An essay on spermatorrhoea : being a microscopic investigation into its physiological and physical relations ; with observations on the nature, causes, and treatment of the various disorders of the procreative system in men. Illustrated by cases / by R. Dawson.

  • Dawson, Richard, active 1845-1852.
Date:
1846
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on spermatorrhoea : being a microscopic investigation into its physiological and physical relations ; with observations on the nature, causes, and treatment of the various disorders of the procreative system in men. Illustrated by cases / by R. Dawson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    My attention had been directed, at an early period of my professional career, to the nature of this affection, and to the changes superinduced in the structure of some of the more important parts of the genital apparatus. Although in some degree acquainted with the symptoms and character of this affection, with its train of miserable associations, yet it was not till after a sojourn at some of the Continental schools, particularly at Paris and in Germany, that I became more intimately acquainted with all the phenomena. The hospital presented a hideous picture—intolerable suffering, intense anxiety, complete despondency, the utmost bodily infirmity, and not unfrequently mental imbecility, the emblems of a wretched semi-vitality. It soon fell to the lot of the dead-house to reveal the effects, upon the seminal organs, of incessant exposure to unnatural excitement. Asa sort of representation of the effects of illicit indulgence upon the health generally, I may instance the follow- ing case :— CasE I.—One of my earliest friends, a gentleman endowed with great natural talents, strong sensible mind, and to all appearance possessed of great mental vigour, for some years had been suffering from an inces- sant discharge from the urethra, so obstinate that it resisted all the means adopted for its removal. He also