This irregular action is, in other words, a convulsion in the sanguiferous, but more obviously, in the arterial system.
That this is the case I infer from the strict analogy between symptoms of fever, and convulsions in the nervous system. I shall briefly mention the particulars in which this analogy takes place.
1. Are convulsions in the nervous system preceded by debility? So is the convulsion of the blood-vessels in fever.
2. Does debility induced on the whole, or on a part only, of the nervous system, predispose to general convulsions, as in tetanus? So we observe debility, whether it be induced on the whole or on a part of the arterial system, predisposes to general fever. This is obvious in the fever which ensues alike from cold applied to every part of the body, or from a stream of cold air falling upon the neck, or from the wetting of the feet.
3. Do tremors precede convulsions in the nervous system? So they do the convulsion of the blood-vessels in fever.
4. Is a coldness in the extremities a precursor of convulsions in the nervous system? So it is of fever.
5. Do convulsions in the nervous system impart a jerking sensation to the fingers? So does the convulsion of fever in the arteries, when felt at the wrists.
6. Are convulsions in the nervous system attended with alternate action and remission? So is the convulsion of fever.