Temperature of the Human Body in Health, 191 



On six of these eight days the lowest temperature of the day was 

 reached by 12 p.m. ; on two days this was not attained until 1 a.m. ; but 

 the fall in the temperature after 12 p.m. on these two occasions was but 

 slight, in each case amounting to only o, 4 Fahr. 



It thus appears that if in other persons of about the age of these lads 

 our observations be continued till 12 p.m., we shall obtain the whole, or 

 nearly the whole, of the daily variation of the body temperature. 



The temperature does not begin to rise immediately after its minimum 

 has been reached, but remains at about its lowest point during several 

 hours before the morning rise begins ; thus on 



2 days it remained at about its minimum 2 hours. 

 1 day „ „ „ 4 „ 



1 ^ 



*< J5 J) 55 55 u 55 



2 days „ „ „ 8 „ 

 1 day „ „ „ 11 „ 



"We thus see that in these observations the maximum depression is 

 usually of shorter duration than the maximum elevation. 



Thus we have learned that observations continued from 9 a.m. to 

 12 p.m. give us not merely the highest temperature of the day, but like- 

 wise the hour when the temperature begins to fall — the chief, and in 

 many cases the whole, of the evening fall. With this information we are 

 enabled to use some other though less complete observations, in which 

 the temperature was not observed during the night after 12 p.m. We 

 shall thus be able to confirm or to correct by a larger number of observa- 

 tions the foregoing conclusions. 



On the Temperature of Healthy Persons of different Ages. 



In this section we give the results of observations of persons of various 

 ages in whom the temperature was taken only till 12 p.m. On two 

 men, however, of about forty years of age, the observations were con- 

 tinued throughout the night and day ; and we are therefore able to com- 

 pare the temperature of the whole twenty-four hours of persons of 

 different ages. 



The observations were made on the following persons : — 



James Eedfern, a child five years old, convalescent from rickets. His 

 appetite was good. The ends of the bones were still enlarged, and there 

 was some flattening and depression of the axillary regions of the chest. 



Thomas Thompson and Alfred Eundell, aged respectively 11 and 13, 

 were both in excellent health. 



Frank Legg, 23 years old, convalescent from a very slight attack of 

 rheumatic fever. He was free from pain, and his appetite was good. 



Cornelius Farmelow, 40 years of age, and Alfred Purse, 55 years old, 

 were both in good health. 



vol. xxvi. o 



