Sect. III.] Theory and Practice of Physic. 343 



torpor, from defect of the excitement of associii- 

 tion; therefore an accumuUitiou of the sensorial 

 power of association takes place in the arterial 

 system. But this accumulation is so great, owing 

 to the interrupted actions of the stomach, cate- 

 nated with those of the arterial system, that it 

 affects the next link of the associate train, that is, 

 the capillaries of the skin, with increased energy. 

 Hence these last, in this kind of fever, are per- 

 petually exerted with great increase of action. 

 When torpor affects the secerning vessels of the 

 brain, it produces fever with arterial dehility. In 

 this case, the secretion of sensorial power being 

 more or less impaired, languid actions of every 

 part of the system must be the consequence. In 

 fevers from this cause, the action of th« capillaries 

 is diminished with that of all the rest of the system. 

 Hence the heat of the body does not rise above 

 the natural standard, and sometimes it is even 

 lower throughout the course of the disease j a phe- 

 nomenon which serves to direct the attention to 

 this cause. When torpor, from exhaustion of sen- 

 sorial power, affects other parts of the system sym- 

 pathetically associated with the stomach, such as 

 the liver, spleen, &;c., the stomach falls into torpor, 

 from defect of the power of association ; and, in like 

 manner, the arterial system ; till a general torj)or 

 is formed, which constitutes the cold fit. During 

 this cold fit, an accumulation of the associative 

 sensorial power takes place in the stomacii, ai'terial 

 system, &c., which more than compensates this de- 

 fect of excitement in the sensorial power of asso- 

 ciation ; consequently all these parts are thrown 

 into increased action. This constitutes the but ht; 



