Note 673 — BOOK I.—OF THE EPIDEMICS.

According to Galen, this case is an instructive example of the danger of neglecting the diet at the commencement of complaints which appear unimportant. This man, having taken supper at the beginning of a fever which appeared slight, suffered therefrom as the result showed; that is to say, vomiting ensued, followed by serious symptoms, among which Galen particularizes, as indicating a fatal result, urine at first thick and without sediment, and afterwards oily. So much importance did the ancient physicians attach to observations on the urine in fevers! Galen further calls attention to the fact, that the patient died on a critical day, that is to say, on the eleventh.