The causes are either those of fever in general, obstructions of any kind in the intestines, intususceptio, or wounds. The usual causes, however, are those of fever.

The symptoms are, a shivering, with an uneasiness in the bowels soon increasing to a violent pain,"occasionally, at first, remitting, but soon becoming continual. Generally the whole abdomen is affected at the same time with spasmodic pains, which extend to the loins, apparently owing to flatulency. The pulse is small, frequent, generally soft, but sometimes hard, and at last irregular and intermittent. The extremities are cold; the strength sinks rapidly. Costiveness, which has sometimes preceded, becomes unconquerable, or slight mucous discharges are brought off with great straining. After a short time the flatulency increases to vomiting, and every thing is rejected. The tongue is dry, thirst great, the urine often obstructed, or high coloured, and discharged with heat and difficulty. The breathing is quick. The patient bends forwards, because the abdominal muscles are spasmodically contracted; great tension and soreness are felt externally; the vomiting increases to violent and incessant retchings, in which at last the faeces are returned, and after this scene of distress has continued, without relief from stools, the whole commotion ceases; the pain goes off, and the patient appears to be relieved; but his face grows pale, the under eye lid becomes livid; the pulse continues soft, more regular, though small and weak; the extremities are cold; delirium and convulsions come on; and the patient expires, often discharging very fetid stools in the moment of death.

This disorder seldom terminates in an abscess. When this is the case, the pain abates, and is converted rather into a sense of distention, and irregular cold fits, with other symptoms of internal suppuration; the pain, the great frequency of the pulse, and other symptoms, go off. When this abscess bursts, the patient swoons, and seems relieved from a sense of weight in the part where it was, but soon expires in cold sweats.

Inflammation in the external membrane of the intestines is distinguished from the stone in the kidneys or in the ureters, from the pain in the latter cases shooting down the thigh, from spasmodic pains of the belly, from colic, and from other obstructions there in which no inflammation attends, by the external soreness and fever.

The disease, however, with which it is most easily-confounded, is the inflammation of the peritonaeum, in which there is equal external soreness, and often an equally obstinate constipation. But in the latter the pain is more pungent, the difficulty of raising the body greater, and when stools are procured the relief is inconsiderable. The passage of a gall stone sometimes puts on the appearance of enteritis; but in this case the pulse is seldom affected; the pain is confined to the pit of the stomach, and at last shoots through the body to the back, in a manner that cannot easily be mistaken.

If the pain shifts, the vomiting returns only at intervals, and clysters procure a truly feculent discharge, there is room to hope. If the pain abates suddenly, with chillness and shivering, a suppuration is forming. When every thing is rejected, the patient very weak, the pulse fluttering, the countenance pale, the breath offensive, danger is imminent. Clammy sweats, a small intermitting pulse, fetid or black stools, a total abatement of pain, are signs of mortification, and death soon follows.

In the treatment of enteritis there is much doubt. We are ordered to bleed freely, though the pulse is small, and to repeat it till the pulse rises. When the patient is a laborious countryman, and the disease induced by drinking cold fluids in a heated state, this advice may be useful; but it is not generally so. Perhaps bleeding is more seldom necessary in this disease than in any other inflammation, for it rapidly tends to mortification; and, should it not at once relieve, it soon proves fatal. The salutary termination is by a discharge of faeces. If this can be obtained, the patient is safe; but, unless free, copious, and truly feculent stools are procured, the most promising appearances in every other respect will deceive. These are procured by laxatives; but the operation of laxatives is assisted by-clysters, blisters, and the warm bath. Emetics in this case are inadmissible; for vomiting soon comes on, and prevents the action of the only certain remedy. The cathartics, first used, are the milder kind, as castor oil, salts with infusion of senna and manna; but these are seldom sufficiently powerful, and are soon rejected. We must then have recourse to the more acrid purgatives, and the colocynth pill with calomel is substituted. This medicine is often given in considerable doses without effect; and the end is at last obtained by the former medicine, salts and senna.

In this period the operation of cathartics is greatly-assisted by the frequent injection of clysters. These, to be effectual should be of the most active kind; and the decoction of colocynth with salts, the infusion of tobacco, and the vinum antimoniale, have been employed in this way, often without apparent advantage; but the frequent solicitations downward seem to assist the operation of medicines given by the mouth.

In this course we are almost constantly interrupted by the vomiting, and it has been usual to add opium to the laxatives, to check that irritability of the stomach which discharges them. The disadvantage of this plan is, that it delays the cathartic effect of the medicine, till, by the powers of the stomach, its nature is changed. We have, therefore, preferred omitting for a time the laxatives, and giving the opiates freely. If pain is checked and the inflammatory state relieved by a blister, we have found no inconvenience if the stools are delayed for a day or two. It is said, indeed, that the disease is fatal in three days: but this is owing probably to the bleeding: where this is omitted, the disease has continued for six or eight days, and at last terminated favourably.