Dr. J. Burdon Sanderson on the process of fever.

  • Burdon-Sanderson, John Scott, 1828-1905.
Date:
[1875]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dr. J. Burdon Sanderson on the process of fever. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    1/38
    APPENDIX. No f0> i._Sdu. J. Burdon Sanderson on the I , , On tho Process Tnp Mowi^Paper is intends,1 to serve as a compel,lions state,nent of r&by 1HE lonowmg J- 1 t exists as to the nature ot tever. me Sanderson. of the knowledge winch at present exi t t with this inten- I have adopted in probably move svannly discussed in this country and m ^with the dooWnes which of fever to a future opportunity, lne ieaaer amu, ’l d t-sKwtsfs of as e3 i z: ^ offered itself of pointing out the objections to which each of ther • liaThe recognised characteristics of fever are those which relate either to the disintegration of the living substance of the body or to the and diminished constancy of the bodily temperature, But m addmo- to these attributes which distinguish the febrile, state of animal organism from that of health, it is essential to the collect dehni tion of fever that it should comprehend particulars relating to its origin, progress, and termination. In other words, fever is not merely a state but also a process. It has its beginning in the entrance into oi action on the organism of some affecting or infecting cause. Aftc 1 this event, follows a period which by analogy with certain physiological the habit of calling the penod-of latency, toi it is processes, we arc m not until it is passed that the first indications within, the affected 01 infected organism begin to manifest themselves, lhe state ol Jc\ei once established, it may vary in its course, in its duration, and in ie local inflammations which accompany it, indefinitely ; but in all cases 1 has its onset, accession, and declension, each of which is characterised by more or less distinctive phenomena, the onset by shivering, accom- panied with rise of temperature of the internal parts of the body ; tie • • and exhausting disorder of the bodily augment by continued pyrexia augment uy whhuuuu — 0 . -#» functions; the decline, epicrisis, or defervescence by the restoration ol those processes one by one to their normal conditions and relations. The period of convalescence which follows decline, during which the mischief done is gradually compensated and repaired, and the injured organism is brought back again to its normal condition (so fai as tins is possible) by new growth of tissue, does not form a part of the febrile process. ..... c These considerations afford the key to the natural division of the subject and consequently to its methodical treatment. In stating what is known as to the febrile state, I propose to study first, those facts which A 37080.