ced by, or frequently follows, mental depression, the
breathing of impure air, the stooping position in standing or sitting,
and the restriction of the movements of the ribs and diaphragm.

3d. Persons asphyxiated by carbonic acid, water, strangling, or any
noxious air, after resuscitation, are usually affected with coughs and
other diseases of the lungs.

537. COLDS and COUGHS are generally induced by a chill, that produces
a contraction of the blood-vessels of the skin; and the waste
material, which should be carried from the body by the agency of the
vessels of this membrane, is retained in the system, and a great
portion of it is returned to the mucous membrane of the lungs. For
such is the harmony established by the Creator, that if the function
of any portion of the body is deranged, those organs whose offices are
similar take on an increased action.

538. The waste material, that should have passed through the many
outlets of the skin, creates an unusual fulness of the minute vessels
that nourish the mucous membrane of the bronchia; this induces an
irritation of these vessels, which increases the flow of blood to the
nutrient arteries of the lungs. There is, also, a thickening of the
lining membrane of the lungs, caused by the repletion of the bronchial
vessels of the mucous membrane; this impedes the passage of air
through the small bronchial tubes, and consequently the air-vesicles
cannot impart a sufficient quantity of oxygen to purify the blood, and
this fluid, imperfectly purified, does not pass with facility through
the lungs. An additional obstacle to the free passage of air into the
lungs, is the accumulation of blood in the pulmonary vessels.

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What is one of the precursory symptoms of consumption? How is this
condition frequently produced? What diseases usually follow asphyxia
by carbonic acid, water, strangling, &c.? 537. How are colds generally
induced? 538. What effect has a common cold upon the mucous membrane
of the lungs?

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539. As colds and coughs are very generally treated by the "matrons"
of the community, or by the patient, the following suggestions may aid
in directing a proper treatment: To effect a speedy cure, it is
necessary to diminish the amount of fluid in the vessels of the lungs.
This can be effected in two ways: 1st. By diminishing the quantity of
blood in the system; 2d. By diverting it from the lungs to the skin.
The f