The seven books of Paulus Ægineta, volume 1 (of 3) : $b translated from the Greek: with a commentary embracing a complete view of the knowledge possessed by the Greeks, Romans, and Arabians on all subjects connected with medicine and surgeryPaulus, Aegineta
History
The seven books of Paulus Ægineta, volume 1 (of 3) : $b translated from the Greek: with a commentary embracing a complete view of the knowledge possessed by the Greeks, Romans, and Arabians on all subjects connected with medicine and surgery
Paulus, Aegineta
Medicine; Medicine, Arab; Medicine, Greek and Roman
The vitreous phlegm being the coldest of all, if it accumulate in the
body, and remain free from putrefaction, it occasions the rigor without
heat, which is not attended with fever. In those fevers which are kindled
by the humours, it is putrefaction for the most part which kindles
febrile heat. If it become putrid, and that through its whole substance,
which is rarely the case, owing to its great coldness, it occasions
quotidian fever. But when it is half putrid, and not equally through its
whole substance, but some parts of it being putrid, and others not, it
gives rise to the fever called hepialus, in which those affected have
rigors and fever at the same time; for the parts of the humour which are
not putrid being scattered through the veins all over the body, occasion
rigor; but the putrid parts kindle fever. The word hepialus is either
derived from ἡπίας ἁλος, i. e. the sea, which is mild in appearance,
although formidable in reality; or from ἡπίως ἁλεάζειν, i. e. warming
gently. And, as this fever is of the quotidian kind, being formed by
phlegm, it is to be treated in the same manner; only that it requires
remedies as much hotter and more incisive than the quotidian, as its
phlegm is colder than that of the other. The rigor without heat stands
in need of heating things still more than the hepialus. Wherefore, the
composition of three peppers, that from calamint, and still more that
from Cyrenaic juice are particularly suitable to this complaint, as also
the remedies prepared from castor and the like. You will find a fuller
account of these matters in the 46th section, “on immoderate rigor and
cold.” The fevers called lipyriæ, and the typhoid or smoky, and whatever
others are mentioned besides those described, being all of the same kind
as the above mentioned, will require the same methods of cure as those
which have been mentioned, or will soon be described.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. Hippocrates applies the term hepialus to a fever occasioned
by amenorrhœa. He briefly notices the lipyria in several parts of his
works, (as Coac, 32, 27.) Galen enters minutely into the consideration
of the nature and causes of the hepialus, which appears to be a variety
of the quotidian intermittent. He says the fever derives its origin
from the putrefaction of a thick phlegm resembling melted glass. Its
distinguishing characteristic is, that the patient experiences a
sensation of heat and rigor at the same time.
Aëtius, and the other subsequent authorities, treat of the fever in the
same terms. They recommend, principally, sudorifics and calefacients.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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