Nine books of physick and chirurgery written by that great and learned physitian, Dr Sennertus. The first five being his Institutions of the whole body of physick: the other four of fevers and agues: with their differences, signs, and cures.

CHAP. XIII Of the causes of varying of Pulses.

ANd in like manner divers differences of Pulses pro∣ceed from causes containing, * 1.1 which are secundary causes, and first naturall things, those which are hot by nature have a hotter Pulse, and that comes from the use increased; those which are cold, the contrary; the Pulses of such as are dry and leane are greater and thinner by much, and some∣what more vehement, but in grosser bodyes when the Arte∣ry is covered with much flesh, and cannot be freely dis∣tended, the Pulse is made somewhat smaller and more fre∣quent.

Men have a greater Pulse for the most part then women, * 1.2 a little duller, and thinner; women on the contrary have lesse Pulses, swifter and more frequent, but if a woman be hotter then a man, she will have a greater and more vehe∣ment Pulse.

The Pulses of boyes are great, * 1.3 very swift, frequent, in ve∣hemency moderate; of youth they are very great, and vehe∣ment, in celerity and frequency moderate; Pulses of old men are the least, slowest, thinest, and weakest.

As for the times of the yeare, * 1.4 in the Spring Pulses are greater, more vehement in celerity and frequency, mode∣rate; in the Summer they are fainter, small, swift, frequent; in Autumne weake, in magnitude unequall in celerity and frequency; in Winter, small and moderate, slow, thin, and weake.

Meate and drink immoderatly taken cause great, * 1.5 swift, frequent, too vehement, unequall, and Inordinate Pulses; moderate lesser and weaker, and in the beginnings swifter and more frequent, afterwards slow and thin, the use of wine especially makes great Pulses, swift, frequent, and vehement, and mutations which proceed from wines suddenly comes, and suddenly goes.

Naturall rest in the beginning make the pulses lesser, * 1.6 weaker, slower, and thinner, afterwards greater, and more vehement, and the slownesse and thinnesse, by little and little is increased; moreover if the sleep be too long, they re∣turne againe to pravity and debility, and retaine their sloath and thinnesse; when a man is stirred, up or awakned, the

Pulses begin to be greater, more vehement, swifter, more fre∣quent; equally indeed if a man be awakned by degrees, but unequally and troubled if he be suddenly awakned, yet a little afterwards the pulse againe becomes moderate: long watchings cause little and weake pulses, yet swift, and fre∣quent, at length the faculty being weakned, they become dull and thin.

Exercise and motion moderate, cause great pulses, * 1.7 vche∣ment, swift, frequent, but overmuch exercise cause little, faint, swift, frequent, when the use may be increased, and the faculty debilitated, at length they are little, slow and thin.

Moderate use of baths make great pulses, swift, frequent, * 1.8 and vehement, but if they exceed measure, little, faint, swift∣er, and more frequent. * 1.9

As for the passions of the mind, anger causeth great pulses, swift, frequent, vehement; joy makes great pulses, thin, and slow, moderately vehement, but if it be overmuch it renders them unequall and inordinate; In sadnesse they are little, languishing, slow, thin; feare soone makes the swift, pulse vehement, Inordinate, unequall, but they are of as long con∣tinuance as those are in sadnesse.

Immoderate evacuations, * 1.10 because they debilltate the fa∣culty bring forth pulses like to those caused by a weake faculty.

But as for those things which happen contrary to nature, * 1.11 although they are various, yet they change the pulse, because either they change the use, or affect the instruments, or faculty; in the first place when the faculty is affected, many changes are made of the pulses, for whether the faculty be diffolved, and weakned by those things which dissolve the Spirits and sollid parts, such as are soule diseases, great dis∣tempers, vehement and diurnall greifs, fastings, too great Evacuations, or whether they are burthened, or oppressed by plenty of humours, or by diseases of instruments, inflamations, or other tumours, the pulses are made lesse in the first place, and swift, frequent, feeble, afterwards the least, most slow, most frequent, most faint, and at length the faculty being almost prostrated, intermittent, deficient, declining, vermi∣culant, formicant, all which running through the various kind of affects contrary to nature, and principally out of the doctrine of feavers are made more manifest.

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Notes

• * 1.1

  Of the Tempe∣rants of a Pulse.
• * 1.2

  Sex.
• * 1.3

  Of age.
• * 1.4

  Time of the yeare.
• * 1.5

  Meat and drink how to change the pulse.
• * 1.6

  Sleep.
• * 1.7

  Exercise.
• * 1.8

  Baths.
• * 1.9

  Passions of the mind.
• * 1.10

  Evacua∣tions.
• * 1.11

  Preterna∣turall things how they alter the pulse.