The Complete Works of Galen, Vol. 11

BOOK 1

Charterian Edition Vol. 10 [347]

Basle Edition Vol. 4 (198)

[347] ...when both the signs of the pulses pulse: "sphygmos" (σφυγμός) in Greek; the rhythmic expansion and contraction of the arteries, which Galen believed revealed the state of the "vital spirit" and internal heat. and the urine indicate the character of the fever. The pulses should show no sign of inflammation inflammation: "phlegmonē" (φλεγμονή); in this context, a specific type of heat and swelling caused by an excess of blood. nor any irregularity within a single beat of the artery. If they do show any such sign, it must be extremely faint. The urine should either completely resemble a healthy state or deviate only slightly from nature. At that point, you must consider all the other factors mentioned previously.

When all these signs speak together in harmony like a choir, you should feel confident. If you wish, you may also ask the patient whether any obvious cause preceded the illness. If the patient admits to such a cause, you should wait for the first resolution of the fever and then bathe them immediately. Your diagnosis becomes more reliable based on the very manner in which the fever breaks.

At that moment, the motion of the arteries becomes entirely similar to the pulse of a healthy person. This return to a natural state does not happen in any other kind of fever. Even if there is a long period of time between the end of one fever fit and the start of the next, such as in tertian A fever that returns every third day, typically associated with malaria. or quartan A fever that returns every fourth day. fevers, a trace of the fever always remains in the pulse. In one day fevers original: "diariis" or "ephemera"; these are fevers lasting only twenty four hours, usually caused by heat, exhaustion, or emotional distress rather than internal infection., however, when the fit ceases, all symptoms vanish at once.