The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1881-07-14
m -sRUIrEIINss KxPLAIsED.
or the IeFms Used ~ n
PrOaidsnIsS Physicians.


1igntReanea or the Terms Used ~ lhe|
PFoaidsnisS PbySicians.
HFon the philadelphia LsdsG,
Some readers Of the bulletns from the
White HOUSE are Auding tschlical terms
somewhat new to them, and alsO the de-
tails Of medical tosymp-
toms With which they are but imperfsctly
acquainted. This is evidenced by their
conversation in front Of the bulletin
boards, and by occasional po.esot inquiry,
nWhst Is tympanitia2" "WbAt is portion.
"How do the doctors hnd out his
temperatuTef" AndBo on. " will serve .
popular purpose 70 explain some oitheee
matters, The midnight bulletin between
Sunday, July Sd, and the morning o. July
Alb, said: Some tyapGnliS 10 recognized"
This caused great u~neAsiness to the doc
tora.
Inc meaning Of 4 was thst the abdo'
men Of the patient wlB swelling mp like q
drum, the swelling being due 10 an accu
mutation Of cir or gSsea In the intestinal
tube or else IN the peTitoneumi and this
10 conAldered Q very uniAyorAble sign In
injuries like those Of the President, The
tympAnltis happily did not last long
enough, and was not sufficiently great to
crauss extreme danger. The word comes
from tympan, q dIum-and the swelling
from Initiation 10 ~yafiously called "Nm'
pRpy," OF wind dropsy," and drum
~"FetitonIus,n which the doctors feared
AlBo, In an Inflammation Of the peTitone'
um, Q membrane that envelope the tnles,
tines and other abdominal organs, and
generally the interior oil the abdomen,
This membrane takes Ito name from two
Greek words which express its meaning
around and 10 stretch; peritonenm, there
lore, meaning In this instance q mem
bEAns that stretches around or about the
intestines, Inflammation OF that mem
brane, or "peritonids," always marks =
dangerous phase Of disease or injury from
wounds.
The temperature Of q sick or wounded
person Indicates the presence or absence
OF the iphAmmAtory condition. and, IN
cases like this, 10 watched with great so
licitude. The temperature IL ascertained
by placing the bulb Of Q small thermome'
ter, specially adapted to the purpose, In
the mouth OF the patient, or sometimes
under the ATmpit. The average natural
heat Of the human body In q good Condt.
ton OF health Is ninety eight and q hall
1893 81 degrees OF Fahrenheit's scale, It 10
usually marked on U Thermometer as
"blood.heat" at the 9Sth degree, In very
iniAmed conditions, the temperature. Of
patients has been observed To rise as high
% lOS degrees In children and TO lO7 in
adults. Anything above lO4 or los Ia re-
garded ss very serious by physiCians.
The Presidents temperature has risen
several times to l0l.9, or nearly three aud
q half degrees above the normal or natu
raj. In ASiAtic cholera, the Temperature
sometimes sinks ss low as n, when even
the breath Of the patient feels cold.
The fluctuations oil the pulse are noted
carefully in the daily bulletins. In good
health, and when the body 10 quiet, the
natural beats Of the pulse Of au adult male
are about sixty TO seventy o minute. There
are considerable differences, however,
even In healthy persons, according TO the
comparative quiet or activity OF the body,
and whether standing, sitting or lying
down, There are differences, too, OF dill
totUut poIluuu u tHu uhyI bh0 b'0atNes ~
quency Of the pulse beats occurring about
the middle Of the day, and the least about
midnight, All other things being equal,
the pulse is quicker In the morning than
In the evening. In conditions Of profound
coma morbid Sleep or lethargy the pulse
beats have dropped as low as II in q min
ute, and they have mounted up as high az
200in children afflicted with water on the
brain. Since his injury the P%resident's
pulse has auCtuated between "a beats q
minute 10 1925. This last 10 about twice ss
frequent as the pulse beats In q state oil
health and In q quiet, recumbent position.
Frequency OF respiration" lie likewise
q feature Of the bulletins. Since he was
wounded his respiration has ranged from
nineteen to twenty. four breathings a
minute. In health, and when free from
any exciting cause, the number Of breath.
ings per minute lie from fourteen to eigh.
teen bnt 10 conditions OF disease It some.
times falls 90 low % beyen breaths q min
ute, and rises as high as a hundred.