Articella

Fever is an unnatural heat, overstepping the course of nature, proceeding from the heart into the arteries, and harming by its effect. Of this there are three genera. One is in the spirit original: "anima", often referring to the vital spirit in this context and is called ephimera short-lived fever. Another is from humors that putrefy, and it is called putrid. The third harms the solid members, and this is ethica hectic fever. The ephimera is born from an accidental cause. ¶ Putrid fevers are also from putrid things, of which there are simple and singular types, and there are four. The first mode is that which happens from the putrefaction of blood, burning both the interior and exterior part, such as sinochus continuous fever. The second, which happens from the putrefaction of red bile, such as tritheus tertian fever. The third happens from the putrefaction of phlegm, such as quotidianus daily fever. The fourth, however, is that which happens from the putrefaction of melancholy, which afflicts the sick person by skipping two days, and is called quartanus quartan fever.

¶ On the modes and species of fevers.

There are three additional modes of fevers occurring from putrefaction. There is a fever that decreases daily, such as peraugmasticus descending. And there is one that increases, such as augmasticus, until it recedes. There is one that remains in the same state until it recedes again, such as homothenus constant. ¶ A continuous fever occurs from the putrefaction of the veins, declining outside the veins into some parts of the body. Shivering occurs in fevers from the infusion of putrefaction into sensitive members, biting and cooling. Therefore, shivering occurs in those fevers that have anestma interpolation/intermission, because the putrefactions are outside the veins.

¶ On the modes of abscesses.

There are four simple modes of abscesses. Either they are made from blood and are called flegmones phlegmons/inflammations. Or from red bile and are called herisipile erysipelas. Or from phlegm that is coagulated, and they are called undimie or cimie, that is, a tumor. Or from black bile, and they are called cancri cancers of the flegmones. ¶ From blood, these are the signs: redness, hardness of the pulse, pain, heat, and tumor. ¶ From the bile of the flegmones, these are the signs: heat, redness mixed with a yellow color, great pain with stinging, and rapid increase. ¶ From the phlegm of the flegmonis, these are the signs: whiteness, softness—such that if you press with a finger, it leaves a mark like a hole—and it is without pain. ¶ From the black bile of the flegmonis, these are the signs: immense hardness with blackness, without sensation.

¶ On the natural in the human body.

In the human body, every natural thing, if it retains its proper nature, produces health. If it abandons it, it either causes illness or neither.

¶ On the genera of illnesses.

¶ The genera of illnesses are three: namely, similar, official functional/organ-specific, and universal. ¶ An illness is similar when it happens to similar members, which receive similar names with the same suffering, such as a headache. ¶ And an official illness is that which happens to official members, such as feet, hands, tongue, teeth, etc. Which take their names from the infirmity happening to them.