_In the Bowel._—If the patient is very ill and light-headed, it is not advisable to place the thermometer in the mouth, and when a patient is having a cool bath to reduce his temperature a reading will be needed at least every quarter of an hour; in these cases it is best to pass the end of the thermometer, which has been previously greased, about two inches up the bowel, and to leave it there for at least two and a half minutes. Do not trust in half-minute or minute thermometers, always allow the full time given above. Before taking a patient’s temperature see that the mercury in the thermometer is shaken down at least as low as 97° F. After the temperature has been taken, note it down carefully, wash the thermometer, and shake the mercury down to 97° F. If the thermometer is washed in hot water, the expanding mercury may break it. _Hypodermic Injection._ The best place to inject is under the skin of the back or chest. The forearm is usually selected, but there are many objections to it. If the injection is made into the leg or arm, the point of the needle should be directed towards the body. 1. Surgical cleanliness must be observed. The hands of the operator and the skin of the patient at the spot chosen for injection must be properly cleaned with an antiseptic lotion, _e.g._, chinosol (1 in 1000) or carbolic acid (1 in 60). The site of injection may, as an alternative, be painted with iodine which, indeed, is the preferable method. 2. The hypodermic syringe and needle must be perfectly cleaned; if possible they should be boiled, or an antiseptic lotion, or alcohol (brandy or whisky) may be syringed through them. 3. The solution to be injected should be made in a clean, _i.e._, boiled, spoon, by adding the drug to boiled water. 4. Draw solution into the syringe, hold the syringe with the needle end pointing upwards, so as to allow any air to rise above the fluid, and push the piston up till all air has been driven out and the solution begins to come through the needle. 5. Pinch up the skin where the injection is to be made, push the needle well through and then under it, keeping the point slightly away from the skin until the needle is almost entirely covered. The point of the needle will now lie in the loose tissue—between the skin and the muscle—into which the fluid is to be injected. 6. Holding the needle firmly, slowly press the piston until the required amount has been injected; withdraw the needle slowly, keep the finger over the minute opening in the skin, so as to close it at once, and with another finger rub for a few seconds, where the fluid has been injected, in a direction away from the opening, to assist its absorption. After giving an injection, wash out the syringe as before, dry needle well, and pass a piece of thin wire through it to keep it open. The needles are sent out with wire in them to keep the fine channel open; of course the wire must be removed before the needle is put on to the syringe.