Hippocrates
460-377 B.C.E. - Wrote in Greek
Of the Epidemics
Written 400 B.C.E
Translated by Francis Adams
Of the Epidemics
By Hippocrates
Book I
Section I
First Constitution
1. IN THASUS, about the autumn equinox, and under the Pleiades,
the rains were abundant, constant, and soft, with southerly winds; the
winter southerly, the northerly winds faint, droughts; on the whole, the
winter having the character of spring. The spring was southerly, cool,
rains small in quantity. Summer, for the most part, cloudy, no rain, the
Etesian winds, rare and small, blew in an irregular manner. The whole constitution
of the season being thus inclined to the southerly, and with droughts early
in the spring, from the preceding opposite and northerly state, ardent
fevers occurred in a few instances, and these very mild, being rarely attended
with hemorrhage, and never proving fatal. Swellings appeared about the
ears, in many on either side, and in the greatest number on both sides,
being unaccompanied by fever so as not to confine the patient to bed; in
all cases they disappeared without giving trouble, neither did any of them
come to suppuration, as is common in swellings from other causes. They
were of a lax, large, diffused character, without inflammation or pain,
and they went away without any critical sign. They seized children, adults,
and mostly those who were engaged in the exercises of the palestra and
gymnasium, but seldom attacked women. Many had dry coughs without expectoration,
and accompanied with hoarseness of voice. In some instances earlier, and
in others later, inflammations with pain seized sometimes one of the testicles,
and sometimes both; some of these cases were accompanied with fever and
some not; the greater part of these were attended with much suffering.
In other respects they were free of disease, so as not to require medical
assistance.
2. Early in the beginning of spring, and through the summer,
and towards winter, many of those who had been long gradually declining,
took to bed with symptoms of phthisis; in many cases formerly of a doubtful
character the disease then became confirmed; in these the constitution
inclined to the phthisical. Many, and, in fact, the most of them, died;
and of those confined to bed, I do not know if a single individual survived
for any considerable time; they died more suddenly than is common in such
cases. But other diseases, of a protracted character, and attended with
fever, were well supported, and did not prove fatal: of these we will give
a description afterwards. Consumption was the most considerable of the
diseases which then prevailed, and the only one which proved fatal to many
persons. Most of them were affected by these diseases in the following
manner: fevers accompanied with rigors, of the continual type, acute, having
no complete intermissions, but of the form of the semi-tertians, being
milder the one day, and the next having an exacerbation, and increasing
in violence; constant sweats, but not diffused over the whole body; extremities
very cold, and warmed with difficulty; bowels disordered, with bilious,
scanty, unmixed, thin, pungent, and frequent dejections. The urine was
thin, colorless, unconcocted, or thick, with a deficient sediment, not
settling favorably, but casting down a crude and unseasonable sediment.
Sputa small, dense, concocted, but brought up rarely and with difficulty;
and in those who encountered the most violent symptoms there was no concoction
at all, but they continued throughout spitting crude matters. Their fauces,
in most of them, were painful from first to last, having redness with inflammation;
defluxions thin, small and acrid; they were soon wasted and became worse,
having no appetite for any kind of food throughout; no thirst; most persons
delirious when near death. So much concerning the phthisical
affections.
3. In the course of the summer and autumn many fevers of
the continual type, but not violent; they attacked persons who had been
long indisposed, but who were otherwise not in an uncomfortable state.
In most cases the bowels were disordered in a very moderate degree, and
they did not suffer thereby in any manner worth mentioning; the urine was
generally well colored, clear, thin, and after a time becoming concocted
near the crisis. They had not much cough, nor it troublesome; they were
not in appetite, for it was necessary to give them food (on the whole,
persons laboring under phthisis were not affected in the usual manner).
They were affected with fevers, rigors, and deficient sweats, with varied
and irregular paroxysms, in general not intermitting, but having exacerbations
in the tertian form. The earliest crisis which occurred was about the twentieth
day, in most about the fortieth, and in many about the eightieth. But there
were cases in which it did not leave them thus at all, but in an irregular
manner, and without any crisis; in most of these the fevers, after a brief
interval, relapsed again; and from these relapses they came to a crisis
in the same periods; but in many they were prolonged so that the disease
was not gone at the approach of winter. Of all those which are described
under this constitution, the phthisical diseases alone were of a fatal
character; for in all the others the patients bore up well, and did not
die of the other fevers.
Section II
Second Constitution
1. In Thasus, early in autumn, the winter suddenly set in
rainy before the usual time, with much northerly and southerly winds. These
things all continued so during the season of the Pleiades, and until their
setting. The winter was northerly, the rains frequent, in torrents, and
large, with snow, but with a frequent mixture of fair weather. These things
were all so, but the setting in of the cold was not much out of season.
After the winter solstice, and at the time when the zephyr usually begins
to blow, severe winterly storms out of season, with much northerly wind,
snow, continued and copious rains; the sky tempestuous and clouded; these
things were protracted, and did not remit until the equinox. The spring
was cold, northerly, rainy, and clouded; the summer was not very sultry,
the Etesian winds blew constant, but quickly afterwards, about the rising
of Arcturus, there were again many rains with north winds. The whole season
being wet, cold, and northerly, people were, for the most part, healthy
during winter; but early in the spring very many, indeed, the greater part,
were valetudinary. At first ophthalmies set in, with rheums, pains, unconcocted
discharges, small concretions, generally breaking with difficulty, in most
instances they relapsed, and they did not cease until late in autumn. During
summer and autumn there were dysenteric affections, attacks of tenesmus
and lientery, bilious diarrhoea, with thin, copious, undigested, and acrid
dejections, and sometimes with watery stools; many had copious defluxions,
with pain, of a bilious, watery, slimy, purulent nature, attended with
strangury, not connected with disease of the kidneys, but one complaint
succeeding the other; vomitings of bile, phlegm, and undigested food, sweats,
in all cases a reduncance of humors. In many instances these complaints
were unattended with fever, and did not prevent the patients from walking
about, but some cases were febrile, as will be described. In some all those
described below occurred with pain. During autumn, and at the commencement
of winter, there were phthisical complaints, continual fevers; and, in
a few cases, ardent; some diurnal, others nocturnal, semi-tertians, true
tertians, quartans, irregular fevers.
2. All these fevers described attacked great numbers. All
these fevers attacked the smallest numbers, and the patients suffered the
least from them, for there were no hemorrhages, except a few and to a small
amount, nor was there delirium; all the other complaints were slight; in
these the crises were regular, in most instances, with the intermittents,
in seventeen days; and I know no instance of a person dying of causus,
nor becoming phrenitic. The tertians were more numerous than the ardent
fevers, and attended with more pain; but these all had four periods in
regular succession from the first attack, and they had a complete crisis
in seven, without a relapse in any instance. The quartans attacked many
at first, in the form of regular quartans, but in no few cases a transition
from other fevers and diseases into quartans took place; they were protracted,
as is wont with them, indeed, more so than usual. Quotidian, nocturnal,
and wandering fevers attacked many persons, some of whom continued to keep
up, and others were confined to bed. In most instances these fevers were
prolonged under the Pleiades and till winter. Many persons, and more especially
children, had convulsions from the commencement; and they had fever, and
the convulsions supervened upon the fevers; in most cases they were protracted,
but free from danger, unless in those who were in a deadly state from other
complaints. Those fevers which were continual in the main, and with no
intermissions, but having exacerbations in the tertian form, there being
remissions the one day and exacerbations the next, were the most violent
of all those which occurred at that time, and the most protracted, and
occurring with the greatest pains, beginning mildly, always on the whole
increasing, and being exacerbated, and always turning worse, having small
remissions, and after an abatement having more violent paroxysms, and growing
worse, for the most part, on the critical days. Rigors, in all cases, took
place in an irregular and uncertain manner, very rare and weak in them,
but greater in all other fevers; frequent sweats, but most seldom in them,
bringing no alleviation, but, on the contrary, doing mischief. Much cold
of the extremities in them, and these were warmed with difficulty. Insomnolency,
for the most part, especially in these fevers, and again a disposition
to coma. The bowels, in all diseases, were disordered, and in a bad state,
but worst of all in these. The urine, in most of them, was either thin
and crude, yellow, and after a time with slight symptoms of concoction
in a critical form, or having the proper thickness, but muddy, and neither
settling nor subsiding; or having small and bad, and crude sediments; these
being the worst of all. Coughs attended these fevers, but I cannot state
that any harm or good ever resulted from the cough.
3. The most of these were protracted and troublesome, went
on in a very disorderly and irregular form, and, for the most part, did
in a crisis, either in the fatal cases or in the others; for if it left
some of them for a season it soon returned again. In a few instances the
lever terminated with a crisis; in the earliest of these about the eightieth
day, and some of these relapsed, so that most of them were not free from
the fever during the winter; but the fever left most of them without a
crisis, and these things happened alike to those who recovered and to those
who did not. There being much want of crisis and much variety as to these
diseases, the greatest and worst symptom attended the most of them, namely,
a loathing of all articles of food, more especially with those who had
otherwise fatal symptoms; but they were not unseasonably thirsty in such
fevers. After a length of time, with much suffering and great wasting,
abscesses were formed in these cases, either unusually large, so that the
patients could not support them, or unusually small, so that they did no
good, but soon relapsed and speedily got worse. The diseases which attacked
them were in the form of dysenteries, tenesmus, lientery, and fluxes; but,
in some cases, there were dropsies, with or without these complaints. Whatever
attacked them violently speedily cut them off, or again, did them no good.
Small rashes, and not corresponding to the violence of the disease, and
quickly disappearing, or swellings occurred about the ears, which were
not resolved, and brought on no crisis. In some they were determined to
the joints, and especially to the hip-joint, terminating critically with
a few, and quickly again increasing to its original
habit.
4. People died of all these diseases, but mostly of these
fevers, and notably infants just weaned, and older children, until eight
or ten years of age, and those before puberty. These things occurred to
those affected with the complaints described above, and to many persons
at first without them. The only favorable symptom, and the greatest of
those which occurred, and what saved most of those who were in the greatest
dangers, was the conversion of it to a strangury, and when, in addition
to this, abscesses were formed. The strangury attacked, most especially,
persons of the ages I have mentioned, but it also occurred in many others,
both of those who were not confined to bed and those who were. There was
a speedy and great change in all these cases. For the bowels, if they happened
previously to have watery discharges of a bad character, became regular,
they got an appetite for food, and the fevers were mild afterwards. But,
with regard to the strangury itself, the symptoms were protracted and painful.
Their urine was copious, thick, of various characters, red, mixed with
pus, and was passed with pain. These all recovered, and I did not see a
single instance of death among them.
5. With regard to the dangers of these cases, one must always
attend to the seasonable concoction of all the evacuations, and to the
favorable and critical abscesses. The concoctions indicate a speedy crisis
and recovery of health; crude and undigested evacuations, and those which
are converted into bad abscesses, indicate either want of crisis, or pains,
or prolongation of the disease, or death, or relapses; which of these it
is to be must be determined from other circumstances. The physician must
be able to tell the antecedents, know the present, and foretell the future-
must mediate these things, and have two special objects in view with regard
to disease, namely, to do good or to do no harm. The art consists in three
things- the disease, the patient, and the physician. The physician is the
servant of the art, and the patient must combat the disease along with
the physician.
6. Pains about the head and neck, and heaviness of the same
along with pain, occur either without fevers or in fevers. Convulsions
occurring in persons attacked with frenzy, and having vomitings of verdigris-green
bile, in some cases quickly prove fatal. In ardent fevers, and in those
other fevers in which there is pain of the neck, heaviness of the temples,
mistiness about the eyes, and distention about the hypochondriac region,
not unattended with pain, hemorrhage from the nose takes place, but those
who have heaviness of the whole head, cardialgia and nausea, vomit bilious
and pituitous matters; children, in such affections, are generally attacked
with convulsions, and women have these and also pains of the uterus; whereas,
in elder persons, and those in whom the heat is already more subdued, these
cases end in paralysis, mania, and loss of sight.
Third Constitution
7. In Thasus, a little before and during the season of Arcturus,
there were frequent and great rains, with northerly winds. About the equinox,
and till the setting of the Pleiades, there were a few southerly rains:
the winter northerly and parched, cold, with great winds and snow. Great
storms about the equinox, the spring northerly, dryness, rains few and
cold. About the summer solstice, scanty rains, and great cold until near
the season of the Dog-star. After the Dog-days, until the season of Arcturus,
the summer hot, great droughts, not in intervals, but continued and severe:
no rain; the Etesian winds blew; about the season of Arcturus southerly
rains until the equinox.
8. In this state of things, during winter, paraplegia set
in, and attacked many, and some died speedily; and otherwise the disease
prevailed much in an epidemical form, but persons remained free from all
other diseases. Early in the spring, ardent fevers commenced and continued
through the summer until the equinox. Those then that were attacked immediately
after the commencement of the spring and summer, for the most part recovered,
and but few of them died. But when the autumn and the rains had set in,
they were of a fatal character, and the greater part then died. When in
these attacks of ardent fevers there was a proper and copious hemorrhage
from the nose, they were generally saved by it, and I do not know a single
person who had a proper hemorrhage who died in this constitution. Philiscus,
Epaminon, and Silenus, indeed, who had a trifling epistaxis on the fourth
and fifth day, died. Most of those taken with had a rigor about the time
of the crisis, and notably those who had no hemorrhage; these had also
rigor associated.
9. Some were attacked with jaundice on the sixth day, but
these were benefited either by an urinary purgation, or a disorder of the
bowels, or a copious hemorrhage, as in the case of Heraclides, who was
lodged with Aristocydes: this person, though he had the hemorrhage from
the nose, the purgation by the bladder, and disorder of the bowels, experienced
a favorable crisis on the twentieth day, not like the servant of Phanagoras,
who had none of these symptoms, and died. The hemorrhages attacked most
persons, but especially young persons and those in the prime of life, and
the greater part of those who had not the hemorrhage died: elderly persons
had jaundice or disorder of the bowels, such as Bion, who was lodged with
Silenus. Dysenteries were epidemical during the summer, and some of those
cases in which the hemorrhage occurred, terminated in dysentery, as happened
to the slave of Eraton, and to Mullus, who had a copious hemorrhage, which
settled down into dysentery, and they recovered. This humor was redundant
in many cases, since in those who had not the hemorrhage about the crisis,
but the risings about the ears disappeared, after their disappearance there
was a sense of weight in the left flank extending to the extremity of the
hip, and pain setting in after the crisis, with a discharge of thin urine;
they began to have small hemorrhages about the twenty-fourth day, and the
swelling was converted into the hemorrhage. In the case of Antiphon, the
son of Critobulus' son, the fever ceased and came to a crisis about the
fortieth day.
10. Many women were seized, but fewer than of the men, and
there were fewer deaths among them. But most of them had difficult parturition,
and after labor they were taken ill, and these most especially died, as,
for example, the daughter of Telebolus died on the sixth day after delivery.
Most females had the menstrual discharge during the fever, and many girls
had it then for the first time: in certain individuals both the hemorrhage
from the nose and the menses appeared; thus, in the case of the virgin
daughter of Daetharses, the menses then took place for the first time,
and she had also a copinous hemorrhage from the nose, and I knew no instance
of any one dying when one or other of these took place properly. But all
those in the pregnant state that were attacked had abortions, as far as
I observed. The urine in most cases was of the proper color, but thin,
and having scanty sediments: in most the bowels were disordered with thin
and bilious dejections; and many, after passing through the other crises,
terminated in dysenteries, as happened to Xenophanes and Critias. The urine
was watery, copious, clear, and thin; and even after the crises, when the
sediment was natural, and all the other critical symptoms were favorable,
as I recollect having happened to Bion, who was lodged in the house of
Silenus, and Critias, who lived with Xenophanes, the slave of Areton, and
the wife of Mnesistratus. But afterwards all these were attacked with dysentery.
It would be worth while to inquire whether the watery urine was the cause
of this. About the season of Arcturus many had the crisis on the eleventh
day, and in them the regular relapses did not take place, but they became
comatose about this time, especially children; but there were fewest deaths
of all among them.
11. About the equinox, and until the season of the Pleiades,
and at the approach of winter, many ardent fevers set in; but great numbers
at that season were seized with phrenitis, and many died; a few cases also
occurred during the summer. These then made their attack at the commencement
of ardent fevers, which were attended with fatal symptoms; for immediately
upon their setting in, there were acute fever and small rigors, insomnolency,
aberration, thirst, nausea, insignificant sweats about the forehead and
clavicles, but no general perspiration; they had much delirious talking,
fears, despondency, great coldness of the extremities, in the feet, but
more especially in their hands: the paroxysms were on the even days; and
in most cases, on the fourth day, the most violent pains set in, with sweats,
generally coldish, and the extremities could not be warmed, but were livid
and rather cold, and they had then no thirst; in them the urine was black,
scanty, thin, and the bowels were constipated; there was an hemorrhage
from the nose in no case in which these symptoms occurred, but merely a
trifling epistaxis; and none of them had a relapse, but they died on the
sixth day with sweats. In the phrenitic cases, all the symptoms which have
been described did not occur, but in them the disease mostly came to a
crisis on the eleventh day, and in some on the twentieth. In those cases
in which the phrenitis did not begin immediately, but about the third or
fourth day, the disease was moderate at the commencement, but assumed a
violent character about the seventh day. There was a great number of diseases,
and of those affected, they who died were principally infants, young persons,
adults having smooth bodies, white skins, straight and black hair, dark
eyes, those living recklessly and luxuriously; persons with shrill, or
rough voices, who stammered and were passionate, and women more especially
died from this form. In this constitution, four symptoms in particular
proved salutary; either a hemorrhage from the nose, or a copious discharge
by the bladder of urine, having an abundant and proper sediment, or a bilious
disorder of the bowels at the proper time, or an attack of dysentery. And
in many cases it happened, that the crisis did not take place by any one
of the symptoms which have been mentioned, but the patient passed through
most of them, and appeared to be in an uncomfortable way, and yet all who
were attacked with these symptoms recovered. All the symptoms which I have
described occurred also to women and girls; and whoever of them had any
of these symptoms in a favorable manner, or the menses appeared abundantly,
were saved thereby, and had a crisis, so that I do not know a single female
who had any of these favorably that died. But the daughter of Philo, who
had a copious hemorrhage from the nose, and took supper unseasonably on
the seventh day, died. In those cases of acute, and more especially of
ardent fevers, in which there is an involuntary discharge of tears, you
may expect a nasal hemorrhage unless the other symptoms be of a fatal type,
for in those of a bad description, they do not indicate a hemorrhage, but
death.
12. Swellings about the ears, with pain in fevers, sometimes
when the fever went off critically, neither subsided nor were converted
into pus; in these cases a bilious diarrhoea, or dysentery, or thick urine
having a sediment, carried off the disease, as happened to Hermippus of
Clazomenae. The circumstances relating to crises, as far as we can recognize
them, were so far similar and so far dissimilar. Thus two brothers became
ill at the same hour (they were brothers of Epigenes, and lodged near the
theatre), of these the elder had a crisis on the sixth day, and the younger
on the seventh, and both had a relapse at the same hour; it then left them
for five days, and from the return of the fever both had a crisis together
on the seventeenth day. Most had a crisis on the sixth day; it then left
them for six days, and from the relapse there was a crisis on the fifth
day. But those who had a crisis on the seventh day, had an intermission
for seven days; and the crisis took place on the third day after the relapse.
Those who had a crisis on the sixth day, after an interval of six days
were seized again on the third, and having left them for one day, the fever
attacked them again on the next and came to a crisis, as happened to Evagon
the son of Daetharses. Those in whom the crisis happened on the sixth day,
had an intermission of seven days, and from the relapse there was a crisis
on the fourth, as happened to the daughter of Aglaidas. The greater part
of those who were taken ill under this constitution of things, were affected
in this manner, and I did not know a single case of recovery, in which
there was not a relapse agreeably to the stated order of relapses; and
all those recovered in which the relapses took place according to this
form: nor did I know a single instance of those who then passed through
the disease in this manner who had another relapse.
13. In these diseases death generally happened on the sixth
day, as with Epaminondas, Silenus, and Philiscus the son of Antagoras.
Those who had parotid swellings experienced a crisis on the twentieth day,
but in all these cases the disease went off without coming to a suppuration,
and was turned upon the bladder. But in Cratistonax, who lived by the temple
of Hercules, and in the maid servant of Scymnus the fuller, it turned to
a suppuration, and they died. Those who had a crisis on the seventh day,
had an intermission of nine days, and a relapse which came to a crisis
on the fourth day from the return of the fever, as was the case with Pantacles,
who resided close by the temple of Bacchus. Those who had a crisis on the
seventh day, after an interval of six days had a relapse, from which they
had a crisis on the seventh day, as happened to Phanocritus, who was lodged
with Gnathon the fuller. During the winter, about the winter solstices,
and until the equinox, the ardent fevers and frenzies prevailed, and many
died. The crisis, however, changed, and happened to the greater number
on the fifth day from the commencement, left them for four days and relapsed;
and after the return, there was a crisis on the fifth day, making in all
fourteen days. The crisis took place thus in the case of most children,
also in elder persons. Some had a crisis on the eleventh day, a relapse
on the fourteenth, a complete crisis on the twentieth; but certain persons,
who had a rigor about the twentieth, had a crisis on the fortieth. The
greater part had a rigor along with the original crisis, and these had
also a rigor about the crisis in the relapse. There were fewest cases of
rigor in the spring, more in summer, still more in autumn, but by far the
most in winter; then hemorrhages ceased.
Section III
1. With regard to diseases, the circumstances from which
we form a judgment of them are,- by attending to the general nature of
all, and the peculiar nature of each individual,- to the disease, the patient,
and the applications,- to the person who applies them, as that makes a
difference for better or for worse,- to the whole constitution of the season,
and particularly to the state of the heavens, and the nature of each country;-
to the patient's habits, regimen, and pursuits;- to his conversation, manners,
taciturnity, thoughts, sleep, or absence of sleep, and sometimes his dreams,
what and when they occur;- to his picking and scratching;- to his tears;-
to the alvine discharges, urine, sputa, and vomitings; and to the changes
of diseases from the one into the other;- to the deposits, whether of a
deadly or critical character;- to the sweat, coldness, rigor, cough, sneezing,
hiccup, respiration, eructation, flatulence, whether passed silently or
with a noise;- to hemorrhages and hemorrhoids;- from these, and their consequences,
we must form our judgment.
2. Fevers are,- the continual, some of which hold during
the day and have a remission at night, and others hold a remission during
the day; semi-tertians, tertians, quartans, quintans, septans, nonans.
The most acute, strongest, most dangerous, and fatal diseases, occur in
the continual fever. The least dangerous of all, and the mildest and most
protracted, is the quartan, for it is not only such from itself, but it
also carries off other great diseases. In what is called the semi-tertian,
other acute diseases are apt to occur, and it is the most fatal of all
others, and moreover phthisical persons, and those laboring under other
protracted diseases, are apt to be attacked by it. The nocturnal fever
is not very fatal, but protracted; the diurnal is still more protracted,
and in some cases passes into phthisis. The septan is protracted, but not
fatal; the nonan more protracted, and not fatal. The true tertian comes
quickly to a crisis, and is not fatal; but the quintan is the worst of
all, for it proves fatal when it precedes an attack of phthisis, and when
it supervenes on persons who are already consumptive. There are peculiar
modes, and constitutions, and paroxysms, in every one of these fevers;
for example,- the continual, in some cases at the very commencement, grows,
as it were, and attains its full strength, and rises to its most dangerous
pitch, but is diminished about and at the crisis; in others it begins gentle
and suppressed, but gains ground and is exacerbated every day, and bursts
forth with all its heat about and at the crisis; while in others, again,
it commences mildly, increases, and is exacerbated until it reaches its
acme, and then remits until at and about the crisis. These varieties occur
in every fever, and in every disease. From these observations one must
regulate the regimen accordingly. There are many other important symptoms
allied to these, part of which have been already noticed, and part will
be described afterwards, from a consideration of which one may judge, and
decided in each case, whether the disease be acute, acute, and whether
it will end in death or recovery; or whether it will be protracted, and
will end in death or recovery; and in what cases food is to be given, and
in what not; and when and to what amount, and what particular kind of food
is to be administered.
3. Those diseases which have their paroxysms on even days
have their crises on even days; and those which have their paroxysms on
uneven days have their crises on uneven days. The first period of those
which have the crisis on even days, is the 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 14th, 20th,
30th, 40th, 60th, 80th, 100th; and the first period of those which have
their crises on uneven days, is the 1st, 3d, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 17th,
21th, 27th, 31st. It should be known, that if the crisis take place on
any other day than on those described, it indicates that there will be
a relapse, which may prove fatal. But one ought to pay attention, and know
in these seasons what crises will lead to recovery and what to death, or
to changes for the better or the worse. Irregular fevers, quartans, quintans,
septans, and nonans should be studied, in order to find out in what periods
their crises take place.
Fourteen Cases of Disease
Case I. Philiscus, who lived by the Wall, took to bed on the first
day of acute fever; he sweated; towards night was uneasy. On the second
day all the symptoms were exacerbated; late in the evening had a proper
stool from a small clyster; the night quiet. On the third day, early in
the morning and until noon, he appeared to be free from fever; towards
evening, acute fever, with sweating, thirst, tongue parched; passed black
urine; night uncomfortable, no sleep; he was delirious on all subjects.
On the fourth, all the symptoms exacerbated, urine black; night more comfortable,
urine of a better color. On the fifth, about mid-day, had a slight trickling
of pure blood from the nose; urine varied in character, having floating
in it round bodies, resembling semen, and scattered, but which did not
fall to the bottom; a suppository having been applied, some scanty flatulent
matters were passed; night uncomfortable, little sleep, talking incoherently;
extremities altogether cold, and could not be warmed; urine, black; slept
a little towards day; loss of speech, cold sweats; extremities livid; about
the middle of the sixth day he died. The respiration throughout, like that
of a person recollecting himself, was rare, and large, and spleen was swelled
upon in a round tumor, the sweats cold throughout, the paroxysms on the
even days.
Case i. Silenus lived on the Broad-way, near the house of Evalcidas.
From fatigue, drinking, and unseasonable exercises, he was seized with
fever. He began with having pain in the loins; he had heaviness of the
head, and there was stiffness of the neck. On the first day the alvine
discharges were bilious, unmixed, frothy, high colored, and copious; urine
black, having a black sediment; he was thirsty, tongue dry; no sleep at
night. On the second, acute fever, stools more copious, thinner, frothy;
urine black, an uncomfortable night, slight delirium. On the third, all
the symptoms exacerbated; an oblong distention, of a softish nature, from
both sides of the hypochondrium to the navel; stools thin, and darkish;
urine muddy, and darkish; no sleep at night; much talking, laughter, singing,
he could not restrain himself. On the fourth, in the same state. On the
fifth, stools bilious, unmixed, smooth, greasy; urine thin, and transparent;
slight absence of delirium. On the sixth, slight perspiration about the
head; extremities cold and livid; much tossing about; no passage from the
bowels, urine suppressed, acute fever. On the seventh, loss of speech;
extremities could no longer be kept warm; no discharge of urine. On the
eighth, a cold sweat all over; red rashes with sweat, of a round figure,
small, like vari, persistent, not subsiding; by means of a slight stimulus,
a copious discharge from the bowels, of a thin and undigested character,
with pain; urine acrid, and passed with pain; extremities slightly heated;
sleep slight, and comatose; speechless; urine thin, and transparent. On
the ninth, in the same state. On the tenth, no drink taken; comatose, sleep
slight; alvine discharges the same; urine abundant, and thickish; when
allowed to stand, the sediment farinaceous and white; extremities again
cold. On the eleventh, he died. At the commencement, and throughout, the
respiration was slow and large; there was a constant throbbing in the hypochondrium;
his age was about twenty.
Case ii. Herophon was seized with an acute fever; alvine discharges
at first were scanty, and attended with tenesmus; but afterwards they were
passed of a thin, bilious character, and frequent; there was no sleep;
urine black, and thin. On the fifth, in the morning, deafness; all the
symptoms exacerbated; spleen swollen; distention of the hypochondrium;
alvine discharges scanty, and black; he became delirious. On the sixth,
delirious; at night, sweating, coldness; the delirium continued. On the
seventh, he became cold, thirsty, was disordered in mind; at night recovered
his senses; slept. On the eighth, was feverish; the spleen diminished in
size; quite collected; had pain at first about the groin, on the same side
as the spleen; had pains in both legs; night comfortable; urine better
colored, had a scanty sediment. On the ninth, sweated; the crisis took
place; fever remitted. On the fifth day afterwards, fever relapsed, spleen
immediately became swollen; acute fever; deafness again. On the third day
after the relapse, the spleen diminished; deafness less; legs painful;
sweated during the night; crisis took place on the seventeenth day; had
no disorder of the senses during the relapse.
Case v. In Thasus, the wife of Philinus, having been delivered
of a daughter, the discharge being natural, and other matters going on
mildly, on the fourteenth day after delivery was seized with fever, attended
with rigor; was pained at first in the cardiac region of the stomach and
right hypochondrium; pain in the genital organs; lochial discharge ceased.
Upon the application of a pessary all these symptoms were alleviated; pains
of the head, neck, and loins remained; no sleep; extremities cold; thirst;
bowels in a hot state; stools scanty; urine thin, and colorless at first.
On the sixth, towards night, senses much disordered, but again were restored.
On the seventh, thirsty; the evacuations bilious, and high colored. On
the eighth, had a rigor; acute fever; much spasm, with pain; talked much,
incoherently; upon the application of a suppository, rose to stool, and
passed copious dejections, with a bilious flux; no sleep. On the ninth,
spasms. On the tenth, slightly recollected. On the eleventh, slept; had
perfect recollection, but again immediately wandered; passed a large quantity
of urine with spasms, (the attendants seldom putting her in mind), it was
thick, white, like urine which has been shaken after it has stood for a
considerable time until it has subsided, but it had no sediment; in color
and consistence, the urine resembled that of cattle, as far as I observed.
About the fourteenth day, startings over the whole body; talked much; slightly
collected, but presently became again delirious. About the seventeenth
day became speechless, on the twentieth died.
Case V. The wife of Epicrates, who was lodged at the house of Archigetes,
being near the term of delivery, was seized with a violent rigor, and,
as was said, she did not become heated; next day the same. On the third,
she was delivered of a daughter, and everything went on properly. On the
day following her delivery, she was seized with acute fever, pain in the
cardiac region of the stomach, and in the genital parts. Having had a suppository,
was in so far relieved; pain in the head, neck, and loins; no sleep; alvine
discharges scanty, bilious, thin, and unmixed; urine thin, and blackish.
Towards the night of the sixth day from the time she was seized with the
fever, became delirious. On the seventh, all the symptoms exacerbated;
insomnolency, delirium, thirst; stools bilious, and high colored. On the
eighth, had a rigor; slept more. On the ninth, the same. On the tenth,
her limbs painfully affected; pain again of the cardiac region of the stomach;
heaviness of the head; no delirium; slept more; bowels constipated. On
the eleventh, passed urine of a better color, and having an abundant sediment;
felt lighter. On the fourteenth had a rigor; acute fever. On the fifteenth,
had a copious vomiting of bilious and yellow matters; sweated; fever gone;
at night acute fever; urine thick, sediment white. On the seventeenth,
an exacerbation; night uncomfortable; no sleep; delirium. On the eighteenth,
thirsty; tongue parched; no sleep; much delirium; legs painfully affected.
About the twentieth, in the morning, had as light rigor; was comatose;
slept tranquilly; had slight vomiting of bilious and black matters; towards
night deafness. About the twenty-first, weight generally in the left side,
with pain; slight urine thick, muddy, and reddish; when allowed to stand,
had no sediment; in other respects felt lighter; fever not gone; fauces
painful from the commencement, and red; uvula retracted; defluxion remained
acrid, pungent, and saltish throughout. About the twenty-seventh, free
of fever; sediment in the urine; pain in the side. About the thirty-first,
was attacked with fever, bilious diarrhea; slight bilious vomiting on the
fortieth. Had a complete crisis, and was freed from the fever on the eightieth
day.
Case i. Cleonactides, who was lodged above the Temple of Hercules,
was seized with a fever in an irregular form; was pained in the head and
left side from the commencement, and had other pains resembling those produced
by fatigue; paroxysms of the fevers inconstant and irregular; occasional
sweats; the paroxysms generally attacked on the critical days. About the
twenty-fourth was cold in the extremities of the hands, vomitings bilious,
yellow, and frequent, soon turning to a verdigris-green color; general
relief. About the thirtieth, began to have hemorrhage from both nostrils,
and this continued in an irregular manner until near the crisis; did not
loathe food, and had no thirst throughout, nor was troubled with insomnolency;
urine thin, and not devoid of color. When about the thirtieth day, passed
reddish urine, having a copious red sediment; was relieved, but afterwards
the characters of the urine varied, sometimes having sediment, and sometimes
not. On the sixtieth, the sediment in the urine copious, white, and smooth;
all the symptoms ameliorated; intermission of the fever; urine thin, and
well colored. On the seventieth, fever gone for ten days. On the eightieth
had a rigor, was seized with acute fever, sweated much; a red, smooth sediment
in the urine; and a perfect crisis.
Case ii. Meton was seized with fever; there was a painful weight
in the loins. Next day, after drinking water pretty copiously, had proper
evacuations from the bowels. On the third, heaviness of the head, stools
thin, bilious, and reddish. On the fourth, all the symptoms exacerbated;
had twice a scanty trickling of blood from the right nostril; passed an
uncomfortable night; alvine discharges like those on the third day; urine
darkish, had a darkish cloud floating in it, of a scattered form, which
did not subside. On the fifth, a copious hemorrhage of pure blood from
the left he sweated, and had a crisis. After the fever restless, and had
some delirium; urine thin, and darkish; had an affusion of warm water on
the head; slept and recovered his senses. In this case there was no relapse,
but there were frequent hemorrhages after the crisis.
Case iii. Erasinus, who lived near the Canal of Bootes, was seized
with fever after supper; passed the night in an agitated state. During
the first day quiet, but in pain at night. On the second, symptoms all
exacerbated; at night delirious. On the third, was in a painful condition;
great incoherence. On the fourth, in a most uncomfortable state; had no
sound sleep at night, but dreaming and talking; then all the appearances
worse, of a formidable and alarming character; fear, impatience. On the
morning of the fifth, was composed, and quite coherent, but long before
noon was furiously mad, so that he could not constrain himself; extremities
cold, and somewhat livid; urine without sediment; died about sunset. The
fever in this case was accompanied by sweats throughout; the sweats throughout;
the hypochondria were in a state of meteorism, with distention and pain;
the urine was black, has round substances floating in it, which did not
subside; the alvine evacuations were not stopped; thirst throughout not
great; much spasms with sweats about the time of death.
Case x. Criton, in Thasus, while still on foot, and going about,
was seized with a violent pain in the great toe; he took to bed the same
day, had rigors and nausea, recovered his heat slightly, at night was delirious.
On the second, swelling of the whole foot, and about the ankle erythema,
with distention, and small bullae (phlyctaenae); acute fever; he became
furiously deranged; alvine discharges bilious, unmixed, and rather frequent.
He died on the second day from the commencement.
Case X. The Clazomenian who was lodged by the Well of Phrynichides
was seized with fever. He had pain in the head, neck, and loins from the
beginning, and immediately afterwards deafness; no sleep, acute fever,
hypochondria elevated with a swelling, but not much distention; tongue
dry. On the fourth, towards night, he became delirious. On the fifth, in
an uneasy state. On the sixth, all the symptoms exacerbated. About the
eleventh a slight remission; from the commencement to the fourteenth day
the alvine discharges thin, copious, and of the color of water, but were
well supported; the bowels then became constipated. Urine throughout thin,
and well colored, and had many substances scattered through it, but no
sediment. About the sixteenth, urine somewhat thicker, which had a slight
sediment; somewhat better, and more collected. On the seventeenth, urine
again thin; swellings about both his ears, with pain; no sleep, some incoherence;
legs painfully affected. On the twentieth, free of fever, had a crisis,
no sweat, perfectly collected. About the twenty-seventh, violent pain of
the right hip; it speedily went off. The swellings about the ears subsided,
and did not suppurate, but were painful. About the thirty-first, a diarrhea
attended with a copious discharge of watery matter, and symptoms of dysentery;
passed thick urine; swellings about the ears gone. About the fortieth day,
had pain in the right eye, sight dull. It went away.
Case i. The wife of Dromeades having been delivered of a female
child, and all other matters going on properly, on the second day after
was seized with rigor and acute fever. Began to have pain about the hypochondrium
on the first day; had nausea and incoherence, and for some hours afterwards
had no sleep; respiration rare, large, and suddenly interrupted. On the
day following that on which she had the rigor, alvine discharges proper;
urine thick, white, muddy, like urine which has been shaken after standing
for some time, until the sediment had fallen to the bottom; it had no sediment;
she did not sleep during the night. On the third day, about noon, had a
rigor, acute fever; urine the same; pain of the hypochondria, nausea, an
uncomfortable night, no sleep; a coldish sweat all over, but heat quickly
restored. On the fourth, slight alleviation of the symptoms about the hypochondria;
heaviness of the head, with pain; somewhat comatose; slight epistaxis,
tongue dry, thirst, urine thin and oily; slept a little, upon awaking was
somewhat comatose; slight coldness, slept during the night, was delirious.
On the morning of the sixth had a rigor, but soon recovered her heat, sweated
all over; extremities cold, was delirious, respiration rare and large.
Shortly afterwards spasms from the head began, and she immediately
expired.
Case ii. A man, in a heated state, took supper, and drank more
than enough; he vomited the whole during the night; acute fever, pain of
the right hypochondrium, a softish inflammation from the inner part; passed
an uncomfortable night; urine at the commencement thick, red, but when
allowed to stand, had no sediment, tongue dry, and not very thirsty. On
the fourth, acute fever, pains all over. On the fifth, urine smooth, oily,
and copious; acute fever. On the sixth, in the evening, very incoherent,
no sleep during the night. On the seventh, all the symptoms exacerbated;
urine of the same characters; much talking, and he could not contain himself;
the bowels being stimulated, passed a watery discharge with lumbrici: night
equally painful. In the morning had a rigor; acute fever, hot sweat, appeared
to be free of fever; did not sleep long; after the sleep a chill, ptyalism;
in the evening, great incoherence; after a little, vomited a small quantity
of dark bilious matters. On the ninth, coldness, much delirium, did not
sleep. On the tenth, pains in the limbs, all the symptoms exacerbated;
he was delirious. On the eleventh, he died.
Case iii. A woman, who lodged on the Quay, being three months gone
with child, was seized with fever, and immediately began to have pains
in the loins. On the third day, pain of the head and neck, extending to
the clavicle, and right hand; she immediately lost the power of speech;
was paralyzed in the right hand, with spasms, after the manner of paraplegia;
was quite incoherent; passed an uncomfortable night; did not sleep; disorder
of the bowels, attended with bilious, On the fourth, recovered the use
of her tongue; spasms of the same parts, and general pains remained; swelling
in the hypochondrium, accompanied with pain; did not sleep, was quite incoherent;
bowels disordered, urine thin, and not of a good color. On the fifth, acute
fever; pain of the hypochondrium, quite incoherent; alvine evacuations
bilious; towards night had a sweat, and was freed from the fever. On the
sixth, recovered her reason; was every way relieved; the pain remained
about the left clavicle; was thirsty, urine thin, had no sleep. On the
seventh trembling, slight coma, some incoherence, pains about the clavicle
and left arm remained; in all other respects was alleviated; quite coherent.
For three days remained free from fever. On the eleventh, had a relapse,
with rigor and fever. About the fourteenth day, vomited pretty abundantly
bilious and yellow matters, had a sweat, the fever went off, by coming
to a crisis.
Case iv. Melidia, who lodged near the Temple of Juno, began to
feel a violent pain of the head, neck, and chest. She was straightway seized
with acute fever; a slight appearance of the menses; continued pains of
all these parts. On the sixth, was affected with coma, nausea, and rigor;
redness about the cheeks; slight delirium. On the seventh, had a sweat;
the fever intermitted, the pains remained. A relapse; little sleep; urine
throughout of a good color, but thin; the alvine evacuations were thin,
bilious, acrid, very scanty, black, and fetid; a white, smooth sediment
in the urine; had a sweat, and experienced a perfect crisis on the eleventh
day.
Book II
Section I
Case I. Pythion, who lived by the Temple of the Earth, on the first day,
trembling commencing from his hands; acute fever, delirium. On the second,
all the symptoms were exacerbated. On the third, the same. On the fourth
alvine discharges scanty, unmixed, and bilious. On the fifth, all the symptoms
were exacerbated, the tremors remained; little sleep, the bowels constipated.
On the sixth sputa mixed, reddish. On the seventh, mouth drawn aside. On
the eighth, all the symptoms were exacerbated; the tremblings were again
constant; urine, from the beginning to the eighth day, thin, and devoid
of color; substances floating in it, cloudy. On the tenth he sweated; sputa
somewhat digested, had a crisis; urine thinnish about the crisis; but after
the crisis, on the fortieth day, an abscess about the anus, which passed
off by a strangury.
Explanation of the characters. It is probably that the great discharge
of urine brought about the resolution of the disease, and the cure of the
patient on the fortieth day.
Case i. Hermocrates, who lived by the New Wall, was seized with
fever. He began to have pain in the head and loins; an empty distention
of the hypochondrium; the tongue at first was parched; deafness at the
commencement; there was no sleep; not very thirsty; urine thick and red,
when allowed to stand it did not subside; alvine discharge very dry, and
not scanty. On the fifth, urine thin, had substances floating in it which
did not fall to the bottom; at night he was delirious. On the sixth, had
jaundice; all the symptoms were exacerbated; had no recollection. On the
seventh, in an uncomfortable state; urine thin, as formerly; on the following
days the same. About the eleventh day, all the symptoms appeared to be
lightened. Coma set in; urine thicker, reddish, thin substances below,
had no sediment; by degrees he became collected. On the fourteenth, fever
gone; had no sweat; slept, quite collected; urine of the same characters.
About the seventeenth, had a relapse, became hot. On the following days,
acute fever, urine thin, was delirious. Again, on the twentieth, had a
crisis; free of fever; had no sweat; no appetite through the whole time;
was perfectly collected; could not speak, tongue dry, without thirst; deep
sleep. About the twenty-fourth day he became heated; bowels loose, with
a thin, watery discharge; on the following days acute fever, tongue parched.
On the twenty-seventh he died. In this patient deafness continued throughout;
the urine either thick and red, without sediment, or thin, devoid of color,
and, having substances floating in it: he could taste
nothing.
Explanation of the characters. It is probably that it was the suppression
of the discharges from the bowels which occasioned death on the twenty-seventh
day.
Case ii. The man who was lodged in the Garden of Dealces: had heaviness
of the head and pain in the right temple for a considerable time, from
some accidental cause, was seized with fever, and took to bed. On the second,
there was a trickling of pure blood from the left nostril, but the alvine
discharges were proper, urine thin, mixed, having small substances floating
in it, like coarse barley meal, or semen. On the third, acute fever; stools
black, thin, frothy, a livid sediment in the dejections; slight coma; uneasiness
at the times he had to get up; sediment in the urine livid, and somewhat
viscid. On the fourth, slight vomiting of bilious, yellow matters, and,
after a short interval, of the color of verdigris; a few drops of pure
blood ran from the left nostril; stools the same; urine the same; sweated
about the head and clavicles; spleen enlarged, pain of the thigh on the
same side; loose swelling of the right hypochondrium; at night had no sleep,
slight delirium. On the sixth, stools black, fatty, viscid, fetid; slept,
more collected. On the seventh, tongue dry, thirsty, did not sleep; was
somewhat delirious; urine thin, not of a good color. On the eighth, stools
black, scanty, and compact; slept, became collected; not very thirsty.
On the ninth had a rigor, acute fever, sweated, a chill, was delirious,
strabismus of the right eye, tongue dry, thirsty, without sleep. On the
tenth, much the same. On the eleventh, became quite collected; free from
fever, slept, urine thin about the crisis. The two following days without
fever; it returned on the fourteenth, then immediately insomnolency and
complete delirium. On the fifteenth, urine muddy, like that which has been
shaken after the sediment has fallen to the bottom; acute fever, quite
delirious, did not sleep; knees and legs painful; after a suppository,
had alvine dejections of a black color. On the sixteenth, urine thin, had
a cloudy eneorema, was delirious. On the seventeenth, in the morning, extremities
cold, was covered up with the bedclothes, acute fever, general sweat, felt
relieved, more collected; not free of fever, thirsty, vomited yellow bile,
in small quantities; formed faeces passed from the bowels, but soon afterwards
black, scanty, and thin; urine thin, not well colored. On the eighteenth,
not collected, comatose. On the nineteenth, in the same state. On the twentieth,
slept; quite collected, sweated, free from fever, not thirsty, but the
urine thin. On the twenty-first, slight delirium; somewhat thirsty, pain
of the hypochondrium, and throbbing about the navel throughout. On sediment
in the urine, quite collected. Twenty-seventh, pain of the right hip joint;
urine thin and bad, a sediment; all the other symptoms milder. About the
twenty-ninth, pain of the right eye; urine thin. Fortieth, dejections pituitous,
white, rather frequent; sweated abundantly all over; had a complete
crisis.
Explanation of the characters. It is probable that, by means of
the stools, the urine, and the sweat, this patient was cured in forty
days.
Section II
Case I. In Thasus, Philistes had headache of long continuance,
and sometimes was confined to bed, with a tendency to deep sleep; having
been seized with continual fevers from drinking, the pain was exacerbated;
during the night he, at first, became hot. On the first day, he vomited
some bilious matters, at first yellow, but afterwards of a verdigris-green
color, and in greater quantity; formed faeces passed from the bowels; passed
the night uncomfortably. On the second, deafness, acute fever; retraction
of the right hypochondrium; urine thin, transparent, had some small substances
like semen floating in it; delirium ferox about mid-day. On the third,
in an uncomfortable state. On the fourth, convulsions; all the symptoms
exacerbated. On the fifth, early in the morning, died.
Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the death of
the patient on the fifth day is to be attributed to a phrenitis, with unfavorable
evacuations.
Case i. Charion, who was lodged at the house of Demaenetus, contracted
a fever from drinking. Immediately he had a painful heaviness of the head;
did not sleep; bowels disordered, with thin and somewhat bilious discharges.
On the third day, acute fever; trembling of the head, but especially of
the lower lip; after a little time a rigor, convulsions; he was quite delirious;
passed the night uncomfortably. On the fourth, quiet, slept little, talked
incoherently. On the fifth, in pain; all the symptoms exacerbated; delirium;
passed the night uncomfortably; did not sleep. On the sixth, in the same
state. On the seventh had a rigor, acute fever, sweated all over his body;
had a crisis. Throughout the alvine discharges were bilious, scanty, and
unmixed; urine thin, well colored, having cloudy substances floating in
it. About the eighth day, passed urine of a better color, having a white
scanty sediment; was collected, free from fever for a season. On the ninth
it relapsed. About the fourteenth, acute fever. On the sixteenth, vomited
pretty frequently yellow, bilious matters. On the seventeenth had a rigor,
acute fever, sweated, free of fever; had a crisis; urine, after the relapse
and the crisis, well colored, having a sediment; neither was he delirious
in the relapse. On the eighteenth, became a little heated; some thirst,
urine thin, with cloudy substances floating in it; slight wandering in
his mind. About the nineteenth, free of fever, had a pain in his neck;
a sediment in the urine. Had a complete crisis on the
twentieth.
Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the patient
was cured in twenty days, by the abundance of bilious stools and
urine.
Case ii. The daughter of Euryanax, a maid, was taken ill of fever.
She was free of thirst throughout, but had no relish for food. Alvine discharges
small, urine thin, scanty, not well colored. In the beginning of the fever,
had a pain about the nates. On the sixth day, was free of fever, did not
sweat, had a crisis; the complaint about the nates came to a small suppuration,
and burst at the crisis. After the crisis, on the seventh day, had a rigor,
became slightly heated, sweated. On the eighth day after the rigor, had
an inconsiderable rigor; the extremities cold ever after. About the tenth
day, after a sweat which came on, she became delirious, and again immediately
afterwards was collected; these symptoms were said to have been brought
on by eating grapes. After an intermission of the twelfth day, she again
talked much incoherently; her bowels disordered with bilious, scanty, unmixed,
thin, acrid discharges; she required to get frequently up. She died on
the seventh day after the return of the delirium. At the commencement of
the disease she had pain in the throat, and it red throughout, uvula retracted,
defluxions abundant, thin, acrid; coughed, but had no concocted sputa;
during the whole time loathed all kinds of food, nor had the least desire
of anything; had no thirst, nor drank anything worth mentioning; was silent,
and never spoke a word; despondency; had no hopes of herself. She had a
congenital tendency to phthisis.
Case v. The woman affected with quinsy, who lodged in the house
of Aristion: her complaint began in the tongue; speech inarticulate; tongue
red and parched. On the first day, felt chilly, and afterwards became heated.
On the third day, a rigor, acute fever; a reddish and hard swelling on
both sides of the neck and chest, extremities cold and livid; and livid;
respiration elevated; the drink returned by the nose; she could not swallow;
alvine and urinary discharges suppressed. On the fourth, all of the symptoms
were exacerbated. On the fifth she died of the quinsy.
Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the cause of
death on the sixth day was the suppression of the discharges.
Case V. The young man who was lodged by the Liars' Market was seized
with fever from fatigue, labor, and running out of season. On the first
day, the bowels disordered, with bilious, thin, and copious dejections;
urine thin and blackish; had no sleep; was thirsty. On the second all the
symptoms were exacerbated; dejections more copious and unseasonable; he
had no sleep; disorder of the intellect; slight sweat. On the third day,
restless, thirst, nausea, much tossing about, bewilderment, delirium; extremities
livid and cold; softish distention of the hypochondrium on both sides.
On the fourth, did not sleep; still worse. On the seventh he died. He was
about twenty years of age.
Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the cause of
his death on the seventh day was the unseasonable practices mentioned above.
An acute affection.
Case i. The woman who lodged at the house of Tisamenas had a troublesome
attack of iliac passion, much vomiting; could not keep her drink; pains
about the hypochondria, and pains also in the lower part of the belly;
constant tormina; not thirsty; became hot; extremities cold throughout,
with nausea and insomnolency; urine scanty and thin; dejections undigested,
thin, scanty. Nothing could do her any good. She died.
Case ii. A woman of Pantimides, from a miscarriage, was taken ill
of fever. On the first day, tongue dry, thirst, nausea, insomnolency, belly
disordered, with thin, copious, undigested dejections. On the second day,
had a rigor, acute fever; alvine discharges copious; had no sleep. On the
third, pains greater. On the fourth, delirious. On the seventh she died.
Belly throughout loose, with copious, thin, undigested evacuations; urine
scanty, thin. An ardent fever.
Case iii. Another woman, after a miscarriage about the fifth month,
the wife of Ocetes, was seized with fever. At first had sometimes coma
and sometimes insomnolency; pain of the loins; heaviness of the head. On
the second, the bowels were disordered, with scanty, thin, and at first
unmixed dejections. On the third, more copious, and worse; at night did
not sleep. On the fourth was delirious; frights, despondency; strabismus
of the right eye; a faint cold sweat about the head; extremities cold.
On the fifth day, all the symptoms were exacerbated; talked much incoherently,
and again immediately became collected; had no thirst; labored under insomnolency;
alvine dejections copious, and unseasonable throughout; urine scanty, thin,
darkish; extremities cold, somewhat livid. On the sixth day, in the same
state. On the seventh she died. Phrenitis.
Case x. A woman who lodged near the Liars' Market, having then
brought forth a son in a first and difficult labor, was seized with fever.
Immediately on the commencement had thirst, nausea, and cardialgia; tongue
dry; bowels disordered, with thin and scanty dejections; had no sleep.
On the second, had slight rigor, acute fever; a faint cold sweat about
the head. On the third, painfully affected; evacuations from the bowels
undigested, thin, and copious. On the fourth, had a rigor; all the symptoms
exacerbated; insomnolency. On the fifth, in a painful state. On the sixth,
in the same state; discharges from the bowels liquid and copious. On the
seventh, had a rigor, fever acute; much thirst; much tossing about; towards
evening a cold sweat over all; extremities cold, could no longer be kept
warm; and again at night had a rigor; extremities could not be warmed;
she did not sleep; was slightly delirious, and again speedily collected.
On the eighth, about mid-day, she became warm, was thirsty, comatose, had
nausea; vomited small quantities of yellowish bile; restless at night,
did not sleep; passed frequently large quantities of urine without consciousness.
On the ninth, all the symptoms gave way; comatose, towards evening slight
rigors; small vomitings of bile. On the tenth, rigor; exacerbation of the
fever, did not sleep at all; in the morning passed much urine having a
sediment; extremities recovered their heat. On the eleventh, vomited bile
of a verdigris-green color; not long after had a rigor, and again the extremities
cold; towards evening a rigor, a cold sweat, much vomiting; passed a painful
night. On the twelfth, had copious black and fetid vomitings; much hiccup,
painful thirst. On the thirteenth, vomitings black, fetid, and copious;
rigor about mid-day, loss of speech. On the fourteenth, some blood ran
from her nose, she died. In this case the bowels were loose throughout;
with rigors: her age about seventeen. An ardent fever.
Section III
1. The year was southerly, rainy; no winds throughout. Droughts
having prevailed during the previous seasons of the year, the south winds
towards the rising of Arcturus were attended with much rain. Autumn gloomy
and cloudy, with copious rains. Winter southerly, damp, and soft. But long
after the solstice, and near the equinox, much wintery weather out of season;
and when now close to the equinox, northerly, and winterly weather for
no long time. The spring again southerly, calm, much rain until the dog-days.
Summer fine and hot; great suffocating heats. The Etesian winds blew small
and irregular; again, about the season of Arcturus, much rains with north
winds.
2. The year being southerly, damp, and soft towards winter,
all were healthy, except those affected with phthisis, of whom we shall
write afterwards.
3. Early in spring, along with the prevailing cold, there
were many cases of erysipelas, some from a manifest cause, and some not.
They were of a malignant nature, and proved fatal to many; many had sore-throat
and loss of speech. There were many cases of ardent fever, phrensy, aphthous
affections of the mouth, tumors on the genital organs; of ophthalmia, anthrax,
disorder of the bowels, anorexia, with thirst and without it; of disordered
urine, large in quantity, and bad in quality; of persons affected with
coma for a long time, and then falling into a state of insomnolency. There
were many cases of failure of crisis, and many of unfavorable crisis; many
of dropsy and of phthisis. Such were the diseases then epidemic. There
were patients affected with every one of the species which have been mentioned,
and many died. The symptoms in each of these cases were as
follows:
4. In many cases erysipelas, from some obvious cause, such
as an accident, and sometimes from even a very small wound, broke out all
over the body, especially, in persons about sixty years of age, about the
head, if such an accident was neglected in the slightest degree; and this
happened in some who were under treatment; great inflammation took place,
and the erysipelas quickly spread all over. in the most of them abscessed
ended in suppurations, and there were great fallings off (sloughing) of
the flesh, tendons, and bones; and the defluxion which seated in the part
was not like pus, but a sort of putrefaction, and the running was large
and of various characters. Those cases in which any of these things happened
about the head were accompanied with falling off of the hairs of the head
and chin, the bones were laid bare and separated, and there were excessive
runnings; and these symptoms happened in fevers and without fevers. But
these things were more formidable in appearance than dangerous; for when
the concoction in these cases turned to a these cases turned to a suppuration,
most of them recovered; but when the inflammation and erysipelas disappeared,
and when no abscess was formed, a great number of these died. In like manner,
the same things happened to whatever part of the body the disease wandered,
for in many cases both forearm and arm dropped off; and in those cases
in which it fell upon the sides, the parts there, either before or behind,
got into a bad state; and in some cases the whole femur and bones of the
leg and whole foot were laid bare. But of all such cases, the most formidable
were those which took place about the pubes and genital organs. Such was
the nature of these cases when attended with sores, and proceeding from
an external cause; but the same things occurred in fevers, before fevers,
and after fevers. fevers. But those cases in which an abscess was formed,
and turned to a suppuration, or a seasonable diarrhea or discharge of good
urine took place, were relieved thereby: but those cases in which none
of these symptoms occurred, but they disappeared without a crisis, proved
fatal. The greater number of these erysipelatous cases took place in the
spring, but were prolonged through the summer and during
autumn.
5. In certain cases there was much disorder, and tumors
about the fauces, and inflammations of the tongue, and abscesses about
the teeth. And many were attacked with impairment or loss of speech; at
first, those in the commencement of phthisis, but also persons in ardent
fever and in phrenitis.
6. The cases of ardent fever and phrenitis occurred early
in spring after the cold set in, and great numbers were taken ill at that
time, and these cases were attended with acute and fatal symptoms. The
constitution of the ardent fevers which then occurred was as follows: at
the commencement they were affected with coma, nausea, and rigors; fever
acute, not much thirst, nor delirium, slight epistaxis, the paroxysms for
the most part on even days; and, about the time of the paroxysms, forgetfulness,
loss of strength and of speech, the extremities, that is to say, the hands
and feet, at all times, but more especially about the time of the paroxysms,
were colder than natural; they slowly and imperfectly became warmed, and
again recovered their recollection and speech. They were constantly affected
either with coma, in which they got which they got no sleep, or with insomnolency,
attended with pains; most had disorders of the bowels, attended with undigested,
thin, and copious evacuations; urine copious, thin, having nothing critical
nor favorable about it; neither was there any other critical appearance
in persons affected thus; for neither was there any proper hemorrhage,
nor any other of the accustomed evacuations, to prove a crisis. They died,
as it happened, in an irregular manner, mostly about the crisis, but in
some instances after having lost their speech for a long time, and having
had copious sweats. These were the symptoms which marked the fatal cases
of ardent fever; similar symptoms occurred in the phrenitic cases; but
these were particularly free from thirst, and none of these had wild delirium
as in other cases, but they died oppressed by a bad tendency to sleep,
and stupor.
7. But there were also other fevers, as will be described.
Many had their mouths affected with aphthous ulcerations. There were also
many defluxions about the genital parts, and ulcerations, boils (phymata),
externally and internally, about the groins. Watery ophthalmies of a chronic
character, with pains; fungous excrescences of the eyelids, externally
and internally, called fig, which destroyed the sight of many persons.
There were fungous growths, in many other instances, on ulcers, especially
on those seated on the genital organs. There were many attacks of carbuncle
(anthrax) through the summer, and other affections, which are called "the
putrefaction" (seps); also large ecthymata, and large tetters (herpetes)
in many instances.
8. And many and serious complaints attacked many persons
in the region of the belly. In the first place, tenesmus, accompanied with
pain, attacked many, but more especially children, and all who had not
attained to puberty; and the most of these died. There were many cases
of lientery and of dysentery; but these were not attended with much pain.
The evacuations were bilious, and fatty, and thin, and watery; in many
instances the disease terminated in this way, with and without fever; there
were painful tormina and volvuli of a malignant kind; copious evacuations
of the contents of the guts, and yet much remained behind; and the passages
did not carry off the pains, but yielded with difficulty to the means administered;
for in most cases purgings were hurtful to those affected in this manner;
many died speedily, but in many others they held out longer. In a word,
all died, both those who had acute attacks and those who had chronic, most
especially from affections of the belly, for it was the belly which carried
them all off.
9. All persons had an aversion to food in all the afore-mentioned
complaints to a degree such as I never met with before, and persons in
these complaints most especially, and those recovering from them, and in
all other diseases of a mortal nature. Some were troubled with thirst,
and some not; and both in febrile complaints and in others no one drank
unseasonably or disobeyed injunctions.
10. The urine in many cases was not in proportion to the
drink administered, but greatly in excess; and the badness of the urine
voided was great, for it had not the proper thickness, nor concoction,
nor purged properly; for in many cases purgings by the bladder indicate
favorably, but in the greatest number they indicated a melting of the body,
disorder of the bowels, pains, and a want of crisis.
11. Persons laboring under phrenitis and causus were particularly
disposed to coma; but also in all other great diseases which occurred along
with fever. In the main, most cases were attended either by heavy coma,
or by short and light sleep.
12. And many other forms of fevers were then epidemic, of
tertian, of quartan, of nocturnal, of continual, of chronic, of erratic,
of fevers attended with nausea, and of irregular fevers. All these were
attended with much disorder, for the bowels in most cases were disordered,
accompanied with rigors, sweats not of a critical character, and with the
state of the urine as described. In most instances the disease was protracted,
for neither did the deposits which took place prove critical as in other
cases; for in all complaints and in all cases there was difficulty of crisis,
want of crisis, and protraction of the disease, but most especially in
these. A few had the crisis about the eightieth day, but in most instances
it (the disease?) left them irregularly. A few of them died of dropsy without
being confined to bed. And in many other diseases people were troubled
with swelling, but more especially in phthisical cases.
13. The greatest and most dangerous disease, and the one
that proved fatal to the greatest number, was consumption. With many persons
it commenced during the winter, and of these some were confined to bed,
and others bore up on foot; the most of those died early in spring who
were confined to bed; of the others, the cough left not a single person,
but it became milder through the summer; during the autumn, all these were
confined to bed, and many of them died, but in the greater number of cases
the disease was long protracted. Most of these were suddenly attacked with
these diseases, having frequent rigors, often continual and acute fevers;
unseasonable, copious, and cold sweats throughout; great coldness, from
which they had great difficulty in being restored to heat; the bowels variously
constipated, and again immediately in a loose state, but towards the termination
in all cases with violent looseness of the bowels; a determination downwards
of all matters collected about the lungs; urine excessive, and not good;
troublesome melting. The coughs throughout were frequent, and copious,
digested, and liquid, but not brought up with much pain; and even when
they had some slight pain, in all cases the purging of the matters about
the lungs went on mildly. The fauces were not very irritable, nor were
they troubled with any saltish humors; but there were viscid, white, liquid,
frothy, and copious defluxions from the head. But by far the greatest mischief
attending these and the other complaints, was the aversion to food, as
has been described. For neither been described. For neither had they any
relish for drink along with their food, but continued without thirst. There
was heaviness of the body, disposition to coma, in most cases swelling,
which ended in dropsy; they had rigors, and were delirious towards
death.
14. The form of body peculiarly subject to phthisical complaints
was the smooth, the whitish, that resembling the lentil; the reddish, the
blue-eyed, the leucophlegmatic, and that with the scapulae having the appearance
of wings: and women in like manner, with regard to the melancholic and
subsanguineous, phrenitic and dysenteric affections principally attacked
them. Tenesmus troubled young persons of a phlegmatic temperament. Chronic
diarrhoea, acrid and viscid discharges from the bowels, attacked those
who were troubled with bitter bile.
15. To all those which have been described, the season of
spring was most inimical, and proved fatal to the greatest numbers: the
summer was the most favorable to them, and the fewest died then; in autumn,
and under the Pleiades, again there died great numbers. It appears to me,
according to the reason of things, that the coming on of summer should
have done good in these cases; for winter coming on cures the diseases
of summer, and summer coming on removes the diseases of winter. And yet
the summer in question was not of itself well constituted, for it became
suddenly hot, southerly, and calm; but, not withstanding, it proved beneficial
by producing a change on the other constitution.
16. I look upon it as being a great part of the art to be
able to judge properly of that which has been written. For he that knows
and makes a proper use of these things, would appear to me not likely to
commit any great mistake in the art. He ought to learn accurately the constitution
of every one of the seasons, and of the diseases; whatever that is common
in each constitution and disease is good, and whatever is bad; whatever
disease will be protracted and end in death, and whatever will be protracted
and end in recovery; which disease of an acute nature will end in death,
and which in recovery. From these it is easy to know the order of the critical
days, and prognosticate from them accordingly. And to a person who is skilled
in these things, it is easy to know to whom, when, and how aliment ought
to be administered.
Sixteen Cases of Disease
Case I. In Thasus, the Parian who lodged above the Temple of Diana
was seized with an acute fever, at first of a continual and ardent type;
thirsty, inclined to be comatose at first, and afterwards troubled with
insomnolency; bowels disordered at the beginning, urine thin. On the sixth
day, passed oily urine, was delirious. On the seventh, all the symptoms
were exacerbated; had no sleep, but the urine of the same characters, and
the understanding disordered; alvine dejections bilious and fatty. On the
eighth, a slight epistaxis; small vomiting of verdigris-green matters;
slept a little. On the ninth, in the same state. On the tenth, all the
symptoms gave way. On the eleventh, he sweated, but not over the whole
body; he became cold, but immediately recovered his heat again. On the
fourteenth, acute fever; discharges bilious, thin, and copious; substances
floating in the urine; he became incoherent. On the seventeenth, in a painful
state, for he had no sleep, and the fever was more intense. On the twentieth,
sweated all over; apyrexia, dejections bilious; aversion to food, comatose.
On the twenty-fourth, had a relapse. On the thirty-fourth, apyrexia; bowels
not confined; and he again recovered his heat. Fortieth, apyrexia, bowels
confined for no long time, aversion to food; had again slight symptoms
of fever, and throughout in an irregular form; apyrexia at times, and at
others not; for if the fever intermitted, and was alleviated for a little,
it immediately relapsed again; he used much and improper food; sleep bad;
about the time of the relapse he was delirious; passed thick urine at that
time, but troubled, and of bad characters; bowels at first confined, and
again loose; slight fevers of a continual type; discharges copious and
thin. On the hundred and twentieth day he died. In this patient the bowels
were constantly from the first either loose, with bilious, liquid, and
copious dejections, or constipated with hot and undigested faeces; the
urine throughout bad; for the most part coma, or insomnolency with pain;
continued aversion to food. Ardent fever.
Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the weakness
produced by the fever, the phrenitis, and affection of the hypochondrium
caused death on the hundred and twentieth day.
Case i. In Thasus, the woman who lodged near the Cold Water, on
the third day after delivery of a daughter, the lochial discharge not taking
place, was seized with acute fever, accompanied with rigors. But a considerable
time before delivery she was feverish, confined to bed, and loathed her
food. After the rigor which took place, continual and acute fevers, with
rigors. On the eighth and following days, was very incoherent, and immediately
afterwards became collected; bowels disordered, with copious, thin, watery,
and bilious stools; no thirst. On the eleventh was collected, but disposed
to coma; urine copious, thin, and black; no sleep. On the twentieth, slight
chills, and immediately afterwards was warm; slight incoherence; no sleep;
with regard to the bowels, in the same condition; urine watery, and copious.
On the twenty-seventh, free from fever; bowels constipated; not long afterwards
violent pain of the right hip-joint for a considerable time; fevers afterwards
supervened; urine watery. On the fortieth, complaints about the hip-joint
better; continued coughs, with copious, watery sputa; bowels constipated;
aversion to food; urine the same; fever not leaving her entirely, but having
paroxysms in an irregular form, sometimes present, sometimes not. On the
sixtieth, the coughs left her without a crisis, for no concoction of the
sputa took place, nor any of the usual abscesses; jaw on the right side
convulsively retracted; comatose, was again incoherent, and immediately
became collected; utter aversion to food; the jaw became relaxed; alvine
discharges small, and bilious; fever more acute, affected with rigors;
on the following days lost her speech, and again became collected, and
talked. On the eightieth she died. In this case the urine throughout was
black, thin, and watery; coma supervened; there was aversion to food, aversion
to food, despondency, and insomnolency; irritability, restlessness; she
was of a melancholic turn of mind.
Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the suppression
of the lochial discharge caused death on the day.
Case ii. In Thasus, Pythion, who was lodged above the Temple of
Hercules, from labor, fatigue, and neglected diet, was seized with strong
rigor and acute fever; tongue dry, thirsty, and bilious; had no sleep;
urine darkish, eneorema floating on the top of the urine, did not subside.
On the second day, about noon, coldness of the extremities, especially
about the hands and head; loss of speech and of articulation; breathing
short for a considerable time; recovered his heat; thirst; passed the night
quietly; slight sweats about the head. On the third, passed the day in
a composed state; in the evening, about sunset, slight chills; nausea,
agitation; passed the night in a painful state; had no sleep; small stools
of compact faeces passed from the bowels. On the fourth, in the morning,
composed; about noon all the symptoms became exacerbated; coldness, loss
of speech, and of articulation; became worse; recovered his heat after
a time; passed black urine, having substances floating in it; the night
quiet; slept. On the fifth, seemed to be lightened, but a painful weight
about the belly; thirsty, passed the night in a painful state. On the sixth,
in the morning, in a quiet state; in the evening the pains greater; had
a paroxysm; in the evening the bowels properly opened by a small clyster;
slept at night. On the seventh, during the day, in a state of nausea, somewhat
disturbed; passed urine of the appearance of oil; at night, much agitation,
was incoherent, did not sleep. On the eighth, in the morning, slept a little;
but immediately coldness, loss of speech, respiration small and weak; but
in the evening recovered his heat again; was delirious, but towards day
was somewhat lightened; stools small, bilious, and unmixed. On the ninth,
affected with coma, and with nausea when roused; not very thirsty; about
sunset he became restless and incoherent; passed a bad night. On the tenth,
in the morning, had become speechless; great coldness; acute fever; much
perspiration; he died. His sufferings were on the even
days.
Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the excessive
sweats caused death on the tenth day.
Case v. The patient affected with phrenitis, having taken to bed
on the first day, vomited largely of verdigris-green and thin matters;
fever, accompanied with rigors, copious and continued sweats all over;
heaviness of the head and neck, with pain; urine thin, substances floating
in the urine small, scattered, did not subside; had copious dejections
from the bowels; very delirious; no sleep. On the second, in the morning,
loss of speech; acute fever; he sweated, fever did not leave him; palpitations
over the whole body, at night, convulsions. On the third, all the symptoms
exacerbated; he died.
Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the sweats and
convulsions caused death.
Case V. In Larissa, a man, who was bald, suddenly was seized with
pain in the right thigh; none of the things which were administered did
him any good. On the first day, fever acute, of the ardent type, not agitated,
but the pains persisted. On the second, the pains in the thigh abated,
but the fever increased; somewhat tossed about; did not sleep; extremities
cold; passed a large quantity of urine, not of a good character. On the
third, the pain of the thigh ceased; derangement of the intellect, confusion,
and much tossing about. On the fourth, about noon, he died. An acute
disease.
Case i. In Abdera, Pericles was seized with a fever of the acute,
continual type, with pain; much thirst, nausea, could not retain his drink;
somewhat swelled about the spleen, with heaviness of the head. On the first
day, had hemorrhage from the left nostril, but still the fever became more
violent; passed much muddy, white urine, which when allowed to stand did
not subside. On the second day, all the symptoms were exacerbated, yet
the urine was thick, and more inclined to have a sediment; the nausea less;
he slept. On the third, fever was milder; abundance of urine, which was
concocted, and had a copious sediment; passed a quiet night. On the fourth,
had a copious and warm sweat all over about noon; was free of fever, had
a crisis, no relapse. An acute affection.
Case ii. In Abdera, the young woman who was lodged in the Sacred
Walk was seized with an ardent fever. She was thirsty, and could not sleep;
had menstruation for the first time. On the sixth, much nausea, flushing,
was chilly, and tossed about. On the seventh, in the same state; urine
thin,but of a good color; no disturbance about the bowels. On the eighth,
deafness, acute fever, insomnolency, nausea, rigors, became collected;
urine the same. On the ninth, in the same state, and also on the following
days; thus the deafness persisted. On the fourteenth, disorder of the intellect;
the fever abated. On the seventeenth, a copious hemorrhage from the nose;
the deafness slightly better; and on the following days, nausea, deafness,
and incoherence. On the twentieth, pain of the feet; deafness and delirium
left her; a small hemorrhage from the nose; sweat, apyrexia. On the twenty-fourth,
the fever returned, deafness again; pain of the feet remained; incoherence.
On the twenty-seventh, had a copious sweat, apyrexia; the deafness left
her; the pain of her feet partly remained; in other respects had a complete
crisis.
Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the restoration
of health on the twentieth day was the result of the evacuation of
urine.
Case iii. In Abdera, Anaxion, who was lodged near the with Thracian
Gates, was seized with an acute fever; pain of the right dry cough, without
expectoration during the first days, thirst, insomnolency; urine well colored,
copious, and thin. On the sixth, delirious; no relief from the warm applications.
On the seventh, in a painful state, for the fever while the pains did not
abate, and the cough was troublesome, and attended with dyspnoea. On the
eighth, I opened a vein at the elbow, and much blood, of a proper character,
flowed; the pains were abated, but the dry coughs continued. On the eleventh,
the fever diminished; slight sweats about the head; coughs, with more liquid
sputa; he was relieved. On the twentieth, sweat, apyrexia; but after the
crisis he was thirsty, and the expectorations were not good. On the twenty-seventh
the fever relapsed; he coughed, and brought up much concocted sputa: sediment
in the urine copious and white; he became free of thirst, and the respiration
was good. On the thirty-fourth, sweated all over, apyrexia general
crisis.
Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the evacuation
of the sputa brought about the recovery on the thirty-fourth
day.
Case x. In Abdera, Heropythus, while still on foot, had pain in
the head, and not long afterwards he took to bed; he lived near the High
Street. Was seized with acute fever of the ardent type; vomitings at first
of much bilious matter; thirst; great restlessness; urine thin, black,
substances sometimes floating high in it, and sometimes not; passed the
night in a painful state; paroxysms of the fever diversified, and for the
most part irregular. About the fourteenth day, deafness; the fever increased;
urine the same. On the twentieth and following days, much delirium. On
the thirtieth, copious hemorrhage from the nose, and became more collected;
deafness continued, but less; the fever diminished; on the following days,
frequent hemorrhages, at short intervals. About the sixtieth, the hemorrhages
ceased, but violent pain of the hip-joint, and increase of fever. Not long
afterwards, pains of all the inferior rule, that either the fever and deafness
increased, or, pains of the inferior parts were increased. About the eightieth
day, all the complaints gave way, without leaving any behind; for the urine
was of a good color, and had a copious sediment, while the delirium became
less. About the hundredth day, disorder of the bowels, with copious and
bilious evacuations, and these continued for a considerable time, and again
assumed the dysenteric form with pain; but relief of all the other complaints.
On the whole, the fevers went off, and the deafness ceased. On the hundred
and twentieth day, had a complete crisis. Ardent fever.
Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the bilious
discharge brought about the recovery on the hundred and twentieth
day.
Case X. In Abdera, Nicodemus was seized with fever from venery
and drinking. At the commencement he was troubled with nausea and cardialgia;
thirsty, tongue was parched; urine thin and dark. On the second day, the
fever exacerbated; he was troubled with rigors and nausea; had no sleep;
vomited yellow bile; urine the same; passed a quiet night, and slept. On
the third, a general remission; amelioration; but about sunset felt again
somewhat uncomfortable; passed an uneasy night. On the fourth, rigor, much
fever, general pains; urine thin, with substances floating in it; again
a quiet night. On the fifth, all the symptoms remained, but there was an
amelioration. On the sixth, some general pains; substances floating in
the urine; very incoherent. On the seventh, better. On the eighth, all
the other symptoms abated. On the tenth, and following days, there were
pains, but all less; in this case throughout, the paroxysms and pains were
greater on the even days. On the twentieth, the urine white and thick,
but when allowed to stand had no sediment; much sweat; seemed to be free
from fever; but again in the evening he became hot, with the same pains,
rigor, thirst, slightly incoherent. On the twenty-fourth, urine copious,
white, with an abundant sediment; a copious and warm sweat all over; apyrexia;
the fever came to its crisis.
Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the cure was
owing to the bilious evacuations and the sweats.
Case i. In Thasus, a woman, of a melancholic turn of mind, from
some accidental cause of sorrow, while still going about, became affected
with loss of sleep, aversion to food, and had thirst and nausea. She lived
near the Pylates, upon the Plain. On the first, at the commencement of
night, frights, much talking, despondency, slight fever; in the morning,
frequent spasms, and when they ceased, she was incoherent and talked obscurely;
pains frequent, great and continued. On the second, in the same state;
had no sleep; fever more acute. On the third, the spasms left her; but
coma, and disposition to sleep, and again awaked, started up, and could
not contain herself; much incoherence; acute fever; on that night a copious
sweat all over; apyrexia, slept, quite collected; had a crisis. About the
third day, the urine black, thin, substances floating in it generally round,
did not fall to the bottom; about the crisis a copious
menstruation.
Case ii. In Larissa, a young unmarried woman was seized with a
fever of the acute and ardent type; insomnolency, thirst; tongue sooty
and dry; urine of a good color, but thin. On the second, in an uneasy state,
did not sleep. On the third, alvine discharges copious, watery, and greenish,
and on the following days passed such with relief. On the fourth, passed
a small quantity of thin urine, having substances floating towards its
surface, which did not subside; was delirious towards night. On the sixth,
a great hemorrhage from the nose; a chill, with a copious and hot sweat
all over; apyrexia, had a crisis. In the fever, and when it had passed
the crisis, the menses took place for the first time, for she was a young
woman. Throughout she was oppressed with nausea, and rigors; redness of
the face; pain of the eyes; heaviness of the head; she had no relapse,
but the fever came to a crisis. The pains were on the even
days.
Case iii. Apollonius, in Abdera, bore up (under the fever?) for
some time, without betaking himself to bed. His viscera were enlarged,
and for a considerable time there was a constant pain about the liver,
and then he became affected with jaundice; he was flatulent, and of a whitish
complexion. Having eaten beef, and drunk unseasonably, he became a little
heated at first, and betook himself to bed, and having used large quantities
of milk, that of goats and sheep, and both boiled and raw, with a bad diet
otherwise, great mischief was occasioned by all these things; for the fever
was exacerbated, and of the food taken scarcely any portion worth mentioning
was passed from the bowels; the urine was thin and scanty; no sleep; troublesome
meteorism; much thirst; disposition to coma; painful swelling of the right
hypochondrium; extremities altogether coldish; slight incoherence, forgetfulness
of everything he said; he was beside himself. About the fourteenth day
after he betook himself to bed, had a rigor, became heated, and was seized
with furious delirium; loud cries, much talking, again composed, and then
coma came on; afterwards the bowels disordered, with copious, bilious,
unmixed, and undigested stools; urine black, scanty, and thin; much restlessness;
alvine evacuations of varied characters, either black, scanty, and verdigrisgreen,
or fatty, undigested, and acrid; and at times the dejections resembled
milk. About the twenty-fourth, enjoyed a calm; other matters in the same
state; became somewhat collected; remembered nothing that had happened
since he was confined to bed; immediately afterwards became delirious;
every symptom rapidly getting worn. About the thirtieth, acute fever; stools
copious and thin; was delirious; extremities cold; loss of speech. On the
thirty-fourth he died. In this case, as far as I saw, the bowels were disordered;
urine thin and black; disposition to coma; insomnolency; extremities cold;
delirious throughout. Phrenitis.
Case iv. In Cyzicus, a woman who had brought forth twin daughters,
after a difficult labor, and in whom the lochial discharge was insufficient,
at first was seized with an acute fever, attended with chills; heaviness
of the head and neck, with pain; insomnolency from the commencement; she
was silent, sullen, and disobedient; urine thin, and devoid of color; thirst,
nausea for the most part; bowels irregularly disordered, and again constipated.
On the sixth, towards night, talked much incoherently; had no sleep. About
the eleventh day was seized with wild delirium, and again became collected;
urine black, thin, and again deficient, and of an oily appearance; copious,
thin, and disordered evacuations from the bowels. On the fourteenth, frequent
convulsions;extremities cold; not in anywise collected; suppression of
urine. On the sixteenth loss of speech. On the seventeenth, she died.
Phrenitis.
Explanation of the characters. It is probable that death was caused,
on the seventeenth day, by the affection of the brain consequent upon her
accouchement.
Case v. In Thasus, the wife of Dealces, who was lodged upon the
Plain, from sorrow was seized with an acute fever, attended with chills.
From first to last she wrapped herself up in her bedclothes; still silent,
she fumbled, picked, bored, and gathered hairs (from them); tears, and
again laughter; no sleep; bowels irritable, but passed nothing; when directed,
drank a little; urine thin and scanty; to the touch of the hand the fever
was slight; coldness of the extremities. On the ninth, talked much incoherently,
and again became composed and silent. On the fourteenth, breathing rare,
large, at intervals; and again hurried respiration. On the sixteenth, looseness
of the bowels from a stimulant clyster; afterwards she passed her drink,
nor could retain anything, for she was completely insensible; skin parched
and tense. On the twentieth, much talk, and again became composed; loss
of speech; respiration hurried. On the twenty-first she died. Her respiration
throughout was rare and large; she was totally insensible; always wrapped
up in her bedclothes; either much talk, or completely silent throughout.
Phrenitis.
Case vi. In Meliboea, a young man having become heated by drinking
and much venery, was confined to bed; he was affected with rigors and nausea;
insomnolency and absence of thirst. On the first day much faeces passed
from the bowels along with a copious flux; and on the following days he
passed many watery stools of a green color; urine thin, scanty, and deficient
in color; respiration rare, large, at long intervals; softish distention
of the hypochondrium, of an oblong form, on both sides; continued palpitation
in the epigastric region throughout; passed urine of an oily appearance.
On the tenth, he had calm delirium, for he was naturally of an orderly
and quiet disposition; skin parched and tense; dejections either copious
and thin, or bilious and fatty. On the fourteenth, all the symptoms were
exacerbated; he became delirious, and talked much incoherently. On the
twentieth, wild delirium, On the twentieth, wild delirium, jactitation,
passed no urine; small drinks were retained. On the twenty-fourth he died.
Phrenitis.
THE END
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