e groin, or a boil on the neck, the affected area may be
rendered hyperaemic by an appropriately shaped glass bell applied over it
and exhausted by means of a suction-pump, the rarefaction of the air in
the bell determining a flow of blood into the tissues enclosed within it
(Figs. 7 and 8). The edge of the bell is smeared with vaseline, and the
suction applied for from five to ten minutes at a time, with a
corresponding interval between the applications. Each sitting lasts for
from half an hour to an hour, and the treatment may be carried out once
or twice a day according to circumstances. This apparatus acts in the
same way as the old-fashioned _dry cup_, and is more convenient and
equally efficacious.

[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Passive Hyperaemia induced by Klapp's Suction
Bell for Inflammation of Inguinal Gland.]

_Active hyperaemia_ is induced by the local application of heat,
particularly by means of hot air. It has not proved so useful in acute
inflammation as passive hyperaemia, but is of great value in hastening
the absorption of inflammatory products and in overcoming adhesions and
stiffness in tendons and joints.

_General Treatment._--The patient should be kept at rest, preferably in
bed, to diminish the general tissue waste; and the diet should be
restricted to fluids, such as milk, beef-tea, meat juices or gruel, and
these may be rendered more easily assimilable by artificial digestion if
necessary. To counteract the general effect of toxins absorbed into
the circulation, specific antitoxic sera are employed in certain forms
of infection, such as diphtheria, streptococcal septicaemia, and tetanus.
In other forms of infection, vaccines are employed to increase the
opsonic power of the blood. When such means are not available, the
circulating toxins may to some extent be diluted by giving plenty of
bland fluids by the mouth or normal salt solution by the rectum.

The elimination of the toxins is promoted by securing free action of the
emunctories. A saline purge, such as half an ounce of sulphate of
magnesium in a small quantity of water, ensures a free evacuation of the
bowels. The kidneys are flushed by such diluent drinks as equal parts of
milk and lime water, or milk with a dram of liquor calcis saccharatus
added to each tumblerful. Barley-water and "Imperial drink," which
consists of a dram and a half of cream of tartar added to a pint of
boiling water and sweetened with sugar after cooling, are also u