436 DR T. J. MACLAGAN ON THE 



99°'154 ; that of the child at birth, 99°-872, The highest was 103°5 for the 

 mother, and 104° for the child; the lowest 97° and 98 c- l. As the former case 

 was altogether abnormal, it ought perhaps to be excluded in striking the average. 

 By doing so, we get a mean range for the mother of 98 0, 6, and for the child of 

 99°3 — a difference of 0- 7 in favour of the child. This slightly higher range on 

 the part of the child is fully accounted for by the fact that the infant's tempera- 

 ture was taken in the rectum, whilst the mother's was taken in the axilla. 

 From observations made on the adult with the object of determining the point 

 in question, I found the temperature of the former locality to be from half a 

 degree to a degree above that of the latter. Making allowance for this, the 

 range of the mother and child may be regarded as the same. The case with the 

 high range, in virtue of its abormality, serves well to illustrate the close con- 

 nection which exists between the two. In it the mother's temperature towards 

 the end of labour rose five degrees above the normal standard ; the child's at 

 birth was found to have undergone a similar elevation. 



(b.) The range of the first few hours after birth is altogether peculiar. When 

 the child is separated from the parent, and commences its new mode of existence, 

 a marked change takes place. The temperature acquired from the mother is no 

 longer sustained. The thermometer introduced into the rectum shows a fall 

 which varies in different cases both in rapidity and extent, but which is never 

 altogether awanting. 



In children born at the full time, the average period after birth at which the 

 temperature reached its lowest point was two hours. The average extent of the 

 fall was five degrees below the normal standard of the adult ; the greatest was to 

 90 o, 8, the least to 96° — the average being to 93°4. The mean time which elapsed 

 before the temperature again rose to what might be regarded as its normal range 

 was 22-25 hours after birth ; the shortest was two hours ; the longest forty- 

 four. In one sickly child it was four days before the depression was recovered 

 from. In a seven months' child the temperature fell to 90°-2, more than eight 

 degrees below the adult standard of health ; and during the thirteen days on 

 which it was under observation the highest point reached was 94°6, the mean 

 range being 92°*3. 



(c.) So much for the first twenty-four hours. The observations made after 

 that time were made only morning and evening. I have selected sixteen cases, 

 in which no disturbing element intervened at all likely to affect the normal 

 range, and find that the mean range for the first five days immediately succeed- 

 ing the time at which the normal standard was attained was in the morning 

 97°-43, and in the evening 98°06, the average being 97 0, 74— that is, more than 

 half a degree below the normal standard of the adult. As the temperature of 

 these cases was invariably taken in the rectum (in which we have seen that the 

 range is higher than in the axilla), it may be inferred that the child's tempera- 



