256 THE SECRETIONS: 



closer in proportion to the shortness of the paroxysm and the 

 length of the intermission : the average specific gravity was 

 1018-9. In many of the cases, the urine during the paroxysm 

 assumed the inflammatory type, that is to say, it was scanty in 

 quantity, highly coloured, and very acid, with or without sedi- 

 ments (either spontaneous or produced by nitric acid), and having 

 a mean specific gravity of 1023-5. 



In other cases, in which the febrile paroxysms had been re- 

 curring for a length of time, the appearance of the urine changed 

 with the prolongation of the disease ; it became paler and less 

 acid, and its specific gravity fell to 1014-7. 



The changes produced in the urine by the prolongation of 

 the disease was very striking in the case of a man aged 49 years, 

 who was attacked with a quartan fever during convalescence 

 from acute articular rheumatism. As long as the first disease 

 lasted the urine was inflammatory, but, on the accession of the 

 second, it became paler, less dense, contained a good deal of 

 mucus, and finally became alkaline ; the return of the paroxysm 

 did not produce any change in the character of the urine, which 

 remained the same until the recovery of the patient. 



In a young chlorotic girl who was attacked with quotidian 

 fever, Becquerel found that the urine was pale, as is the case 

 with chlorotic persons, and was rendered turbid by a large 

 quantity of mucus equally during the intermissions and the 

 paroxysms ; but, at the same time, the acidity and density 

 (1021-8 1023-1) were more considerable than is usually the 

 case in chlorosis ; and, on cooling, a copious white sediment of 

 uric acid was thrown down. 



Becquerel frequently observed turbidity or sediments (either 

 spontaneous or by the addition of an acid) towards the close 

 of intermittent fever, but not earlier. During the paroxysms 

 themselves, the urine was observed to present several modifi- 

 cations. In the majority of cases it seemed to undergo no 

 change during the three stages, that is to say, the urine 

 passed towards the end of the cold stage closely resembled 

 that which was passed during the other stages ; sometimes in 

 the cold stage it was deeply coloured, acid, and of rather high 

 specific gravity, and it would retain these characters in the 

 hot stage; sometimes it would be slightly coloured, faintly 

 acid, and of low specific gravity (1013'4) in the cold stage, 



