An essay on curvatures and diseases of the spine : including all the forms of spinal distortion / ... by R. W. Bampfield ... Ed. by J. K. Mitchell.

  • Bampfield, R. W. (Robert William), -1827.
Date:
1845
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on curvatures and diseases of the spine : including all the forms of spinal distortion / ... by R. W. Bampfield ... Ed. by J. K. Mitchell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

    23/268 page 19
    however, the patient not lie down more than usual, but be seated in a chair during the day, where the vertebrae will have to bear the superincumbent weight of the head, &c., especially if he walk about as much as he is able, the curvature will advance with con- siderable rapidity, and after a little increase, if the patient be placed on his feet, he cannot maintain the vertebral column in the erect attitude, but inclines the upper part forwards; and he moves with a slow, hesitating, tottering gait, and is soon tired, or he cannot direct his steps to the proper point, and he stumbles, trips or crosses his legs, and falls down crying.^ In this state a child dreads to be put down, and when on his feet will, with tears,cling to his mother or nurse for support, and if deprived of it, he will totter, his knees will bend, and he will soon fall, unless caught. The lower extremities gradually diminish in size, as the curvature advances, and frequently lose part of their natural sensibility and temperature ; the mnscles exchange their plump and firm feel, for a softer one, and tlieir power daily decreases. The patient will often sit with his legs crossed, and in bed will sometimes experi- ence pain in his knees, and convulsive actions of the muscles of the thighs, which are more particularly felt and described by the adult, whose loss of muscular power is more generally accompa- nied with a sense of coldness and diminished sensibility and firm- ness of the extremities. If a palsy of the lower limbs be now induced, there is of course an end to locomotion ; the muscles and cellular texture of the extremities waste and wither ; the limbs become flaccid and cold, and, if lifted up, will fall down like a mass of inanimate matter; the joints are more rigid than in ordinary paralysis, and the skin frequently retains some power of sensation. This calamitous effect or symptom, however, only supervenes oc- casionally, for the majority of adults and minors retain sufficient muscular power of the extremities to enable them to move about in their room, with the artificial aid they can derive from the chairs, tables, and other supports that are available in their route. Should they attempt it without such extrinsic acid, or the use of crutches, or the support of friends, they can only walk a short time with such a degree of bent posture, as the curvature neces- sarily occasions, and suddenly lean forwards and support them- selves, by placing their hands above their knees; and the vertebral column then becomes curved to a great extent. — Most patients, if not prevented by paralysis, or restrained by medical advice, retain the disposition, which they indulge in, to sit up and walk about a little through the whole progress of the disease; but 'whexe scrofu- lous caries is the cause of the curvature, the inclination to move * [An awkward gait, a tendency to totter or fall, or to drag, one leg, are among the earliest symptoms of spinal disease ; and are present often, long before any distortion is discoverable. Previous- ly to these symptoms, there often exists a sense of weariness and a disinclination to physical exertion. — Ed.]
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3