Encyclopaedia Americana: a popular dictionary of arts, sciences, literature, history, politics and biography, brought down to the present time : including a copious collection of original articles in American biography : on the basis of the seventh edition of the German Conversations-Lexicon (Volume 5).

Date:: 1830-33

Credit: Encyclopaedia Americana: a popular dictionary of arts, sciences, literature, history, politics and biography, brought down to the present time : including a copious collection of original articles in American biography : on the basis of the seventh edition of the German Conversations-Lexicon (Volume 5). Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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the order of Bemardins, first made in the abbey of Feuillans, near Thoulouse, es- tablished in 1580. Tliere are also con- vents of nuns who follow the same reform, called Ftuillantts. The first of them was estabhshed near Toulouse in 1590. Fever; a disease characterized by an increase of heat, an accelerated pulse, a foul tongue, and an impaired state of seve- ral functions of tlic body. The varie- ties are numerous. The principal divis- ions are into continued and intermittent fevers. Continued fevers have no uiter- mission, but exacerbations come on usually twice ill one day. The genera of contin- ued fevbr ai'e: 1. Synocha, or inflamma- tory fever, known by mcreased lieat; pulse frequent, strong, and hard; urine high-colored; senses not much impaired : ^.typhus, or putrid-tending fever, which iscontagious, and is characterized by mod- erate heat; quick, weak and small pulse; senses much impaired, and great prostra- tion of strength : 3. synochus, or mixed fever. Intermittent fevei-s are known by cold, hot and sweating stages, hi succes- sion, attending each paroxysm, and fol- lowed by an intermission or remission. There are three genera of intermitting fevers, and several varieties: 1. Quotidi- ana; a quotidian ague. The paroxysms return in the morning, at an interval of about twenty-four hours. 2. Tcrtiana; a tertian ague. The paroxj^sms commonly come on at mid-day, at an interval of about forty-eight houi-s. 3. (^uartana; a quar- tan ague. The paroxysms come on in the afternoon, with an interval of about seven- ty-two lioui-s. The tertian ague is most apt to prevail in the spring, antl the quar- tan in autumn. When these fevei-s arise in the spring, they are called vernal; and Avhen in the autumn, they are luiown by the name of auhtmno/. Intcrmittents often ])rove obstinate, and are of long duration in warm climates; and they not uufre- quently resist every mode of cure, so as to become very disti-essing to the patient, and, by the extreme debility which they thereby induce, often give rise to other chronic complaints. It seems to be pretty generally acknowledged, that marsh mias- mata, or the effluvia arising from stagnant water, or mai-shy ground, when acted up- on by heat, are the most frequent exciting cause of this fever. A wateiy, poor diet, great fatigue, long watching, grief, much anxiety, exposure to cold, lying in damp rooms or beds, wearing damp linen, the suppression of some long accustomed evacuation, or tlie recession of eruptions, Jiave been ranked among the exciting causes of intermittents; but it is more rea- sonable to suppose that these circum- stances act only by inducing that state of the body M'hich predisposes to these com- plaints. One peculiarity of this fever is its great susceptil)ility of a renewal from very slight causes, as from the prevalence of an easterly wind, even without the rep- etition of the original exciting cause. In this circumstance, intermittents differ from most other fevers, as it is well known that, after a continued fever has once occurred, and been removed, tlie pei-son so affected is by no means so liable to a fresh attack of the disorder, as one in whom it had never taken place. We have not yet attahied a certain knowledge of the proximate cause of an intermittent fever, but a deranged state of the stomach and primae vise is that which is most generally alleged. Each paroxysm of an intermittent fever is divid- ed into three different stages, which are called the cold, the hot, and the sweating stances, or Jits. The cold stage commences with languor, a sense of debility and slug- gisliness in motion, frequent yawning and stretching, and an aveision to food. The face and extremities become pale, the fea- tures shrink, the bulk of every external part is diminished, and the skin over tlie whole body appeai-s constricted, as if cold had been applied to it. At length the pa- tient feels veiy cold, and univei-sal rigors come on, with pains in the head, back, loins and joints, nausea and vomiting of bilious matter; the respiration is small, frequent and anxious; the urine is almost color- less ; sensibility is grcady impaired; the thoughts are somewhat confused; and the pulse is small, frequent, and often irregu- lar. In a few instances, drowsiness and stupor have prevailed in so high a degree as to resemble coma or apoplexy ; but this is by no means usual. These symptoins abating after a short time, the second stage commences with an increase of heat over the whole body, redness of die face, diy- ness of tlie skin, thirst, paui in the head, throbbing in the temples, anxiety and rest- lessness ; the respiration is fuller and more free, but still frequent; the tongue is fur- red, and the pulse has become regular, hard and full. If the attack has been very severe, then perhaps dehrium vnW arise. When these symptoms have con- tinued for some time, a moisture breaks out on the forehead, and by degi-ees be- comes a sweat, and this, at length, extends over the whole body. As this sweat con- tinues to flow, the heat of the body abates, tlie thiret ceases, and most of the functions are restored to their orduiaiy state. Tliis

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