The growth of medicine from the earliest times to about 1800Buck, Albert H. (Albert Henry)
History
The growth of medicine from the earliest times to about 1800
Buck, Albert H. (Albert Henry)
Medicine -- History
IV.--It is better when the physician, upon the occasion of his
first visit, finds the patient lying upon one side, with his
hands, neck and thighs slightly flexed, and the entire body
placed in a perfectly natural position, like that which a man
assumes in bed when he is in a state of health. It is not so
well when the physician finds the patient lying upon his back,
with his hands, neck and thighs extended. But if the latter
is found curled up and sliding down toward the foot of the
bed, this is an unfavorable sign. Finally, if he is found with
rather cold feet projecting from under the bedclothes, and with
his arms outstretched and his neck and thighs exposed, his
condition may be considered dangerous, for this attitude of the
body betokens an agitated state of the mind. If the patient
sleeps with his mouth constantly open, lying upon his back and
with his thighs strongly flexed and widely separated, it may be
assumed that death is near at hand. If he lies upon his belly
when it is known that he was not in the habit of sleeping in
this manner before he was taken ill, the inference is warranted
either that he is delirious or that he is suffering from pain in
the lower part of his abdomen. Finally, if the patient shows an
inclination to maintain a sitting posture while the malady is
still in an active stage, this feature must be looked upon as a
grave symptom and especially so in inflammation of the lungs.
XIV.--Pus that has a whitish color and a uniform consistency,
that is smooth and free from clumps, and the odor of which is
only slightly unpleasant, is the least harmful. On the other
hand, a pus which possesses the opposite characteristics is very
dangerous.
XL.--Severe pain in the ear, if associated with a persistent
fever is dangerous, for the patient may become delirious and die.
[There are 47 chapters in the Book of Prognoses; in addition, there
are 740 separate sections in the Coan Prognoses (_Praenotiones
Coacae_).]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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