eveloped, and the bodily temperature rapidly approaches nearer and
nearer that line on the other side of which is death.

In many cases of fever, however, there is no poison in the blood; thus,
the local irritation of a boil or other inflammation may cause what is
well termed "irritative fever." The way in which this is produced is by
an indirect, and not a direct, action upon the inhibitory heat-centre.

The casualties of the late war proved but too abundantly that a man may
be wounded in one part of the body and suffer from paralysis of
voluntary motion in another part. Thus, a soldier struck in the neck
fell unconscious, and on awaking was astonished to find his right arm
powerless at his side. This is the so-called "reflex paralysis." Very
commonly the irritation of a nerve will give rise to an impulse which
will travel up the nerve to a motor-centre, and so excite it that it
shall send in turn an impulse down a second nerve to a distant muscle,
and a spasm result. Sometimes, however, the impulse which travels to the
nerve-centre is of such a character that, instead of exciting it to
action, it deprives it of the power of action. In the former instance
reflex motion, in the latter reflex paralysis, results.

We have seen that galvanization of a nerve may excite the inhibitory
centre to activity, and the peculiar persistent irritation of a local
inflammation may deprive the same centre of its power of action: in the
one instance a reflex inhibitory heat-centre spasm--_i.e._, lowering of
temperature--is produced, and in the other a reflex inhibitory
heat-centre paralysis--_i.e._, fever--results.

It would be going too far at present to assert that all fever is
produced in the way spoken of. There are certain drugs which lower the
temperature in the fever that follows division of the cord and
consequent paralysis of the heat-centre, and which must therefore act
either upon the blood, or universally upon the tissues so as to diminish
their-chemical movements. It is most probable, although not yet
absolutely proved, that there are other substances which act directly
upon the blood and tissues in such a way as to increase their chemical
activities, and thereby cause fever.

The practical considerations in regard to the treatment of disease which
naturally flow from the recent investigations of fever are very
important and very obvious. This is especially true since it has been
shown in Germany that under the influence