the early morning, or as high as 99 deg. in the
late afternoon, and probably most people's temperatures vary as much as
a degree during the twenty-four hours. Even greater variations that are
not long continued have little if any significance in people who feel
well.

Decided variations either above or below normal are highly important
symptoms. A temperature below 98 deg. is called subnormal, and one above
99.5 deg. is called fever. The number of degrees of fever does not
necessarily bear a direct relation to the severity of an illness. Thus,
it does not follow that one person is twice as sick as another, because
his temperature is twice as many degrees above normal. All symptoms,
including variations in temperature, must be considered in connection
with one another, and it is generally impossible to state the
significance of any one symptom taken by itself.

The temperature should be taken once or twice a day as a matter of
routine in almost every form of illness, and oftener when the patient's
condition requires it. Also it should be taken as a matter of routine
whenever there is indication of beginning sickness; especially when
there is headache, pain, sore throat, coated tongue, cough or cold,
chill, vomiting, diarrhoea, or rash. It is not a good plan to take
one's own temperature oftener than necessary, or indeed anyone's;
certainly not a baby's, since frequent use of the thermometer may
irritate the rectum.

PULSE.--Each time the heart beats, blood is forced out from the heart
into the arteries, thus causing an expansion of the arterial walls. This
expansion, called the pulse, can be felt in some places where arteries
lie close to the surface of the body. The character of the pulse beat
and its rate, or the number of times the beat occurs each minute, give
information about the heart and blood vessels; taken together they are
perhaps more important than any other one symptom.

[Illustration: FIG. 11.--TAKING THE PULSE AT THE WRIST. NOTE THE
POSITION OF ARM. (_From "Elementary Nursing Procedures," California
State Board of Health._)]

The pulse rate varies much more than the temperature. It differs in
different individuals and at different ages, and it often shows great
temporary changes, especially during exercise or eating, or as a result
of excitement, fear, or other emotion. Definite statements in regard to
normal pulse rates are hard to make, because different individuals
though in perfect health show m