Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A manual of medical diagnosis / by A.W. Barclay. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.
57/642 (page 33)
![c. The state of the tougue is to he jioted with re- tehrence to its coating and its degree of moisture ; and tbhe latter is probably of more importauce than the (iturmer in its bearing on our present inquiiy. 3'he cbharactei’s of its coating are derived I'rom its thick- naess, extent, and colour or general a])j)carance : whe- tbher it resemble a thin coating of white paint, or of joaste, or be thick, like buff-leather; whether the fur ioe limited to the back of the tongue, or the tip and I edges alone be left clean and red, or whether a red :iitreak be observed in the centre, or the organ have a :i|eneral patchy appearance j lastly, whether the coat- ii.ng be white, or yellow, or dark and brown. Some- liimes, on the other hand, the tongue ajipears unusually clean, and has a smooth and ]ieeled ap])earance, or is .’:ha]jped, or marked by prominent papillte. Each of :lihese conditions is, again, associated with differing idegrees of moisture or dryness. Sometimes the exces- ■idve moisture gives it an appearance of flabbiness or i fidema. Its relation to the condition of the bowels amst not be overlooked. I No organ more quickly indicates derangement, however slight: n every state it sympathizes, and many of the variations just i nentioned have especial reference to particular forms of disease: uit its varying characters have great signiticance, as symptoms )f the general condition of the patient; the least important i' 3eing that in which the fur is conlined to the back of the ;ongue, or is thick and yellow, and bears evidence of large accu- mulation. The moist, flabby, or mdematous condition is wln'lly f opposed to the idea of febrile excitement; the red patch inUhe I' centre, and the peeled or chapped condition of tin: mucous mem- Drane, are very important evidence of the form which a febrile . condition has assumed, but they may be in various degrees exhi- . bited without the existence of fever, properly so called : on the other hand, a. bright red tip and edges, or a dark brown fnr, -are more decidedly characteristic of fever. As a general rule, dry- ’ness is more indicative of a febrile state than any appearance iwhich the coating presents. Accidental circumstances must not ‘ce overlooked: a patient in a weak state waking from a short deep after taking food will have a dry tongue ; one who lias •ecently taken any fluid will have a moist one, in cases in which I'jcither condition is persistent or ])ermaDoiU.. D /,](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b24989812_0057.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
