though not actually deprived of sight, have it much weakened in consequence of disease, or of some other cause.
The administration of Galvanism does not hold forth much hope of a cure to persons belonging to the first two classes. I however resolved to attempt some experiments on this subject at Bologna; but though there were a great many blind in that city, I found that they had become so by the malignant influence of the small pox. This observation will, I hope, be of service to the pursuits of the celebrated Dr. Jenner, and of all those who exert themselves to promote the beneficial practice of vaccine inoculation.
Being deprived, at Bologna, of any opportunity of trying the effects of Galvanism in cases of persons born blind, I galvanised several who had lost their sight at a very early age. I first applied the Galvanism to the arms of five blind persons, some of whom had lost their sight thirty, and others forty years and even more. By this method they were familiarised with the idea of its mechanical action, and learned to distinguish it from every other sensation. I then applied Galvanism to the lips, and to the tip of the nose, in a darkened apartment; but in three instances only the patients had a real perception of light, to which they had been so long strangers. I then applied it to cases of amaurosis, and at first had confident expectation of effecting a perfect cure. One of my patients was a woman, whom this disorder had deprived of the sight of one eye, while that of the other was much weakened. After administering the Galvanism different ways, I observed that the eye totally blind began to have a perception of light, and that the sight of the one which was weakened became much stronger. I then took a book, which I held at a considerable distance from her; and removing it gradually further as the Galvanism was administered, I observed, in consequence of this method, that the patient’s sight daily improved. But I must freely confess that the success obtained, though at first flattering, was not of long duration; and that when the Galvanism was discontinued a great deal of the benefit which had been obtained was again lost. On this account, I was discouraged from administering Galvanism any more in such cases. I am however of opinion, that by varying the method of administration it may be attended with some utility. I shall here observe, that having once had occasion to administer common electricity in a similar case of amaurosis, I was never able to excite the perception of a flash in the eyes of the patient, though the electricity was applied directly to the eye itself.
I have had few opportunities of applying Galvanism in diseases of the organs of hearing. Besides, I thought it almost needless to try a method which had been already brought to a state of perfection by some of the most celebrated professors of Germany and Berlin. I admired in particular a very ingenious machine, invented for that purpose by a German philosopher, and lately constructed in England by Mr. John Cuthbertson, an eminent philosophical and mathematical instrument maker, and celebrated for having constructed the large electrical machine of Harlem. The apparatus consists of a metal lever, which by means of certain wheels and machinery rises and falls every minute or second, and at each time of falling forms a communication between certain parts of the patient and the pile. In consequence of this arrangement, the interrupted action of the Galvanism is renewed every time that the communication between the patient and the pile is re-established. Before my departure from London, I made several changes and improvements in the usual construction of this apparatus, in order to give it as much simplicity as possible. The following is the manner in which I caused it to be constructed lately for my own use. One extremity of the lever which forms the communication (Plate III. fig. 1.), is fixed to the base or negative end of the pile, and the other terminates in a small hammer, so placed as to strike a bell, which by means of a bason of water is in communication with certain parts of the patient, while an arc extends from the patient to the summit or positive end of the pile. In consequence of this arrangement, every time that the small hammer strikes the bell the Galvanic action of the pile is repeated. In cases of deafness, I cause the patient to hold in one hand an insulated metallic arc, one end of which is brought into contact with the affected ear, and the other with the positive end of the pile; and to immerse the other hand in a bason of salt water placed above the bell. When this disposition has been made, the wheel-work is turned round, which gives motion to the lever; and every time that the hammer strikes the bell, a communication is formed between the positive and negative ends of the pile: consequently there will then be a circulation of the fluid, and the Galvanism will exercise a direct action on the organ of hearing. The apparatus, constructed in this manner, appears to me to be reduced to great simplicity: and therefore I propose to extend the use of it, by employing it to administer medical Galvanism to other diseased parts of the body.
Before I conclude this article, I must suggest a hint respecting the application of Galvanism to diseases of the teeth, founded on information communicated to me on this subject by Mr. Fowler, an eminent dentist of London. When the caries is concealed from the sight, Mr. Fowler employs the following method to discover the affected tooth. He first insulates the patient; and having put into his hand the electric chain, he applies a small piece of wire to the _dens sapientiæ_, drawing it gradually over its surface: he then applies it to the next tooth, repeating the operation, and proceeds in like manner with the rest till he comes to the diseased tooth, which discovers itself by a violent pain producing an involuntary commotion in the body. It is always remarked, that when this tooth is extracted it exhibits a carious part not before visible. This method, therefore, is of great importance, as it frequently happens in such cases that the dentist, not being able to distinguish the diseased tooth from the rest, is obliged to draw some that are sound before he can discover it.
SECTION III.
_Application of Galvanism in cases of asphyxia and drowning._
I mentioned in the second part of this work the great influence which Galvanism has in cases of asphyxia, and the preference which ought to be given to it in comparison of other stimulants. Though the observations offered in that part are sufficient to prove my proposition, I shall add to them the following experiments:
EXPERIMENT I.
Some dogs and cats were immersed in a large pond till they gave no external signs of respiration, or of muscular motion; and Galvanism being immediately administered to them, according to the methods already described, they were sometimes restored to life. I make use of the term ‘sometimes,’ because, if animals are immersed in water for a longer period than their organization can bear, and if the vital powers are really destroyed, it is evident that it will be impossible to restore them to life by any physical process whatever. I obtained the same results from to animals thrown into a state of asphyxia in different ways.
EXPERIMENT II.
Having applied Galvanism to the trunk of a dog, in the _Hôpital de la Charité_ at Paris, air seemed to escape from the tracheal artery on every application of the arc. Being requested to repeat and confirm this interesting experiment, I found myself under the necessity of sacrificing a new victim to my Galvanic researches. As it was necessary to examine the phænomenon while the body was in that state of vitality most proper for the observation, I exposed the trunk of another dog recently killed to the Galvanic action; and having placed a taper near to the tracheal artery, it was extinguished twice in succession by two applications of Galvanism. By repeating this experiment, in Mr. Wilson’s anatomical theatre, Great Windmill-street, and in the theatres of Guy’s and St. Thomas’s Hospital, London, I found that the taper could be extinguished a greater number of times.
These experiments give me sufficient reason to hope that Galvanism may be administered with some advantage in cases of drowning. But as I never had an opportunity of trying the effects of this stimulant in such cases, I have requested several medical practitioners to pay attention to this application of Galvanism, which may be of the utmost importance to the cause of humanity. I have already mentioned that the method which I propose is exceedingly simple; that no anatomical operation whatever is required; that it is attended with no danger; and that the possibility of saving the life is in every case respected. Nothing is necessary but to immerse in salt water one of the hands of the person subjected to the operation, and then to apply the Galvanic current to one of the ears and to the surface of the salt water.
Dr. Lettsom, a very zealous member of the Humane Society, having been present at some of my experiments, I requested that he would recommend the application of Galvanism in cases of drowning. He assured me that he would use his endeavours to cause my method to be tried, and I had several conferences with him on the subject, that I might communicate to him such information as might tend to facilitate the application of it. As the Galvanism in such cases ought to be administered with great promptitude, we agreed that the apparatus of the trough is preferable to that of the pile; and we contrived the plan of a portable box to contain a trough, two arcs, and a solution of common salt. Such an apparatus will be exceedingly convenient, and may easily be employed in all cases of drowning and of asphyxia.
SECTION IV.
_Galvanism applied to the cure of melancholy madness._
Hospitals for lunatics present a spectacle which must excite compassion in every breast not void of humanity, as they are in general crowded with unfortunate beings, useless to themselves and dangerous to others; while little hope is left of their being ever restored to society. This is the case in particular with persons subject to melancholy madness; on some of whom I tried last year the effects of Galvanism. In consequence of a long series of painful and disagreeable experiments made on myself, I was induced to entertain great hopes from this remedy. I applied it to my ears and to different parts of the head, in order that I might form a just estimation of its power and influence on the brain. It is well known that the strength and energy of the operations of the mind depend on the state of the functions of the brain. It is well known also, that a violent fall, or strong impression on the head, has often occasioned great variations in the intellectual faculties. By such accidents some have entirely lost the power of imagination; while, on the other hand, some have acquired very great talents, or emerged from a state of complete stupidity. These considerations gave me reason to hope that the power of Galvanism might perhaps be able to produce a salutary change in the brain in cases of melancholy madness. I communicated my thoughts on this subject to the physicians who superintend the hospital for lunatics at Bologna. They approved of my ideas, and gave me every assistance in their power to enable me to prosecute my researches. In their presence, and under their direction, I administered Galvanism to several lunatics, applying it different ways; and the result was the complete cure of two who had laboured under melancholy madness. As the method I followed in both cases was nearly the same, I shall here give a description of it, as it may serve as a general rule for the administration of this remedy under similar circumstances.
Louis Lanzarini, of a phlegmatic temperament, twenty-seven years of age, and a farmer by profession, fell into a state of deep melancholy, which first announced itself by an attack of fever; in consequence of which he was conveyed to the public hospital of St. Ursula on the 17th of May 1801. When he arrived there, he began to complain of the treatment he had received, and to show great uneasiness; by which means his melancholy increased so much, that it at length degenerated into real stupidity. While in this state, Professors Gentilli and Palazzi were so kind as to allow me to administer Galvanism to him; which I did in the presence of these physicians, and of several medical students who attended the hospital.