529- 



tin- condition of the health, and this should u'-mrdinijly !> maintained in th>- hi 



ible state of integrity by tin- use of plain nourUhin_ r food, cold bathing or 

 sponging, and curly or regular hours. 



TYIMIOID. TVi'iirs. AND OTHI:K IT.VEBS. 



By tlic term "pyivxi -T, we mean th;it j mdition of the sy-' 



which accompanies, and is an essential con.-t iiution of, all fevers. 1 

 indicated l.y the combination of certain symptoms which arMaiuil. ii to most 



of us. A high temperature, a <[iiick pulse, a dry >kin, and intense thirM .-in- p: 

 ineiia connnon to many diseases, and when they an present w.- say tin- i 

 feverish, or -hat he is suttcring from fever. In some disease*, such, for example, 

 as small-pox and typhus fever, these symptoms apparently constitute the essence of 

 the complaint, whilst in others, as, for example, in:! D of the lun-js, they are 



evidently caused by, and are dependent on, a disorder or der.-i 



cnlar portion of the body. In the former case, we say the fever i- u primary," or 

 " idiopathic," whilst in the latter, it is "secondary" or "symptomatic." All the, 

 complaints which we commonly call "fevers" belong to the lirst of these 

 divisions. 



It is absolutely necessary that we should devote some attention to t 

 tion of fever regarded in its abstract relations In -fore we can hope to B 

 with advantage any particular fever, such as typhus, or typhoid, or small-pox, k 

 is to fever in general that the following remarks chiefly apply, but we shall have 

 frequently, in illustration of our subject, to refer to particular diseases, 

 usually ushered in by certain " premonitory " or warning symptoms. At first there 

 is a condition of general malaise. It is not very easy to say exactly what we mean by 

 this term, but that is a matter of comparatively little importance, as every one 

 ha\e personally experienced this condition at some time or other. The p:. 

 that there has been some departure from his usual state of health, lie is \ 

 iy," " out of sorts," and is conscious of a disinclination for any active employ : 

 and of a loss of interest in his accustomed pursuits. Sometimes there is a sense of 

 lassitude or weariness attended with yawning or stretching. The patient is apt to 

 he affected with disturbed sleep, mental confusion or debility, and depression of 

 spirits, but not imfrequeiitly he complains of nothing but a vague uneasin- 

 feeling of discomfort, which he is unable to refer to any particular part, or to ascribe 

 to any special cause. These symptoms are exceedingly variable in d- _ 

 duration, sometimes continuing for several days, sometimes only for a few hours, 

 and occasionally they are quite wanting. 



nietimes the occurrence of a "rigor," or shivering fit, is the first decided indi- 

 cation the patient has of something being wrong. The onset of this condition is 

 not unfrequently abrupt and striking, the patient into it at once from the 



slight and scarcely appreciable disorder of the preliminary stage, or even from a 

 state of seeming health. Sometimes, on the contrary, the chill is so slight, and is 

 so intimately associated with the premonitory symptoms of which we have spoken, 

 that it is impossible to decide on the exact time of its occurrence. In some cases 

 34 



