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Front Page Titles (by Subject) THE THIRD BOOK OF EPIDEMICS. - The Writings of Hippocrates and Galen
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THE THIRD BOOK OF EPIDEMICS. - Hippocrates, The Writings of Hippocrates and Galen [1846]Edition used:The Writings of Hippocrates and Galen. Epitomised from the Original Latin translations, by John Redman Coxe (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1846).
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THE THIRD BOOK OF EPIDEMICS.Fœsius, p. 1059. Haller, i. p. 138. Gardeil, ii. p. 92. This book, says Haller, is alike in value and in manner with the preceding, of which it appears to be a continuation;a the first twelve cases manifestly belong to it. The latter portion has reference to a pestilential constitution: not that a true plague accompanied with carbuncles and buboes is here described; but because all diseases then occurring were of the highest malignity. Not one of the sixteen cases mentioned in this part had symptoms of the true plague, although gangrene was not unfrequent in conjunction with the fever, so that entire limbs fell off. Gardeil, in a short note, says, “that the lovers of ancient lore will find at the end of each case (the first twelve), certain hieroglyphics constituted of five or six letters each, that may be regarded as algebraic signs, to designate briefly the practical result of each observation, and relating more particularly to prognostic.” These characters, Fœsius informs us, are found in several manuscripts, but are wanting in others; and that we are ignorant whether they are from Hippocrates, or from his school; or if they are not of a later origin. They are anterior to Galen, for he mentions them. Fœsius introduces them. As a mere matter of curiosity, I thought of giving them a place here; but their want of utility led me to forego my first intention.—Ed. Pythion, who lived by the Temple of the Earth, was taken with a trembling in his hands, which was succeeded the same day by an acute fever and delirium. The second, worse in all respects. The third, no alteration. The fourth, a little, simple, bilious discharge downwards. The fifth, worse in all respects. Little sleeps; no stool. The sixth, a variety of spitting, with something upon the red. The seventh, his mouth was drawn aside. The eighth, worse in all respects. The tremblings remained. The urine from the beginning to the eighth day thin and without colour, with a little suspended cloud in it. The tenth, he sweated, spit matter a little digested, and had a crisis. The urine was whitish about this time, and, forty days after, an abscess appeared by the anus, which was succeeded by the strangury. Hermocrates, who lived by the new wall, was seized with a very acute fever, and began to have a pain in his head and loins, with a moderate distension of the hypochondre. The tongue was burnt up from the beginning. Presently after, he grew deaf; and could get no sleep. His thirst was moderate, and his urine thick and red, without a sediment after standing. His stools were large and burnt. The fifth, thin urine, with a cloud that did not fall. At night he was lightheaded. The sixth, a jaundice; worse in all respects, and lightheaded still. The seventh, great restlessness. The urine thin, and like the former. The succeeding days, very little alteration. About the eleventh every thing seemed to abate. A coma began. The urine was thick, reddish, thin towards the bottom, and subsided not. He came to himself by little and little. The fourteenth, he was neither feverish, nor sweated, but slept, and came perfectly to himself. The urine much the same. About the seventeenth, he relapsed, grew hot, and the days following had an acute fever, with thin urine. About the twentieth another crisis. The fever went off, but without sweating. An aversion to food lasted all the time. He came to himself, but could not speak. His tongue was dry, but without thirst. He laid comatose. About the twenty-fourth grew hot again, and discharged much thin matter downwards. The days following an acute fever, with a burnt tongue. The twenty-seventh, he died. This patient was deaf all along; his urine thick and red without a sediment, or thin and colourless, with a little cloud; and he could taste nothing. He that lived in Dealces’s Garden, felt a heaviness in his head, and a pain of the right temple a long time; and, upon an occasion given, was seized with a violent fever, and carried to bed. The second day a little pure blood from the left nostril, and a good stool. The urine thin and various, with a cloud suspended, almost like ground barley and seed. The third, an acute fever. Black, thin, frothy stools, with a livid sediment in them. He was also a little soporose, and bore rising up with difficulty. The sediment of the urine turned livid, and somewhat glutinous. The fourth, bilious yellow vomitings in a small quantity, and after a little resting æruginous or violet. A little pure blood from the left nostril. The stools and urine as before. A sweat about the head and collarbone. The spleen tumefied. A pain of the same thigh. A softish distension of the right hypochondre. No sleep in the night. A little rambling. The fifth, more stools, black and frothy, with a black sediment. No sleep in the night; ramblings. The sixth, black, fat, glutinous, fetid stools. Slept, and came more to himself. The seventh, a dry tongue, and thirsty. No sleep, but ramblings. The urine thin, and not well-coloured. The eighth, black, small, compacted stools; slept, and came to himself; and was not very thirsty. The ninth, shivered, burned, sweated, was cold, delirious, and convulsed (or distorted) in his right eye; with a dry tongue, thirst, and watching. The tenth, very little alteration. The eleventh, came to himself perfectly, lost his fever, and slept. The urine was thin about the crisis. The fever intermitted two days, and returned again the fourteenth. No sleep that night, but strong deliriums. The fifteenth, turbid urine, as when it is shook after standing. A raging fever, with strong deliriums, and no sleep. A pain in the knees and legs. Black stools, by means of a suppository. The sixteenth, thin urine, with a suspended cloud. Was lightheaded. The seventeenth, early in the morning, was cold in the extreme parts, and covered up. The fever raged; a sweat came on all over, that relieved him; he came more to himself upon it, but was not free from his fever or his thirst. He also vomited bilious yellow stuff in a small quantity, and had a stool; soon after which, black thin stuff came away in a small quantity. The urine was thin and not well-coloured. The eighteenth, he did not come to himself, but was comatose. The nineteenth, no alteration. The urine thin. The twentieth, slept, came to himself perfectly, sweated, lost his fever and thirst; but the urine was thin. The twenty-first, rambled a little, and was a little dry. A pain attacked him in the flanks, and a continual palpitation about the navel. The twenty-fourth, a sediment in the urine; and he came perfectly to himself. The twenty-seventh, a pain in the right hip. Thin urine, with a sediment; and in other respects very easy. About the twenty-ninth, a pain in the right eye. The urine thin. The fortieth, stools of a phlegmy white nature, and pretty often. A great sweat all over, and a perfect crisis. Philistes, in Thasus, had a pain of his head a long time, and at last, being somewhat stupid, was forced to lie down; but continual fevers coming on from drinking-bouts, the pain grew worse, and in the night his last fever first seized him. The next day he vomited bilious yellow matter, at first in a small quantity, and afterwards æruginous in a larger. His body was open, but he could get no rest in the night. The second, he grew deaf, his fever raged; his right flank was distended and turned inwards. The urine thin and transparent, with a seed-like cloud suspended. About noon he was a little mad. The third very uneasy. The fourth convulsed, and in all respects worse. The fifth betimes in the morning he died. Chærion, who lived near Demænetus, was seized with a violent fever from a drinking-bout, and immediately complained of a heaviness and pain in his head. No sleep. Thin stools, somewhat bilious. The third day, a violent fever. The head trembled, especially the lower lip, and soon after he shivered, was convulsed, and very lightheaded. An uneasy night. The fourth, was easy, and slept a little, but rambled. The fifth, was in pain, worse in all respects, and delirious. A bad night again, and no sleep. The sixth, no alteration. The seventh, shivered, burned, sweated all over, and had a crisis. This patient had all along bilious, small, unmixed stools; and thin well-coloured urine, with a cloud suspended. About the eighth, the colour was better, and it had a white but little sediment. He came to himself. The fever intermitted, and returned the ninth. About the fourteenth, he was very feverish again, and sweated. The sixteenth, vomited a pretty deal of bilious yellow matter. The seventeenth, shivered again, was very hot, sweated, lost his fever, and had another crisis. The urine was better-coloured after the relapse and the crisis, and had a sediment; nor was he delirious in his relapse. The eighteenth, he was a little hot, and a little dry. His urine thin, with a suspended cloud; and he rambled a little. The nineteenth, was free from the fever, but had a pain in his neck. A sediment in the urine, and a perfect crisis the twentieth. Euryanax’s daughter, a maid, was seized with a violent fever. She had no thirst all along, nor eat any thing; but had a little discharge downwards. The urine was thin, small, and not well-coloured. At the beginning of the fever a pain came about the anus. The sixth day, neither fever, nor sweat, and yet a crisis; the complaint about the anus suppurating a little, and breaking at this time. The seventh, after the crisis she shivered, was a little hot, and sweated. The eighth day after the crisis she shivered again, but not much; and afterwards her extremities were always cold. About the tenth, after the sweat that then was upon her, she grew lightheaded, but recovered herself again presently; occasioned, as they said, by her tasting a bunch of grapes. It intermitted the twelfth day, and again she was very delirious. Her stools were bilious, small, unmixed, thin, and acrid. She got up often. The seventh day after the last delirium she died. This patient complained at the beginning of a pain in her throat, which was inflamed all along, with the uvula drawn up; and of a great rheum, that was withal a little sharp. She coughed too, but brought nothing away digested. She had an aversion to every thing, and not the least desire to any thing, all along; had no thirst, and drank nothing worth speaking of; was silent, and said nothing. Her mind was much dejected, and in a despairing way, and her constitution seemed inclinable to a consumption. The woman with the quinsy, that was by Aristion’s, who first complained of her tongue, lost her speech, and her tongue was both red and dry. The first day a chilliness came on, with heat afterwards. The third, a shivering, a burning, and a reddish hard swelling upon the neck and breast on both sides. Her extremities cold and livid. Her breathing difficult, with great elevation of the breast. The drink came through her nose, and she could not swallow. Her evacuations by stool and urine were stopped. The fourth, was worse in every respect. The fifth, she died of her quinsy. The young man, who lived upon the Lyars Market, was taken with a violent fever, after weariness, labour, and running more than usual. The first day he had many thin, bilious stools. His urine was thin and blackish. No sleep, and considerable thirst. The second, worse in all respects. More stools, unseasonably. No sleep. Rambled a little, and sweated a little. The third, was uneasy, dry, qualmish, with great anxiety, tossings, and ramblings. The extremities livid and cold. The soft part of his belly gently distended on both sides. The fourth, no sleep; was worse. The seventh, he died, in about the twentieth year of his age. The woman by Tisamenus, who was seized with the iliac passion, was extremely uneasy, vomited much, could not contain what she drank, was in pain about the flanks, and the lower parts of her belly, and in continual torment. She had no thirst, but yet grew hot. Her extremities were continually cold. A loathing, and watchfulness came on; her urine was thin and little; and her stools crude, thin, and small. Nothing being able to relieve her, she died. A woman, who miscarried of a child, among those that were about Pantimis, was seized the same day with a violent fever. Her tongue was dry and thirsty, nor could she get any sleep. Her stools were thin, many, and crude. The second, she shivered, was very feverish, had many stools, and no sleep. The third, her pains increased. The fourth, she was lightheaded. The seventh, she died. Her belly was all along lax; her stools many, thin, and crude; and her urine but little and thin. Another, that miscarried about the fifth month, had a violent fever too, which at the beginning was attended with a coma, and again a watchfulness; together with a pain of the loins, and a heaviness of the head. The second day, a few, thin, and at first unmixed, stools. The third, more and worse. No sleep in the night. The fourth, was lightheaded, frightened, dejected, had the right eye drawn on one side, and a little cold sweat about the head. The extremities were also cold; the fever exasperated, and a violent delirium succeeded, but went off again presently. She had no thirst, but was watchful, and had many unseasonable stools all along. Her urine was little, thin, and blackish; her extremities cold, and somewhat livid. The sixth, no alteration. The seventh, she died in a frenzy. The woman that lived upon the Lyars Market, after she had been delivered, with a great deal of pain, of her first child (a son), was seized with a violent fever, and immediately from the beginning was thirsty, qualmish, and in great pain about the pit of her stomach. Her tongue was dry; her stools thin and few; and no sleep. The second day she shivered a little, burned, and had a little cold sweat about the head. The third, was uneasy. Her stools crude, thin, and many. The fourth, shivered again; was worse in all respects; and could get no sleep. The fifth, uneasy. The sixth, no alteration, but many liquid stools. The seventh, shivered again, burned, was very thirsty, and extremely restless. About the evening sweated all over, but it was cold. The extremities were cold too, and could not get warm again. Shivered once more at night. The extremities remained cold. No sleep. A little delirious, but came to herself again presently. The eighth about noon, grew hot, dry, comatose, qualmish, and vomited bilious matter with a little yellow in it. A restless night, and no sleep. A great deal of urine in a gushing manner, and without her knowledge. The ninth, every thing remitted, but the coma did not go off. In the evening she shivered a little again, and vomited a little bilious matter. The tenth, another shivering, an acute fever, and no sleep. In the morning early made a deal of water, that subsided. The extremities were warm again. The eleventh, vomited æruginous bilious matter, and not long after shivered again. The extremities grew cold again. In the evening sweated, shivered, vomited much, and had an uneasy night. The twelfth, vomited much black, fetid matter; hiccuped often; was dry, and uneasy. The thirteenth, vomited much black, fetid matter again; shivered, and about noon lost her speech. The fourteenth, bled at the nose, and died. This patient was all along loose in her body, and chilly. Her age, about seventeen. [a ]This leads Clifton in his preface, to complain of the miserable arrangement of the writings of Hippocrates, by which many books that should precede others, are made to follow them, whilst a knowledge of these last is essential to the comprehension of the others. Such he asserts is the case in the editions of Mercurialis and of Fœsius. Again, he affirms, “other parts have been divided to the ruin of the main design,” &c., and mentions the first and third books of Epidemics to have been thus “very injudiciously split into two,” &c., in all which remarks I think him correct; but having to select an arrangement from among the various editions, I fixed upon that of Fœsius, and that principally from his coming first into my possession.—Ed. |

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