发烧是最著名的症状之一,并频繁出现,以至于经常被同化为“疾病”,使我们尝试以一般的方式找出“发烧”的含义;换句话说,几个世纪以来,我们研究了它的医学和科学概念。在原始和古代时期,发烧,以及疾病,被放置在超自然的领域,并保留给魔术宗教实践。希波克拉底将通过致力于细致的临床观察来改变这种方法,认为发烧是疾病的征兆,通过表征不同类型的发烧。当考虑其外观的机制时,他将坚持“身体幽默”理论和“数字理论”。“Galenos将使该理论适应亚里士多德的哲学,这样做,他坚持了几个世纪。文艺复兴将使批判性思维高于对理论的盲目接受,但它不会在发烧的升值中引发任何革命。提到了传染的可能性,但后者只会由巴斯德和科赫建立。显微镜进入病理学的突破将不得不等待Virchow。测温将不得不在Santorio和Wunderlich之间等待两个世纪。发烧的概念将一直含糊不清,直到实验生理学和医学由于Magendie和Bernard而获得既得权利为止。此外,它们将是微生物时代。突破将是实验证明存在位于下丘脑和视前区域的温度中心的结果。内源性和外源性热原的发现有助于创建几乎完全涵盖体温和发烧问题的理性模型。这条漫长的道路并没有作为一个定期有利的演变,但是,一次又一次,出现了有名无实的人,他们让我们越来越接近真相。
Fever being one of the best known symptoms, and appearing so frequently that it is often assimilated to \"illness\", has brought us to try and find out what \"fever\" means in a general way; in other words, we examined its medical and scientific concept throughout the centuries. In the course of primitive and archaic periods, fever, as well as diseases, was placed in the supernatural sphere and was reserved to magico-religious practices. Hippocrates will change this method by devoting himself to meticulous clinical observation, considering fever as a sign of illness, and by characterizing the different types of fever. When considering the mechanisms of its appearance, he will stick to the theory of \"body-humors\" and the \"theories of numbers.\" Galenos will adapt that theory to Aristotle\'s philosophy and, doing so, he made it last for several centuries. The Renaissance will place critical thinking higher than slavish acceptance of theories, but it will not start any revolution in the appreciation of fevers. The possibility of contagion is mentioned, but the latter will only be well established by Pasteur and Koch. The breakthrough of microscopy into pathology will have to wait for Virchow. Thermometry will have to wait two centuries between Santorio and Wunderlich. The fever-concept will stay vague until experimental physiology and medicine will acquire their vested rights owing to Magendie and Bernard. They will moreover be followed by the microbiological era. The breakthrough will be the consequence of experimental proofs of the existence of a temperature-centre located in the hypothalamus and the pre-optic area. The discovery of endogenous as well as exogenous pyrogens has contributed to the creation of rational models which cover nearly completely the problem of body-temperature and fever. This long way did not progress as a regularly favourable evolution but, now and again, appeared figureheads who allowed us to approach the truth nearer and nearer.