By the Eyes, and by Ratiocination.
Are not the Eyes sufficient alone, and are they not more certain than Ratiocination?
Yes; but forasmuch as things are not always seen, there is often a necessity of making use of rational Deductions to find out that which the Eyes cannot discern.
When doth it happen that the Eyes alone discover the Fracture?
When the Wound is large and wide, so that it may be immediately view'd.
When doth it happen that Ratiocination supplies the defect of the Eyes?
When the Wound is so small that the Bone cannot be seen, and nothing appears but the Accidents.
What are the Accidents or Signs of the Fracture of the Skull?
They are a dimmness of the Sight, and loss of the Understanding, which happen at the very Moment when the Fall or Blow is receiv'd; with the Phlegmatick Vomittings that follow soon after: These Signs are call'd Univocal. And there are others that bear the Name of Equivocal, and which confirm the former; as a Flux of Blood thro' the Nose, Eyes, and Ears, redness of the Eyes, heaviness of the Head, and puffing up of the Face; as also afterward Drowsiness, Shivering of the whole Body, Fever, Deliriums, Convulsions, &c.