CHAPTER X

Of Medicines provoking urine

The causes by which urine is suppressed are many.

1. By too much drying, or sweating, it may be consumed.

2. By heat or inflammation of the reins or passages whereby it passes from the reins, it may be stopped by compression.

Urine is the thinnest part of blood, separated from the thickest part in the reins.

If then the blood be more thick and viscous than ordinary, it cannot easily be separated without cutting and cleansing medicines.

This is for certain, that blood can neither be separated nor distributed without heat.

Yet amongst diureticks are some cold things, as the four greater cold seeds, Winter-cherries, and the like. Although this seem a wonder, yet it may be, and doth stand with truth. For cool diureticks, though they further not the separation of the blood one jot, yet they cleanse and purge the passages of the urine. Diureticks then are of two sorts: 1. Such as conduce to the separation of the blood. 2. Such as open the urinal passages. The former are biting (and are known by their taste) very hot and cutting, whence they penetrate to the reins, and cut the gross humours there. Bitter things, although they be very hot, and cut gross humours, yet are they of a more dry and terrene substance than is convenient to provoke urine. Hence then we may safely gather, that bitter things are not so moist nor penetrating, as such as bite like Pepper.

CHAPTER XI

Of Medicines breeding flesh

There are many things diligently to be observed in the cures of wounds and ulcers, which incur and hinder that the cure cannot be speedily done, nor the separated parts reduced to their natural state.

Viz. fluxes of blood, inflammation, hardness, pain, and other things besides our present scope.

Our present scope is, to shew how the cavity of ulcers may be filled with flesh.

Such medicines are called Sarcoticks.

This, though it be the work of nature, yet it is helped forward with medicines, that the blood may be prepared, that it may the easier be turned into flesh.

These are not medicines which breed good blood, nor which correct the intemperature of the place afflicted, but which defend the blood, and the ulcer itself from corruption in breeding flesh.

For nature in breeding flesh produceth two sorts of excrements, viz. scrosus humours, and purulent dross.

Those medicines then which cleanse and consume, these by drying are said to breed flesh, because by their helps nature performs that office.

Also take notice that these medicines are not so drying that they should consume the blood also as well as the sanies, nor so cleansing that they should consume the flesh with the dross.

Let them not then exceed the first degree unless the ulcer be very moist.