THEORY OF FEVER. 1075 



blood has been previously altered from its natural 

 state, it might be cut short at once by employing 

 the hot bath an hour or two before the expected 

 chill, which would thus be prevented. It also 

 follows, that as the blood is always deteriorated 

 during the chill, and improved by the augmented 

 action of the lungs during the hot stage, it must 

 be a matter of primary importance to follow the 

 indication of nature, and prevent the recurrence 

 of the cold stage by means of the warm bath, or 

 a suitable application of dry heat. And it is 

 highly probable, that all the milder forms of fever 

 would be thus arrested very soon ; while those of 

 the continued type would be proportionally miti- 

 gated and shortened in their duration ; for by 

 this practice we should strike at the very root or 

 proximate cause of the disease, instead of pre- 

 scribing at random for this or that symptom. 



Much labour has been expended within the 

 last few years in post mortem examinations, with 

 a hope of discovering the primary seat of fever. 

 But although a certain amount of valuable infor- 

 mation has been thus acquired, we might as well 

 seek for the cause of hurricanes in the desolation 

 they produce, as for the ratio symptomatum of 

 fever in local irritation, congestion, or inflamma- 

 tion, without ascertaining " the first link in the 

 chain of diseased effects" 



The primary seat of fever is not the brain, 

 spinal marrow, ganglionic nerves, the solar plexus, 



