On the temperature of the body as a means of diagnosis in phthisis and tuberculosis / by Sydney Ringer.

Date:
1865
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the temperature of the body as a means of diagnosis in phthisis and tuberculosis / by Sydney Ringer. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    previously covered up, and that the axilla has not been exposed, otherwise a difference of 2° or 3° Fah. may result. It is, therefore, better, if the patient has been lying on one side, to turn him diagonally on the other, and to use the axilla which was previously most dependent. Care should be taken that the thermometer be in complete contact with the skin, and that no clothes are in the way to separate it from the surface of the body. All these precautions being observed, it is better to allow the thermometer to remain in the axilla at least five minutes. Thermometers should always be tested, as even those sold by the most trustworthy makers some- times vary as much as 1° Fah. The temperature should be taken twice in the day, at 8 A.M. and 8 P.M. If only one observation can be made in the day, the evening must be chosen, for ofteu the temperature is normal in the morning, but very considerably elevated at night. The observations recorded in this paper were obtained from patients under the care of Dr. Jenner, Dr. Hare, and Dr. Reynolds. They were made in order to ascertain what information the temperature of the body is capable of affording in cases of phthisis and tuberculosis. The following are the conclusions arrived at :-—* * The author begs to acknowledge the great assistance he has B 2