ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book introduces the discussion of fever by quoting Galen that it is “the most dangerous disease, the messenger of death, and the most frequent cause of the end of life.” It introduces the treatment of ardent fever with a lengthy quotation from Galen about three criteria to be considered by the physician for the treatment of sharp diseases in general, namely, the degree of strength of the patient to fight the disease, the duration of the disease, and the quality of the disease. The book then discusses tertian fever and distinguishes between two types of tertian fever, pure and impure. It also focuses on the blood fever (synochous fever) caused by putrefaction of the blood within the veins and arteries.
