Sixteen Cases of Disease

CASE I. In Thasus, the Parian who lodged above the Temple of Diana was seized with an acute fever, at first of a continual and ardent type; thirsty, inclined to be comatose at first, and afterwards troubled with insomnolency; bowels disordered at the beginning, urine thin. On the sixth day, passed oily urine, was delirious. On the seventh, all the symptoms were exacerbated; had no sleep, but the urine of the same characters, and the understanding disordered; alvine dejections bilious and fatty. On the eighth, a slight epistaxis; small vomiting of verdigris-green matters; slept a little. On the ninth, in the same state. On the tenth, all the symptoms gave way. On the eleventh, he sweated, but not over the whole body; he became cold, but immediately recovered his heat again. On the fourteenth, acute fever; discharges bilious, thin, and copious; substances floating in the urine; he became incoherent. On the seventeenth, in a painful state, for he had no sleep, and the fever was more intense. On the twentieth, sweated all over; apyrexia, dejections bilious; aversion to food, comatose. On the twenty-fourth, had a relapse. On the thirty-fourth, apyrexia; bowels not confined; and he again recovered his heat. Fortieth, apyrexia, bowels confined for no long time, aversion to food; had again slight symptoms of fever, and throughout in an irregular form; apyrexia at times, and at others not; for if the fever intermitted, and was alleviated for a little, it immediately relapsed again; he used much and improper food; sleep bad; about the time of the relapse he was delirious; passed thick urine at that time, but troubled, and of bad characters; bowels at first confined, and again loose; slight fevers of a continual type; discharges copious and thin. On the hundred and twentieth day he died. In this patient the bowels were constantly from the first either loose, with bilious, liquid, and copious dejections, or constipated with hot and undigested faeces; the urine throughout bad; for the most part coma, or insomnolency with pain; continued aversion to food. Ardent fever.

Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the weakness produced by the fever, the phrenitis, and affection of the hypochondrium caused death on the hundred and twentieth day.

CASE II. In Thasus, the woman who lodged near the Cold Water, on the third day after delivery of a daughter, the lochial discharge not taking place, was seized with acute fever, accompanied with rigors. But a considerable time before delivery she was feverish, confined to bed, and loathed her food. After the rigor which took place, continual and acute fevers, with rigors. On the eighth and following days, was very incoherent, and immediately afterwards became collected; bowels disordered, with copious, thin, watery, and bilious stools; no thirst. On the eleventh was collected, but disposed to coma; urine copious, thin, and black; no sleep. On the twentieth, slight chills, and immediately afterwards was warm; slight incoherence; no sleep; with regard to the bowels, in the same condition; urine watery, and copious. On the twenty-seventh, free from fever; bowels constipated; not long afterwards violent pain of the right hip-joint for a considerable time; fevers afterwards supervened; urine watery. On the fortieth, complaints about the hip-joint better; continued coughs, with copious, watery sputa; bowels constipated; aversion to food; urine the same; fever not leaving her entirely, but having paroxysms in an irregular form, sometimes present, sometimes not. On the sixtieth, the coughs left her without a crisis, for no concoction of the sputa took place, nor any of the usual abscesses; jaw on the right side convulsively retracted; comatose, was again incoherent, and immediately became collected; utter aversion to food; the jaw became relaxed; alvine discharges small, and bilious; fever more acute, affected with rigors; on the following days lost her speech, and again became collected, and talked. On the eightieth she died. In this case the urine throughout was black, thin, and watery; coma supervened; there was aversion to food, aversion to food, despondency, and insomnolency; irritability, restlessness; she was of a melancholic turn of mind.

Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the suppression of the lochial discharge caused death on the day.

CASE III. In Thasus, Pythion, who was lodged above the Temple of Hercules, from labor, fatigue, and neglected diet, was seized with strong rigor and acute fever; tongue dry, thirsty, and bilious; had no sleep; urine darkish, eneorema floating on the top of the urine, did not subside. On the second day, about noon, coldness of the extremities, especially about the hands and head; loss of speech and of articulation; breathing short for a considerable time; recovered his heat; thirst; passed the night quietly; slight sweats about the head. On the third, passed the day in a composed state; in the evening, about sunset, slight chills; nausea, agitation; passed the night in a painful state; had no sleep; small stools of compact faeces passed from the bowels. On the fourth, in the morning, composed; about noon all the symptoms became exacerbated; coldness, loss of speech, and of articulation; became worse; recovered his heat after a time; passed black urine, having substances floating in it; the night quiet; slept. On the fifth, seemed to be lightened, but a painful weight about the belly; thirsty, passed the night in a painful state. On the sixth, in the morning, in a quiet state; in the evening the pains greater; had a paroxysm; in the evening the bowels properly opened by a small clyster; slept at night. On the seventh, during the day, in a state of nausea, somewhat disturbed; passed urine of the appearance of oil; at night, much agitation, was incoherent, did not sleep. On the eighth, in the morning, slept a little; but immediately coldness, loss of speech, respiration small and weak; but in the evening recovered his heat again; was delirious, but towards day was somewhat lightened; stools small, bilious, and unmixed. On the ninth, affected with coma, and with nausea when roused; not very thirsty; about sunset he became restless and incoherent; passed a bad night. On the tenth, in the morning, had become speechless; great coldness; acute fever; much perspiration; he died. His sufferings were on the even days.

Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the excessive sweats caused death on the tenth day.

CASE IV. The patient affected with phrenitis, having taken to bed on the first day, vomited largely of verdigris-green and thin matters; fever, accompanied with rigors, copious and continued sweats all over; heaviness of the head and neck, with pain; urine thin, substances floating in the urine small, scattered, did not subside; had copious dejections from the bowels; very delirious; no sleep. On the second, in the morning, loss of speech; acute fever; he sweated, fever did not leave him; palpitations over the whole body, at night, convulsions. On the third, all the symptoms exacerbated; he died.

Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the sweats and convulsions caused death.

CASE V. In Larissa, a man, who was bald, suddenly was seized with pain in the right thigh; none of the things which were administered did him any good. On the first day, fever acute, of the ardent type, not agitated, but the pains persisted. On the second, the pains in the thigh abated, but the fever increased; somewhat tossed about; did not sleep; extremities cold; passed a large quantity of urine, not of a good character. On the third, the pain of the thigh ceased; derangement of the intellect, confusion, and much tossing about. On the fourth, about noon, he died. An acute disease.

CASE VI. In Abdera, Pericles was seized with a fever of the acute, continual type, with pain; much thirst, nausea, could not retain his drink; somewhat swelled about the spleen, with heaviness of the head. On the first day, had hemorrhage from the left nostril, but still the fever became more violent; passed much muddy, white urine, which when allowed to stand did not subside. On the second day, all the symptoms were exacerbated, yet the urine was thick, and more inclined to have a sediment; the nausea less; he slept. On the third, fever was milder; abundance of urine, which was concocted, and had a copious sediment; passed a quiet night. On the fourth, had a copious and warm sweat all over about noon; was free of fever, had a crisis, no relapse. An acute affection.

CASE VII. In Abdera, the young woman who was lodged in the Sacred Walk was seized with an ardent fever. She was thirsty, and could not sleep; had menstruation for the first time. On the sixth, much nausea, flushing, was chilly, and tossed about. On the seventh, in the same state; urine thin,but of a good color; no disturbance about the bowels. On the eighth, deafness, acute fever, insomnolency, nausea, rigors, became collected; urine the same. On the ninth, in the same state, and also on the following days; thus the deafness persisted. On the fourteenth, disorder of the intellect; the fever abated. On the seventeenth, a copious hemorrhage from the nose; the deafness slightly better; and on the following days, nausea, deafness, and incoherence. On the twentieth, pain of the feet; deafness and delirium left her; a small hemorrhage from the nose; sweat, apyrexia. On the twenty-fourth, the fever returned, deafness again; pain of the feet remained; incoherence. On the twenty-seventh, had a copious sweat, apyrexia; the deafness left her; the pain of her feet partly remained; in other respects had a complete crisis.

Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the restoration of health on the twentieth day was the result of the evacuation of urine.

CASE VIII. In Abdera, Anaxion, who was lodged near the with Thracian Gates, was seized with an acute fever; pain of the right dry cough, without expectoration during the first days, thirst, insomnolency; urine well colored, copious, and thin. On the sixth, delirious; no relief from the warm applications. On the seventh, in a painful state, for the fever while the pains did not abate, and the cough was troublesome, and attended with dyspnoea. On the eighth, I opened a vein at the elbow, and much blood, of a proper character, flowed; the pains were abated, but the dry coughs continued. On the eleventh, the fever diminished; slight sweats about the head; coughs, with more liquid sputa; he was relieved. On the twentieth, sweat, apyrexia; but after the crisis he was thirsty, and the expectorations were not good. On the twenty-seventh the fever relapsed; he coughed, and brought up much concocted sputa: sediment in the urine copious and white; he became free of thirst, and the respiration was good. On the thirty-fourth, sweated all over, apyrexia general crisis.

Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the evacuation of the sputa brought about the recovery on the thirty-fourth day.

CASE IX. In Abdera, Heropythus, while still on foot, had pain in the head, and not long afterwards he took to bed; he lived near the High Street. Was seized with acute fever of the ardent type; vomitings at first of much bilious matter; thirst; great restlessness; urine thin, black, substances sometimes floating high in it, and sometimes not; passed the night in a painful state; paroxysms of the fever diversified, and for the most part irregular. About the fourteenth day, deafness; the fever increased; urine the same. On the twentieth and following days, much delirium. On the thirtieth, copious hemorrhage from the nose, and became more collected; deafness continued, but less; the fever diminished; on the following days, frequent hemorrhages, at short intervals. About the sixtieth, the hemorrhages ceased, but violent pain of the hip-joint, and increase of fever. Not long afterwards, pains of all the inferior rule, that either the fever and deafness increased, or, pains of the inferior parts were increased. About the eightieth day, all the complaints gave way, without leaving any behind; for the urine was of a good color, and had a copious sediment, while the delirium became less. About the hundredth day, disorder of the bowels, with copious and bilious evacuations, and these continued for a considerable time, and again assumed the dysenteric form with pain; but relief of all the other complaints. On the whole, the fevers went off, and the deafness ceased. On the hundred and twentieth day, had a complete crisis. Ardent fever.

Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the bilious discharge brought about the recovery on the hundred and twentieth day.

CASE X. In Abdera, Nicodemus was seized with fever from venery and drinking. At the commencement he was troubled with nausea and cardialgia; thirsty, tongue was parched; urine thin and dark. On the second day, the fever exacerbated; he was troubled with rigors and nausea; had no sleep; vomited yellow bile; urine the same; passed a quiet night, and slept. On the third, a general remission; amelioration; but about sunset felt again somewhat uncomfortable; passed an uneasy night. On the fourth, rigor, much fever, general pains; urine thin, with substances floating in it; again a quiet night. On the fifth, all the symptoms remained, but there was an amelioration. On the sixth, some general pains; substances floating in the urine; very incoherent. On the seventh, better. On the eighth, all the other symptoms abated. On the tenth, and following days, there were pains, but all less; in this case throughout, the paroxysms and pains were greater on the even days. On the twentieth, the urine white and thick, but when allowed to stand had no sediment; much sweat; seemed to be free from fever; but again in the evening he became hot, with the same pains, rigor, thirst, slightly incoherent. On the twenty-fourth, urine copious, white, with an abundant sediment; a copious and warm sweat all over; apyrexia; the fever came to its crisis.

Explanation of the characters. It is probable that the cure was owing to the bilious evacuations and the sweats.

CASE XI. In Thasus, a woman, of a melancholic turn of mind, from some accidental cause of sorrow, while still going about, became affected with loss of sleep, aversion to food, and had thirst and nausea. She lived near the Pylates, upon the Plain. On the first, at the commencement of night, frights, much talking, despondency, slight fever; in the morning, frequent spasms, and when they ceased, she was incoherent and talked obscurely; pains frequent, great and continued. On the second, in the same state; had no sleep; fever more acute. On the third, the spasms left her; but coma, and disposition to sleep, and again awaked, started up, and could not contain herself; much incoherence; acute fever; on that night a copious sweat all over; apyrexia, slept, quite collected; had a crisis. About the third day, the urine black, thin, substances floating in it generally round, did not fall to the bottom; about the crisis a copious menstruation.

CASE XII. In Larissa, a young unmarried woman was seized with a fever of the acute and ardent type; insomnolency, thirst; tongue sooty and dry; urine of a good color, but thin. On the second, in an uneasy state, did not sleep. On the third, alvine discharges copious, watery, and greenish, and on the following days passed such with relief. On the fourth, passed a small quantity of thin urine, having substances floating towards its surface, which did not subside; was delirious towards night. On the sixth, a great hemorrhage from the nose; a chill, with a copious and hot sweat all over; apyrexia, had a crisis. In the fever, and when it had passed the crisis, the menses took place for the first time, for she was a young woman. Throughout she was oppressed with nausea, and rigors; redness of the face; pain of the eyes; heaviness of the head; she had no relapse, but the fever came to a crisis. The pains were on the even days.

CASE XIII. Apollonius, in Abdera, bore up (under the fever?) for some time, without betaking himself to bed. His viscera were enlarged, and for a considerable time there was a constant pain about the liver, and then he became affected with jaundice; he was flatulent, and of a whitish complexion. Having eaten beef, and drunk unseasonably, he became a little heated at first, and betook himself to bed, and having used large quantities of milk, that of goats and sheep, and both boiled and raw, with a bad diet otherwise, great mischief was occasioned by all these things; for the fever was exacerbated, and of the food taken scarcely any portion worth mentioning was passed from the bowels; the urine was thin and scanty; no sleep; troublesome meteorism; much thirst; disposition to coma; painful swelling of the right hypochondrium; extremities altogether coldish; slight incoherence, forgetfulness of everything he said; he was beside himself. About the fourteenth day after he betook himself to bed, had a rigor, became heated, and was seized with furious delirium; loud cries, much talking, again composed, and then coma came on; afterwards the bowels disordered, with copious, bilious, unmixed, and undigested stools; urine black, scanty, and thin; much restlessness; alvine evacuations of varied characters, either black, scanty, and verdigrisgreen, or fatty, undigested, and acrid; and at times the dejections resembled milk. About the twenty-fourth, enjoyed a calm; other matters in the same state; became somewhat collected; remembered nothing that had happened since he was confined to bed; immediately afterwards became delirious; every symptom rapidly getting worn. About the thirtieth, acute fever; stools copious and thin; was delirious; extremities cold; loss of speech. On the thirty-fourth he died. In this case, as far as I saw, the bowels were disordered; urine thin and black; disposition to coma; insomnolency; extremities cold; delirious throughout. Phrenitis.

CASE XIV. In Cyzicus, a woman who had brought forth twin daughters, after a difficult labor, and in whom the lochial discharge was insufficient, at first was seized with an acute fever, attended with chills; heaviness of the head and neck, with pain; insomnolency from the commencement; she was silent, sullen, and disobedient; urine thin, and devoid of color; thirst, nausea for the most part; bowels irregularly disordered, and again constipated. On the sixth, towards night, talked much incoherently; had no sleep. About the eleventh day was seized with wild delirium, and again became collected; urine black, thin, and again deficient, and of an oily appearance; copious, thin, and disordered evacuations from the bowels. On the fourteenth, frequent convulsions;extremities cold; not in anywise collected; suppression of urine. On the sixteenth loss of speech. On the seventeenth, she died. Phrenitis.

Explanation of the characters. It is probable that death was caused, on the seventeenth day, by the affection of the brain consequent upon her accouchement.

CASE XV. In Thasus, the wife of Dealces, who was lodged upon the Plain, from sorrow was seized with an acute fever, attended with chills. From first to last she wrapped herself up in her bedclothes; still silent, she fumbled, picked, bored, and gathered hairs (from them); tears, and again laughter; no sleep; bowels irritable, but passed nothing; when directed, drank a little; urine thin and scanty; to the touch of the hand the fever was slight; coldness of the extremities. On the ninth, talked much incoherently, and again became composed and silent. On the fourteenth, breathing rare, large, at intervals; and again hurried respiration. On the sixteenth, looseness of the bowels from a stimulant clyster; afterwards she passed her drink, nor could retain anything, for she was completely insensible; skin parched and tense. On the twentieth, much talk, and again became composed; loss of speech; respiration hurried. On the twenty-first she died. Her respiration throughout was rare and large; she was totally insensible; always wrapped up in her bedclothes; either much talk, or completely silent throughout. Phrenitis.

CASE XVI. In Meliboea, a young man having become heated by drinking and much venery, was confined to bed; he was affected with rigors and nausea; insomnolency and absence of thirst. On the first day much faeces passed from the bowels along with a copious flux; and on the following days he passed many watery stools of a green color; urine thin, scanty, and deficient in color; respiration rare, large, at long intervals; softish distention of the hypochondrium, of an oblong form, on both sides; continued palpitation in the epigastric region throughout; passed urine of an oily appearance. On the tenth, he had calm delirium, for he was naturally of an orderly and quiet disposition; skin parched and tense; dejections either copious and thin, or bilious and fatty. On the fourteenth, all the symptoms were exacerbated; he became delirious, and talked much incoherently. On the twentieth, wild delirium, On the twentieth, wild delirium, jactitation, passed no urine; small drinks were retained. On the twenty-fourth he died. Phrenitis.