Galen : two bibliographical demonstrations in the library of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, 9th December, 1891, and 30th March, 1893 / by James Finlayson.

  • James Finlayson
Date:
1895
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Galen : two bibliographical demonstrations in the library of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, 9th December, 1891, and 30th March, 1893 / by James Finlayson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    their treatises on the pulse. The latter has furnished a translation of a portion of the Libellus de Pulsibus ad TironesP The following extracts, selected from his transla- tion, may suffice to show the way in which the author deals with the subject:— [Libellus de Pulsibus ad Tirones].—- Chapter I. The heart and all the arteries pulsate with the same rhythm, so that from one you can judge of all. . . . But you could not find any arteries more convenient or better or more suitable for the pulse than those in the wrists, for they are easily visible, as there is little flesh over them, and it is not necessary to strip any part of the body of clothing for them as is necessary with many others, and they run in a straight course ; and this is of no small help to the accuracy of diagnosis. Chapter II. The artery will seem to the touch to be distended in every dimension. There are three dimensions to every body — length, depth, and breadth. In an animal in a normal state of health you will find the artery quite moderately distended; but in abnormal conditions some- times the tension is too low, sometimes too great in every dimension. Now you must remember what a normal pulse is like, and if you find an abnormal pulse of excessive breadth, you should term it 'broad'; if of excessive length, 'long'; and if of excessive depth, 'deep'; and in like manner the opposite of these 'narrow,' 'short,' and ' shallow,' And a pulse that is in all these dimensions abnormally diminished is termed ' small,' and one that is abnormally augmented 'large.' Such, then, are the varieties of pulse, as far as dimension goes. Chapter III. As regards special characteristics, there is swift- ness and slowness. In the former case the movement is free and unrestrained, in the latter case enfeebled. These conditions you must judge by comparison with the normal. The strength of the pulse, or the reverse, is determined by the force with which it repels the touch ; if it repels violently it is strong, if weakly the reverse. And there are variations in the softness or hardness of the arterial coat; it is soft when the artery appears, so to speak, flesh- like to the touch; hard when it seems dry and hard, like leather. Broadbeut, The Pulse (London, 1890), pp. 6-11.