Part 4

Another diuersitie there is, in the order of these fits: for somtimes they keep due periods or circuits yearly or monthly, according to the falling sicknes, and sometime euery weeke, sometimes euery day, &c. I know a gentlewomã in this towne, who for 2. yeares together neuer missed a fit of the Mother in the afternoone. The like is hereafter mentioned in the Essex gentlewo. who for 16. years altogether had euery day a fit of the Mother at a certaine houre. D. Argent and I had another patient, in whome for 10. weeks together we obserued a fit of the mother euery saturday. I adde by consent of the Mother to distinguish those Symptoms or diseases from such as are caused originally by the part affected. For being procured but by consent, they endure no longer thẽ the fits of the mother do continue. The consent or communitie by which the matrix hath with those principal parts of the body is easily perceiued, if wee consider the anatomy of that part, & the diuers waies whereby it may and doth communicate with them. The fũctions of this part, besides that which is commõ to all other for their nutriment deriued from the naturall facultie, are 2. the one respecting the preseruatiõ of the whole body, as it is an Emunctory of diuers superfluities which do abound in that sex. The other for the propagation of mankind, where it is to be conceiued and nourished vntill it be able to appeare in the world. In regard of these offices this part hath neede of great varietie of prouision, according as the vses are manifold. The substance is neruous, for the great necessitie it hath of sence and motion.

**Ætius lib. 26. cap. 70

P. Agineta. lib. 3. cap. 71.

Rhasis cont. lib. 22. mesue sum. 4. part. 4. sect. 1 cap. 8._

**Auicen Fen. 213. cap. 16. tract 4. quandoque sunt period. eius tardi, quandoque accidit omni die.

It is also Porous for the better entertaining of the vitall spirits and the necessitie it hath of distention and contraction.

It is tied vnto diuers partes of the body that it might the better beare the weight of an infant: backwards by little strings vnto the lower gut, vnto the loines and os sacrum: forwardes vnto the necke of the bladder and os pubis by certaine membranes deriued from the peritoneum: on each side it is tyed vnto ossa illii by a ligament growing from the muscles of the loynes. It receiueth also for the former vses, vaines from the liuer, arteries from the hart, and nerues from the braine and backe, which are all inserted into the substance of the part, to deriue vnto it the benefit of those 3. faculties, both for the proper vse of the part, and for the vse of propagation and to discharge the whole bodie of diuers superfluities, which otherwise would be an occasion of many infirmities in them.

Now according to this description let vs consider how by consent, the principall partes of the bodie may bee affected from the matrix.

The partes of our bodie doe suffer by consent two manner of wayes. The one is when they doe recyue some offensiue thing from another parte which is called Communitas non absoluta. And this is either a qualitie as in venemous and infectious diseases, where the malignitie creeping from one part to another doth alter the qualitie of the parts as it goeth, and at the last is communicated to the principall parts, as the head, heart, liuer, longs, &c. or a substance which either by manifest conducts, as vaines, nerues, arteries, &c. or by insensible pores (as Hyppocrates saith, our bodies are transpirable, and transmeable) is conuaied from one part to another: whether it be a vapour or a humor, as wee doe commonly obserue in the fits of feuers, where a vapour arising from the part affected, disperseth it selfe through the whole body, and affecteth the sensiue parts with colde or heate, the motiue parts with trembling, the vitall parts with fainting, sounding, inequalitie of pulse, &c. the naturall parts with deiection of appetite, subuersion of the stomacke, &c. vntill nature haue ouercome and discussed it. In these Feuers also many times humors are so plentifully sent vp vnto the braine, as by custome or long continuance they breede some proper affect there.

Trincauel. l. 3 Sect. 2. cap. 2.

Auicen. Fẽ. 1. 3. tract. 2. ca. 6 Montagnana consil. 226

The other kinde of communitie is that which they call Communitas absoluta, wherein the part consenting receiueth nothing from the other, but yet is partaker of his griefe: either for similitude of substance or function, which causeth mutuall compassion: as all neruous partes haue with the braine: whereby if any Nerue or neruous part bee hurt or pricked, the braine suffreth a convulsion, or for neighbourhood and vicinitie, whereby one part may offend another, by compression or incumbencie: as in the prolapse of the Mother, the bladder or fundament is oftentimes offended in their naturall excretion. And in this disease which we haue in hand by the locall motion of it vpwardes, the midriffe is straightned of his scope, whereby the lunges doe faile in their dutie, or by reason of connexion or continuitie which it hath with other parts, by Vaines, Nerues, Arteries, Membranes, Ligaments, &c. whereby the offence is easily imparted vnto other partes. Or lastly by priuation of some facultie or matter, whereof the part hath neede. As in the obstruction of the Spina Dorsi there followeth a resolution or palsie of the legges or armes, by reason that the animall facultie that should giue sence or motion to the part is intercepted and hindered in his passage. Likewise in a resolution of the Muscles of the brest, as in a wound of that part, or in swounding the voice is taken away, because the matter of it which is breath, is either not sufficiently made, or is carried another way, or not competently impelled to the organs of voyce.

All these manner of wayes hath the Matrix by consent to impart her offence vnto other parts. For there wãteth no corruption of humor, vapour, nor euill qualitie, where this part is ill affected, to infect other partes withall, there wantes no oportunitie of conueyance or passage vnto any part, by reason of the large Vaynes, Arteries, and Nerves, which are deriued vnto it, with which it hath great affinitie and similitude of substance, besides the connexion it hath with the heart, liuer, braine, and backe. It is linked also in neighborhoode with diuerse partes of great vse, as the bladder, guttes, midriffe, &c. which are likely to bee warmed when this part doth burne. According to the varietie of causes and diseases wherewith the wombe is offended, these Symptoms doe differ in nature, or in degree. A plentifull matter produceth a vehement Symptom: a corrupt matter according to the degree of corruption, and the qualitie of the humor corrupted, causeth like accidents. The diseases also of the Mother being cõplicated with the former corrupt humors do yeeld varietie of Symptoms: as the rising of the Mother, which alwayes causeth shortnes of breath: Empostumes of the Mother according to the place where they are bred, and the quality of them, doe also bring a difference in Symptoms. And thus much for explanation of the definition.

Mercatus pag. 165.

Mathæus de gradi. & Auicenna locis citatis.

Cap. 3.

Of the kinds of this disease, and first of that wherein the vitall facultie is offended.

Now I come to the kinds and sorts of this disease, which may bee reduced vnto three principall heades, according as euerie part of the bodie belongeth vnto some of the three principall functions which do gouerne the bodie of man. Not that euerie Symptom in this disease doth hurt some of the three functions, for some are onely molestations or deformities, as sudden Collickes, windie humors, noyses, alteration of colour, &c. But because euerie part may well bee mustred vnder some of these generals: and we doe seldome see any hystericall affect wherein some one or mo of the functions are not affected. These functions as they are distinct in office, so they possesse in our bodies seuerall seats and haue seuerall instruments belonging vnto them.

1 The vitall function which by preseruing naturall heat in a due temperature, maintaineth the coniunction of soule and bodie togither, hath his principall mansion in the heart, and from thence by his Arteries conueyeth vitall spirites vnto euery member. So as without this wee could not liue: and therefore it is accounted the principallest function, because the rest receyue their being from this, and this fayling they must needes all cease. This function is performed by the motion of the heart, and Arteries, which in this affect of the Mother is drawne into consent as it is either diminished, abolished, or depraued. The deprauation of this motion is either when it is too fast and quick, or when it beates disorderly. The pulse in this disease is oftentimes too quicke, although it bee weake withall: but seeing it brings no great offence with it, the patient doth seldome complaine thereof. The greater offence is when it beates disorderly, and keepes no equall nor orderly stroke, but either trembleth and daunceth in the motion, or else is violently impelled: insomuch as it doth not onely remoue ones hande being applied to some part where the Arteries are great and near to the skinne (as lately appeared in a noble Gentleman of this lande now dead) but as Fernelius testifieth, hath sometimes displaced the ribbes, and sometimes broken them through the violent motion of the heart.

This Symptom is called the palpitation or beating of the heart, or Arteries whereof Maximillian the Emperour died, as Crato reporteth, and wherewith Charles the fift was oftentimes molested, as Vesalius writeth. It is chiefly to bee perceyued where the Arteries are great & neare the skin: as vnder the left ribbes towards the backe, and in the necke: as you may obserue in Maides that haue the greene sicknesse, by the shaking and quiuering of their ruffes, if they sit close to their neckes: where sometimes through the dilatation of the Arterie there ariseth a tumour as bigge as ones fist. This Symptom is euerie where mentioned by our Authours in this disease and our dayly experience confirmeth it.

Aneurisms. Fernel. loco citato.

Petrus Salius pag. 429. Skinckius de cordis palpit. obs. 211, item 218, 222. Forestus lib. 17 obs. 8.

This motion of the heart and Arteries in this affect of the Mother is oftentimes diminished either in part or to sense totally. In part, where the pulse in this disease is weake, slow, obscure, intermittent, &c. and the whole bodie accordingly feeble and slow in euery action, for want of influence of vitall facultie from the heart. It is totally diminished in that Symptom which is called Syncope or swounding, the very image of death, where the pulse is scarcely or not at all perceyued; the breath or respiration cleane gone: by reason that the heart wanting his motion, hath no neede of the helpe of the lungs to refresh it withall, all the faculties of the body fayling, it self lying like a dead corpse three or foure houres togither, and sometimes two or three whole dayes without sense, motion, breath, heate, or any signe of life at all (like as wee see Snakes and other creatures to lie all the winter, as if they were dead, vnder the earth) insomuch as diuerse errors haue beene committed in laying foorth such for dead, which haue afterwards beene found to haue life in them, and haue risen vp in their burials, whereupon there haue beene lawes enacted, as Mercurialis reporteth, that no woman which was subiect to this disease should be buried vntil she had beene three dayes dead. Or as Alexander Benedictus of Bolonia sayth 72. houres, which commeth to the same reckoning. Petrus Bayrus setteth downe diuerse reasons why they should not be buried before three dayes bee ended, besides the experience of some (as hee saith) that haue beene found aliue in their graues after they had beene buried. I will refer the reader for the reasons to the author himself, and to Forrestus in his obseruations. Plinie maketh mention out of Heraclides, of a woman who for seuen dayes together lay for dead in a fit of the mother, and was restored againe to life: which (saieth Marcellus Donatus) is not to be thought a fabulous tale, seeing it is not repugnant to the rules of Philosophie and Phisicke. And Galen making mention of the verie same hystorie vnder the name of Apnæa, discourseth of the reasons of it.

Gal. loc. affect. 6.c 5. pulsum vix perceptibilem habent &c Item de composit. pharmac. s.l. lib. 9. in finit.

Antho. Guaynerius. cap. de suffoc. matricĩs. Albert. Bottonus loco infra citato. Gal. loco citato. Altomarus loco citato.

Ambros. paræus li. 24.c. 10

De morbis muliebr: lib. 4. cap. 22. Iacobus Syluius de mensibus mulierum.

De morbis medicandis. lib. 10. cap. 10.