Volume 1

The science and practice of medicine / By William Aitken ... From the 4th London ed., with additions, by Meredith Clymer.

  • William Aitken
Date:
1866
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The science and practice of medicine / By William Aitken ... From the 4th London ed., with additions, by Meredith Clymer. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Lamar Soutter Library, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Lamar Soutter Library at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

    73/972 page 63
    [N.B.—The index is the bit of mercury detached from the column in the stem OF THE INSTRUMENT.] 2. This index is to be sot by bringing the ■ low ii into the clear part of the stem, just be- low the lines which indicate the degrees. This is clone by taking the bulb and stem of the instrument firmly in the hand, and then by a simile rapid swing of //<< arm the index will come down the stem; and this swing of the arm must be repeated till the top of the index is at least below the lines which indicate the degrees. 3. After the index has thus been set, the bulb of the instrument may then be applied to the axilla, the surface of the bell}T, or be- tween the thighs, or any part which is com- pletely covered ; and being retained in close apposition (by strapping, if necessary) with the surrounding soft parts for any length of time, the instrument is to be careful^' and gently removed, when the top of the index— i. e., the end farthest from the bulb—will de- note the maximum temperature during the period the instrument has been in perfect contact with the parts. The patient should have been at perfect rest in bed for at least one hour before observations on temperature are made. III. The Observations ought to be continuous daily, and regularly taken at the same hour every day, throughout the whole period of sickness. The most useful periods for observa- tion are—(1.) Between 7 and 9 o'clock in the morning; (2.) At noon; (3.) Between 5 and 7 o'clock in the evening; (4.) At midnight. IV. In all observations of temperature the Pulse and the Respirations should be noted at the same time. In the less important cases the physician may make at least one observation daily himself, and leave the others to the friends of the patient or the nurse, if either of them are sufficiently intelligent. This arrange- ment, however, is only justifiable so long as the observations correspond with those bit of detached Fig. A. A mercury Fig. B. 1 fl J I = a One-half the real size.
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