FEVERS, 539 



there is but one species of the genus, is unnecessary; for the sake 

 of an observation, however, I have defined it ' Quotidiana eadem 

 hora matutina rediens. 1 This leads us to mention a fact not much 

 taken notice of, but which I hinted at before (L VIII.), that inter- 

 mittents, besides differing in the frequency of the recurrence of the 

 fits, are also distinguished by the time of the day when they make 

 their attack. This is variable, indeed, in the case of their post- 

 poning and anticipating ; but in general the quartan does not 

 make its attack till about four or five in the afternoon ; the ter- 

 tian again comes on at noon, or near to it ; and the quotidian 

 always in a morning hour, some hours before noon. This is a 

 fact of some curiosity, and from its steadiness we would infer 

 that it is connected with some laws of the animal economy. But 

 I had another reason for setting down that character. There is 

 a very frequent occurrence of a fever that either attacks entire- 

 ly, or at least has a manifest exacerbation every evening. I 

 have pointed out as the foundation of this, that, in consequence 

 of a certain law of our economy, the action of the heart, and 

 what depends upon it, the state of the pulse, is variable through 

 the day, increasing and subsiding at different times, but parti- 

 cularly in the evening acquiring its utmost frequency ; and this 

 sometimes sooner, sometimes later. In many cases this exacerba- 

 tion appears early hi the afternoon, there being some remission 

 towards the evening, and then again an exacerbation. These 

 quotidian fevers as they may be called, are very universally 

 symptomatic of some other disease present in the system, so are 

 to be distinguished from our intermittent and remittent quotidian, 

 which has its exacerbation in the morning hour. I will not be 

 positive that there are no quotidians that have this attack in the 

 evening, but I believe when the quotidian is gone, it remains 

 only in consequence of some other disease or topical affection 

 which gives this evening paroxysm. So much for the Quotidiana 

 universalis. 



"With regard to the Quotidiana partialis, however unac- 

 countable the fact may be, it is certainly true that every circum- 

 stance of a paroxysm may occur and affect a very inconsiderable 

 portion of the body, or a single limb only. So in the German 

 Ephimerides we have an instance in which one arm only became 



